First Break December 2021 - Data Management and Processing

VO L U M E 3 9 I I S S U E 12 I D E C E M B E R 2 0 21

SPECIAL TOPIC

Data Management and Processing CROSSTALK Reviewing COP26 INDUSTRY NEWS Seismic companies on road to recovery TECHNICAL ARTICLE Optimal transport full waveform inversion

IT’S NOT JUST WHERE YOU LOOK, IT’S HOW. cgg.com

FIRST BREAK® An EAGE Publication

CHAIR EDITORIAL BOARD Gwenola Michaud (Gwenola.Michaud@cognite.com) EDITOR Damian Arnold (editorfb@eage.org) MEMBERS, EDITORIAL BOARD • Paul Binns, consultant (pebinns@btinternet.com) • Lodve Berre, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (lodve.berre@ntnu.no) • Satinder Chopra, SamiGeo (satinder.chopra@samigeo.com) • Anthony Day, PGS (anthony.day@pgs.com) • Peter Dromgoole, Retired Geophysicist (peterdromgoole@gmail.com) • Rutger Gras, Consultant (r.gras@gridadvice.nl) • Hamidreza Hamdi, University of Calgary (hhamdi@ucalgary.ca) • John Reynolds, Reynolds International (jmr@reynolds-international.co.uk) • James Rickett, Schlumberger (jrickett@slb.com) • Peter Rowbotham, Apache (Peter.Rowbotham@apachecorp.com) • Dave Stewart, Dave Stewart Geoconsulting Ltd (djstewart.dave@gmail.com) • Femke Vossepoel, Delft University of Technology (f.c.vossepoel@tudelft.nl) • Angelika-Maria Wulff, Kuwait Oil Company (AWulff@kockw.com)

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Geophysical surveys using drones: dealing with data, from mission planning to interpretation

Editorial Contents 3

EAGE News

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Personal Record Interview

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Monthly Update

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Crosstalk

EAGE EDITOR EMERITUS Andrew McBarnet (andrew@andrewmcbarnet.com)

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Industry News

MEDIA PRODUCTION Saskia Nota (firstbreakproduction@eage.org)

Technical Articles

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Ivana Geurts (firstbreakproduction@eage.org)

35 Seismic characterization of the Middle Jurassic Hugin sandstone reservoir in the southern Norwegian North Sea with unsupervised machine learning applications for facies classification

Satinder Chopra, Thang Ha, Kurt, J. Marfurt and Ritesh Kumar Sharma

ADVERTISING INQUIRIES corporaterelations@eage.org EAGE EUROPE OFFICE PO Box 59 3990 DB Houten The Netherlands • +31 88 995 5055 • eage@eage.org • www.eage.org EAGE RUSSIA & CIS OFFICE EAGE Russia & CIS Office EAGE Geomodel LLC 19 Leninsky Prospekt 119071, Moscow, Russia • +7 495 640 2008 • moscow@eage.org • www.eage.ru EAGE MIDDLE EAST OFFICE EAGE Middle East FZ-LLC Dubai Knowledge Village Block 13 Office F-25 PO Box 501711 Dubai, United Arab Emirates • +971 4 369 3897 • middle_east@eage.org • www.eage.org EAGE ASIA PACIFIC OFFICE UOA Centre Office Suite 19-15-3A No. 19, Jalan Pinang 50450 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia • +60 3 272 201 40 • asiapacific@eage.org • www.eage.org EAGE AMERICAS SAS Calle 93 # 18-28 Oficina 704 Bogota, Colombia • +57 1 4232948 • americas@eage.org • www.eage.org EAGE MEMBERS CHANGE OF ADDRESS NOTIFICATION Send to: EAGE Membership Dept at EAGE Office (address above) FIRST BREAK ON THE WEB www.firstbreak.org

45 Optimal transport full-waveform inversion: from theory to industrial applications with examples from the Sultanate of Oman Jérémie Messud, Diego Carotti, Olivier Hermant, Anna Sedova and Gilles Lambaré

Special Topic: Data Management and Processing 55 Simultaneous inversion of velocity and reflectivity Yang Yang, Jaime Ramos-Martinez, Dan Whitmore, Guanghui Huang and Nizar Chemingui 61 A decade of HPC in oil Jean-Yves Blanc and Laurent Clerc 67 An automated pipeline for first break picking and identifying geometry errors Kalashnikov Nikita, Podvyaznikov Dmitry, Kuvaev Alexander and Semin Daniil 73 Recent seismic reprocessing to revitalize research along the Atlantic Margin, offshore Ireland R.J.J. Hardy, K. Hernon, C. Morgan, S. Roy, G. Chrustek, R. Hunter, L. Lee, C. Abu, A. Anantan and N. O’Neill 81 Total recall: obtaining value ‘on demand’ from unstructured and structured data Paul Gibb, Jonathan Patrick Smith, Brad Rymer and Kevin Ward 85 Inversion-based imaging: from LSRTM to FWI imaging Bin Wang, Yang He, Jian Mao, Faqi Liu, Feng Hao, Yi Huang, Mike Perz and Scott Michell 95 Geophysical surveys using drones: dealing with data, from mission planning to interpretation

Alexey Dobrovolskiy 102 Calendar

cover: Bright ideas in data processing are showcased this month.

ISSN 0263-5046 (print) / ISSN 1365-2397 (online) FIRST

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European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers

Board 2021-2022

Dirk Orlowsky President

Jean-Marc Rodriguez Vi c e-President

Near Surface Geoscience Division Alireza Malehmir Chair Esther Bloem Vice-Chair George Apostolopoulos Immediate Past Chair Micki Allen Contact Officer EEGS/North America Hongzhu Cai Liaison China Albert Casas Membership Officer Eric Cauquil Liaison Shallow Marine Geophysics Deyan Draganov Technical Programme Officer Hamdan Ali Hamdan Liaison Middle East Vladimir Ignatev Liaison Russia / CIS Andreas Kathage Liaison Officer First Break Musa Manzi Liaison Africa Myrto Papadopoulou Young Professional Liaison Koya Suto Liaison Asia Pacific Catherine Truffert Industry Liaison Panagiotis Tsourlos Editor-in-Chief Near Surface Geophysics Florina Tuluca Committee Member

Pascal Breton Secretary-Treasurer

Oil & Gas Geoscience Division

Caroline Le Turdu Membership and Cooperation Officer

Peter Rowbotham Publications Officer

Lucy Slater Chair Yohaney Gomez Galarza Vice-Chair Michael Peter Suess Immediate Past Chair; TPC Erica Angerer Member Wiebke Athmer Member Juliane Heiland TPC Tijmen Jan Moser Editor-in-Chief Geophysical Prospecting Francesco Perrone Member Matteo Ravasi YP Liaison Philip Ringrose Editor-in-Chief Petroleum Geoscience Giovanni Sosio DET SIC Liaison Aart-Jan van Wijngaarden Technical Programme Officer

Colin MacBeth Education Officer

SUBSCRIPTIONS First Break is published monthly. It is free to EAGE members. The membership fee of EAGE is € 80.00 a year (including First Break, EarthDoc (EAGE’s geoscience database), Learning Geoscience (EAGE’s Education website) and online access to a scientific journal.

Companies can subscribe to First Break via an institutional subscription.

Every subscription includes a monthly hard copy and online access to the full First Break archive for the requested number of online users.

Aart-Jan van Wijngaarden Technical Programme Officer

Alireza Malehmir Chair Near Surface Geoscience Division

Orders for current subscriptions and back issues should be sent to EAGE Publications BV, Journal Subscriptions, PO Box 59, 3990 DB, Houten, The Netherlands. Tel: +31 (0)88 9955055, E-mail: subscriptions@eage.org, www.firstbreak.org.

Lucy Slater Chair Oil & Gas Geoscience Division

First Break is published by EAGE Publications BV, The Netherlands.

However, responsibility for the opinions given and the statements made rests with the authors.

COPYRIGHT & PHOTOCOPYING © 2021 EAGE All rights reserved. First Break or any part thereof may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transcribed in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanically, including photocopying and recording, ­without the prior written permission of the publisher.

PAPER The publisher’s policy is to use acid-free permanent paper (TCF), to the draft standard ISO/DIS/9706, made from sustainable ­forests using chlorine-free pulp (Nordic-Swan standard).

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HIGHLIGHTS

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EAGE Amsterdam in pictures

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Madrid awaits its turn

Student membership offer

Our global community reunited in Amsterdam expectations for how the energy transition would unfold are all estimates which could vary greatly from reality. They also emphasized the need to develop and pursue more short- and medium-term goals in order to increase action and certainty in investments and decision-making.

Great to meet you all in-person again.

It finally happened. We managed to reunite our global audience of professionals and academics in October for the 82nd EAGE Annual Conference and Exhibition with many able to travel and attend in-person. The meeting had a special vibe with participants at the RAI venue in Amsterdam showing obvious delight at being able to meet colleagues and new contacts for the first time in two years.

Opening Session ‘Delivering for the Energy Challenge: Today and Tomorrow’ was the theme of the event, introduced at the Opening Session by a captivating video drawing attention to the contribution needed from geoscientists and engineers in the coming decades to meet the challenges ahead.

The Opening Session included a welcome from EAGE president Dirk Orlowsky and the Awards ceremony highlighting outstanding technical papers, professional achievement and contributions to the geoscience community. Main feature of the afternoon was the first of four plenary forums entitled ‘Energy Transition – Will great expectations be realized?’ in which Andrew McBarnet, EAGE Editor Emeritus, was joined by Atul Arya (IHS Markit), Berend Scheffers (EBN) and Abderrezak Benyoucef (OPEC).

During the hour-long discussion, the panellists shared their thoughts on some of the main economic, political and environmental factors driving the energy transition. While many scenarios and outlooks were shared, the panel all agreed that any FIRST

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Technical Programme The Technical Programme this year managed to cover a remarkable 1400 presentations covering multi-disciplinary topics such as digitalization, imaging, full wave inversion, seismic acquisition and processing, geothermal energy, etc.

The conference domes provided a novel element in this year’s event and proved successful in being able to bring Technical Programme participants and the Exhibition area closer together. Developing this proximity is something we intend to develop and make standard in the future.

Marcel van Loon, EAGE CEO, said: ‘We’re especially excited about the presentation domes which will break the barrier between the Technical Programme and Exhibition bringing all of these activities closer together for a more integrated conference experience.’

Forum sessions Other major features of the EAGE Annual 2021 included the insightful I

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EAGE NEWS

discussions between leading figures in industry and academia held as plenary forums each day between technical sessions. Tuesday’s forum entitled ‘How the oil industry is addressing the energy mix to meet the goals of the transition era’ featured a stellar line up of Kevin McLachlan (TotalEnergies), Jan Schoolmeesters (TGS), Simon Flowers (Wood Mackenzie) and Michael Deal (ExxonMobil Upstream Integrated Solutions Company) highlighting digitalization, technology and collaboration with the service sector towards improving market and maintaining cost efficiency.

Wednesday’s forum tackled the challenges in meeting decarbonization goals and examining some of the current initiatives and emerging business models. Sophie Zurquiyah (CGG) and Elisabeth Birkeland (Equinor) discussed the ways in which their respective companies were shifting their competencies of geoscience and engineering towards creating material new energy businesses.

John Underhill (Heriot-Watt University) emphasized the need to advance on all possible routes, diversifying the sources of new energies to ensure reliability and a secure energy supply while Angus McCoss (DCarbonX) spoke about the importance of strategic partnering and collaboration in these efforts. Arno van den Haak (AWS) shared some of the complex data challenges associated with new energy businesses and the opportunities for digitalization to improve the ability to gather these diverse data sources and come to faster conclusions and decisions.

The forum series ended on Thursday with a discussion on how the changing energy landscape will affect education, training, qualifications, and career structures of geoscientists and engineers. This is an increasingly urgent issue for both academia and an energy industry structure undergoing rapid change. Panellists consisted of Steven Warner (Schlumberger), Alexandra Myhre (Shell), Henk Jaap Kloosterman (RPS) and Ivan Vasconcelos (Utrecht University).

Exhibition In addition to a strong Technical Programme, networking at a conference is key. This year’s Annual was also a 4

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welcome occasion for the community to meet again and share the ways they - and their organizations - have been developing through the pandemic. At the Exhibition, we welcomed 150 exhibitors and had around 30 dedicated BizTalk sessions, through which our delegates could get the latest insights on market developments and services.

Community and student activities Being the focal point of the EAGE’s non-technical activities, the Community Hub was buzzing during the week. This year, the community area was divided up into two parts: the Hub, where delegates met and talked to EAGE representatives, and the EAGE dome, where a plethora of community activities took place.

Through our network of communities and local chapters, we explored inter-disciplinary connections in geosciences and exchanged experiences in a series of talks.

The session hosted by our Women in Geoscience and Engineering Community on ‘Inclusive Leadership in Action: Diverse Perspectives’ was an interactive group conversation about diversity, inclusion and leadership styles, with insights from management and business perspectives.

The Young Professionals session explored learning opportunities for early careers and skills needed in a world in transition. The Local Chapters (LC) session on ‘Uncertainty in Geosciences’ was a joint effort of LC London, LC Paris and LC Netherlands reflecting uncertainty in prospect assessment, seismic time-processing and interpolation.

Our Career Advice Centre continued its mission to assist delegates in their personal development and career outlook through interactive sessions such as mentoring, an advanced LinkedIn training, a mental fitness workshop and professional portrait shooting.

Students attending the Annual also found dedicated activities to navigate the next steps of their academic path. A special delivery of our Student e-Summit series brought together previous winners of the Laurie Dake and Minus CO2 Challenges to have them share their tricks of the trade. We also gathered local students in the Netherlands and student chapter representatives to meet and talk about

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their experience and offer them opportunities for social interaction with their peers.

Finally, no Annual would be complete without a Student Geo-Quiz! This year for the first time in its history we organized two quizzes, one for the student delegates attending the conference in-person and one for those attending online. Congratulations to the winners: Simone Probst (TU Delft), Ana Patricia Santana (University of Cambridge) and Carl Schiller (TU Delft) for the in-person challenge; Ebitimi Obiri (University of Aberdeen), Sofya Popik (Curtin University) and Ivan Perepletkin (Industrial University of Tyumen), who competed online.

Social programme Our Conference Evening was held at the National Maritime Museum (Het Scheepvaartmuseum) and it felt just like the good old days! With many exhibitions within the museum open to explore, delegates quickly managed to find their way around the building – as well as the Amsterdam, the replica of the 18th century trade ship.

Back in the main hall, colleagues got together, enjoyed a wide selection of Dutch traditional foods (from kroketbroodjes to stroopwafel cheesecakes and poffertjes) and danced the night away.

And let’s not forget all those who joined the Jam Session at the end of the night – you rocked it!

Feedback We were pleased to hear that so many of our delegates were happy that they got the chance to finally reunite and spend a week discussing what they’ve all been up to in the past year – all the novel research and developments they have achieved.

Mira Jangra, Strata Technologies, echoed the sentiment of many: ‘Great to be back at EAGE. Virtual events have been good but nothing beats networking inperson! Thank you to the team at EAGE for a well organized event.’

For the success of the conference, thanks are due to all delegates, committees, chairpersons, speakers, presenters, volunteers, exhibitors and sponsors.

Visit eage.org/news to read the daily recap.

We look forward to seeing you again next year in Madrid, 6-9 June.

NO MORE SEPARATION ANXIETY

DUG DEBLEND

Blended surveys provide a number of operational and technical advantages. In the OBN example pictured above, three triplesource vessels were firing within 15 km of each other. Such overlapping shots must first be separated to permit subsequent processing. DUG Deblend is our inversion-based solution which can reconstruct shots as if they had been acquired separately.

It generalises to a wide range of scenarios and can also simultaneously deblend seismic interference, which is simply an unintended form of blended acquisition. With DUG Deblend, there is no more separation anxiety.

(Data courtesy of AGS and TGS)

EAGE NEWS

Looking back at a great reunion

The doors are open.

Checking in.

Shooting hoops.

Welcome address by president Dirk Orlowsky.

At the Exhibition.

Discussion in progress at plenary forum on education and career opportunities.

Cocktail hour at the Exhition.

Enjoying Dutch traditional food during the Icebreaker.

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Welcome at the Community Hub.

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Wanna try bitterballen?

Best photos of the EAGE/EFG Photo Contest 2021.

EAGE NEWS

at the Annual in Amsterdam

An e-poster session attracts a crowd.

Conference dome in the Exhibitiion.

Game over for Geo-Quiz contestants.

What it’s all about: a chance to debate.

Presentation at the Digital Transformation Area.

Dancing in the dark at the Conference Evening.

Handover from Amsterdam Local Advisory Committee to Madrid team.

Peek into Conference dome.

Some of the Award winners at the Opening.

Senior Executive Managers’ Lunch.

EAGE house band takes the stage.

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Ship in the night.

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EAGE NEWS

Join the discussions at our upcoming second conference on seismic inversion

Cityscape on the Douro River and Dom Luis I Bridge.

The second EAGE Conference on Seismic Inversion taking place in Porto, Portugal and online on 7-9 February 2022 will be

much anticipated following the successful first online event in 2020.

This will be an opportunity to bring together an international audience of top specialists in the geoscience community covering a wide range of topics - from case studies to technological advances, from more conventional seismic inversion aspects to inverting for wavelets and joint multi-geophysical data inversion to contributions from machine learning in seismic inversion settings.

The event should be of interest to geoscientists working in both industry and academia. Seismic inversion is a key process used extensively in exploration, production and geohazard studies.

Inversion provides a way to visualize and analyze data at higher resolution than standard seismic, facilitating the estimations of reservoir properties, and acting as a link between rock physics and seismically interpreted structure models, ultimately improving the interpretation efficiency.

The conference will include three days of technical sessions highlighting various applications and methodologies used in the industry. It will bring together geoscientists with experiences in conventional and unconventional resources, carbonates and clastics, and provide opportunities for an exchange of knowledge.

The intent of the conference is to discuss and demonstrate examples of current progress, recent breakthroughs and future trends in seismic inversion methodologies and their applications. Participants will be able to share their experiences and ideas hopefully to reach a better understanding of the value of seismic inversion along with identifying the limitations and areas for improvement.

Registration for the conference is open and participants can attend either in-person or online. All interested parties are encouraged to sign up before 16 January 2022 to save on registration fees. More information on the event can be found at www.SeismicInversion2022.org.

Overlooked naturally fractured reservoirs subject of Asia-Pacific workshop The promise of more hydrocarbon production from naturally fractured reservoirs in the basement rocks of some Asia Pacific regions will be the focus of an EAGE online workshop on 15-16 March 2022.

The workshop entitled ‘Naturally Fractured Reservoirs in Basement Rocks with Geological-Geomechanical-Geophysical Insights’, supported by HAGI (Association of Indonesian Geophysicists) and IAGI (Indonesian Association of Geologists), takes as its starting point that exploration and development in basement reservoir has up to now been very limited or exclusive, e.g., only in such places such as the Cuu Long Basin, Vietnam, Suban, South Sumatra basin, Indonesia and Malay Basin, Malaysia.

There are plenty of potential targets around Asia Pacific, but basement reser8

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Workshop will take a fresh look at SE Asia geology.

voirs are considered as high-risk exploration targets and the exploration task is challenging. As a consequence, the proposal to develop the basement rock reservoir is less attractive and has a lower priority compared to other traditional prospects.

The workshop is designed to revive interest in the topic and should make for a rewarding discussion. Abstract submissions are welcomed until 26 December 2021 with the following topics on the

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agenda: geodynamic, tectonic and regional studies; E&P case studies, Reservoir modelling and characterization in naturally fractured reservoirs, IOR scheme in naturally fractured reservoirs, Seismic attributes and interpretation, and more which can be found on the event website.

Submit your abstract and be part of our speakers’ line-up and take the virtual stage to share your professional insights with our delegates globally.

Shallow Water

Hybrid Acquisition

Deepwater

shearwatergeo.com/obs

EAGE NEWS

Time to get your abstracts in for Madrid 2022

Prepare for a sunny and warm EAGE Annual in Madrid in 2022.

Even though this year’s Annual Meeting in Amsterdam has just taken place, it’s time to get back to normal. That means we encourage everyone to already start thinking about their abstract submissions in order to participate in the 2022 Annu-

al Technical Programme in Madrid this coming June.

The EAGE Annual Conference & Exhibition 2022 will again play a role in outlining and promoting some state of the art case studies, research

and evolving technology that will make geosciences and engineers more competitive in the new energy transition environment. Reflecting the ever-changing landscape of the energy and geoscience industry, the chosen theme for next year’s event is ‘Leading Geosciences into a New Era’.

As ever, the conference is designed to include oral and poster presentations covering research and practice in a wide variety of disciplines including geophysics, geology, reservoir engineering, integrated subsurface, mining and civil engineering, digitalization and AI, HSE and sustainability.

We hope to see you there, so be sure to submit your abstracts soon. Find more details and learn how to submit at EAGEAnnual2022.org. The submission deadline is 15 January 2022, 23:59 CET.

EAGE Online Education Calendar START AT ANY TIME

VELOCITIES, IMAGING, AND WAVEFORM INVERSION - THE EVOLUTION OF CHARACTERIZING THE EARTH'S SUBSURFACE, BY I.F. JONES (ONLINE EET)

SELF PACED COURSE

6 CHAPTERS OF 1 HR

GEOSTATISTICAL RESERVOIR MODELING, BY D. GRANA

SELF PACED COURSE

8 CHAPTERS OF 1 HR

CARBONATE RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION, BY L. GALLUCCIO

SELF PACED COURSE

8 CHAPTERS OF 1 HR

1-3 DEC

LAND SEISMIC SURVEY DESIGN, BY P. RAS

SHORT COURSE

3 CHAPTERS OF 4 HRS

3-6 DEC

INTEGRATED GEOLOGICAL MODELS FOR ASSESSING UNCERTAINTIES IN PRODUCTION DATA, BY D. GUÉRILLOT

SHORT COURSE

4 CHAPTERS OF 4 HRS

6-10 DEC

OILFIELD GEOMECHANICS: APPLICATION TO DRILLING, COMPLETIONS, RESERVOIR, PRODUCTION, GEOLOGY AND GEOPHYSICS, BY D. WIPRUT

SHORT COURSE

4 CHAPTERS OF 4 HRS

7-10 DEC

ROCK PHYSICS AND COMPUTATIONAL GEOPHYSICS, BY J.M. CARCIONE

SHORT COURSE

4 CHAPTERS OF 4 HRS

14-17 DEC

GEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION OF GEOPHYSICAL DATA FOR MINERAL EXPLORATION, BY M. DENTITH

SHORT COURSE

4 CHAPTERS OF 4 HRS

14-17 DEC

MODERN SEISMIC RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION, BY T. THOMSEN

SHORT COURSE

4 CHAPTERS OF 4 HRS

17 JAN 17 FEB 2022

DEVELOPING DEEP LEARNING APPLICATIONS FOR THE OILFIELD: FROM THEORY TO REAL WORLD PROJECTS, BY B. MONTARON

EXTENSIVE COURSE *

5 CHAPTERS OF 1 HR

17 JAN – 17 MAR

GEOLOGICAL CO2 STORAGE, BY A. BUSCH, E. MACKAY, F. DOSTER, M. LANDRO & P. RINGROSE

EXTENSIVE COURSE *

7 CHAPTERS OF 1 HR

18-21 JAN

FULL-WAVEFORM INVERSION FOR HIGH-RESOLUTION RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION, BY D. GISOLF

SHORT COURSE

4 CHAPTERS OF 4 HRS

27-28 JAN

GEOSTATISTICAL RESERVOIR MODELING AND UNCERTAINTY QUANTIFICATION, BY J. EIDSVIK

SHORT COURSE

2 CHAPTERS OF 4 HRS

1-4 FEB

INTRODUCTION TO WATERFLOOD MANAGEMENT, BY I. SAAD

SHORT COURSE

4 CHAPTERS OF 4 HRS

* EXTENSIVE SELF PACED MATERIALS AND INTERACTIVE SESSIONS WITH THE INSTRUCTORS: CHECK SCHEDULE OF EACH COURSE FOR DATES AND TIMES OF LIVE SESSIONS FOR THE FULL CALENDAR, MORE INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION PLEASE VISIT WWW.EAGE.ORG AND WWW.LEARNINGGEOSCIENCE.ORG.

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EAGE Local Chapter Paris is the best ‘We are proud that our work during this challenging past year was recognized as we endeavored to provide much needed resilience and adaptation for the community.’ That was the reaction of the Local Chapter (LC) Paris team on receiving the news at the EAGE Annual Meeting 2021 in Amsterdam that they had won the title of Best Local Chapter of the Year.

The chapter stated it had presented ten online events in the past 12 months and many of these welcomed an international audience. ‘One of our goals was to increase the number of EAGE members in our local network and with the opportunity of collaborating with other Local Chapters online we succeeded at creating new worldwide connecting too. Another reason to celebrate was the installation of our new board. For the occasion, we gathered in the heart of Paris and were

thrilled to meet again and share new in-person moments.’

The first event led by the renewed team has already rolled out. The new president of LC Paris, Ana Soles kick-started the event by presenting the new board members and collaborators - Analisa Campana and Laura Mozga - and encouraged others to join too.

Jérôme Massot then presented a talk on ‘Semantic AI and Knowledge Extraction in Geosciences, without GPT-3’. Massot is a senior geoscientist and AI researcher working in the Schlumberger Research Centre in Menlo-Park, California. His talk focused on searching and finding geoscience knowledge using AI. Keeping up with this momentum, the Chapter’s next projects will focus on the economics of renewables, hydrogen and digitalization. Keep an eye on the Linke-

Prize handover, from EAGE president Dirk Orlowsky to Jean-Jacques Biteau, ex-EAGE president, representing LC Paris.

dIn page to learn about all the initiatives the Chapter is preparing.

Best newcomer award goes to LC Netherlands

Dr Diego Rovetta receives award to LC Netherlands from EAGE president Dirk Orlowsky.

The EAGE Local Chapter (LC) Netherlands was awarded with the 2021 Best LC Newcomer Award during the EAGE Annual Meeting Opening Ceremony in Amsterdam.

Accepting the award from Dr Dirk Orlowsky, EAGE president, Dr Diego

Rovetta, the LC’s chairman, said: ‘I am really honoured and proud to receive this award on behalf of the EAGE LC Netherlands. It is the result of the hard work of the board committee but also of the continuous participation, support and passion of all the LC members.

We are a new chapter and I think we started well, but we want to do more and we are fully committed to continue to provide our service to the local geoscience and engineering community in the Netherlands.’

Between June 2020 and June 2021 EAGE LC Netherlands organized 10 events (additionally co-organizing two events with the EAGE special interest community on decarbonization and energy transition and one with LC Paris)

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with technical talks given by external professional and academic geoscientists and engineers, touching upon different topics including decarbonization and energy transition, artificial intelligence in oil and gas, the future of seismic acquisition and imaging, the effect of Covid-19 lockdowns on air pollution levels and global quieting of high-frequency seismic noise, etc.

The award consists of €1000 which will be used for the next LC activities, including the upcoming, possibly in-person, end-of-the-year event with a technical speech by Prof Jo van den Brand (Nikhef/Virgo) on seismic noise and subsurface characterization for gravity wave detectors. More information to follow soon, stay tuned!

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EAGE NEWS

Sign up for your 2022 student membership, free the first year

Calling students out there… Have you made any resolutions for 2022 already?

Maybe graduate and find a job or new degree? Or possibly you’d like to present your first research paper at an international conference? Run a marathon? If it’s about running, we just might not be the organization you want to talk to.

However, if you’re aiming to develop yourself in the field of geosciences and subsurface engineering, EAGE student membership is a great way to make your resolutions a reality. Here are four ways to make EAGE student membership work for you.

First. Tap into our multi-disciplinary resources. Solid conference abstracts require thorough research. As a student member of EAGE, you’ll have access to 75000+ proceedings through EarthDoc as well as the full backlog of the journal of your choice. Whether it is Near Sur-

face Geophysics, Petroleum Geoscience or one of EAGE’s other publications, we’re providing you with the knowledge to help you move your own research forward.

Second. Special student activities. As a leading professional EAGE community, we’re bringing you a large variety of events and projects each year to sink your teeth into - both online and in-person. So, whether you want to get the latest from our thought leaders during our student webinars or participate in our annual team challenges, we’ve got you covered.

Third. Present at upcoming EAGE meetings. With over 90 events scheduled in 2022 already, there’s a ton of opportunities for you to submit your research and get your name out there. Key highlights include the 83rd EAGE Conference & Exhibition in Madrid, St. Petersburg 2022 and NSG 2022 in Belgrade.

Fourth. Expand your network - around the globe. If you want to go far, go together. As a student member of EAGE you have the unique ability to expand your network within our community. Whether it is as a member of your own student chapter or through EAGE’s various special interest groups, joining communities is easy and highly rewarding.

To conclude, we believe all students should be able to benefit from these opportunities, we’re offering free membership to students joining EAGE for the first time. After the first year of membership, students can renew for only €25 (€12,50 when applying for hardship support).

If you’d like to see how you can make EAGE membership work best for you, make sure to go to EAGE.org/welcome to learn more about the benefits of becoming a 2022 member of EAGE.

EAGE Student Calendar 8 DEC

STUDENT E-SUMMIT

ONLINE

13 DEC

STUDENT WEBINAR ON GEOTHERMAL RESOURCES: FUNDAMENTALS, OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES, BY SULAMITH KASTL

ONLINE

JAN 2022

MINUS CO2 CHALLENGE FINAL ROUND

ONLINE

JUN 2022

LAURIE DAKE CHALLENGE FINAL ROUND

MADRID, SPAIN

6-9 JUN

83RD EAGE ANNUAL CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION (STUDENT ACTIVITIES)

MADRID, SPAIN

18-22 SEP

NEAR SURFACE GEOSCIENCE CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION 2022

BELGRADE, SERBIA

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION PLEASE CHECK THE STUDENT SECTION AT WWW.EAGE.ORG

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Netherlands LC discusses virtual reality applications in geoscience Joeri Brackenhoff of the EAGE Local Chapter Netherlands writes: Virtual Reality (VR) for Geoscience was the September topic for our local chapter meeting with two invited speakers Raymond Pols from Craytive Technologies and David Hodgetts from VRGeoscience.

After a brief overview on the history of VR over the past few decades, Pols gave us some insight into his experience with VR and what his company is working on to further develop the technology. He showed some of the applications of which

Collaboration between employees who are working on different continents, made possible by VR. (credit: Craytive Technologies).

enable the study of field exploration, such as examining borehole cores in VR. The technology is specifically designed to allow people who can be continents apart to collaborate on a project and discuss their work in an efficient manner. At the end of his talk, he presented a real time demonstration of the software in action, using VR goggles.

David Hodgetts started off on a similar note relating the history of VR. He worked with the University of Manchester for many years and during that time developed software that forms the basis of his current company. He showed the capability of VR to bring geological exploration directly to the office without the need for stepping into the field and how additional measurements and possibilities can be integrated into the workflow. This included capture of the software in action and once again showed how powerful of a tool VR integration can be.

After the two talks, there was time for questions from the audience. Our speakers

seemed to agree on a large amount of subjects, particularly with respect to VR interaction. For example, they stated that the use of virtual avatars to represent participants in the VR environment is beneficial for the experience as it helps people to envision that other people are physically present. Their view of the future of VR was positive and they both believe that due to the increasing demand for VR applications, the development of the field will accelerate in the coming years.

Overall, the event was a success due in large part to the synergy of the speakers. Their talks and discussion were insightful and audience reaction was very positive. The event is available on the EAGE YouTube channel, for anyone who is interested in this exciting new technology.

Stay informed about the chapter activities through the LinkedIn page https:// www.linkedin.com/groups/13690220/ and become a member by sending an email to eageLCNetherlands@gmail.com.

Geopressure to be theme of Petroleum Geoscience thematic collection Petroleum Geoscience is featuring a thematic collection based on proceedings of a virtual conference on the topic ‘Geopressure 2021: Managing uncertainty in geopressure by integrating geoscience and engineering’. The discussions were spread over three days, hosted by Durham University and the Geological Society of London.

Geopressure is the area of geosciences relating to rock and fluid pressures, where prediction is required for successful and safe drilling of boreholes for both production and injection of fluids and gases.

Traditionally the main application has been in drilling oil and gas wells, but prediction is also required for CO2 injection/storage, hydrogen storage as well as

operating conditions for deep geothermal energy schemes.

Themes to be explored in this new collection include: mechanisms which create abnormal pressure conditions (both overpressure and underpressure), and methods used to discriminate generating mechanisms; the link between pore fluid and fracture pressure, and calibration against field data; how is accuracy assessed and what are the implications for drilling as well as for estimates of seal integrity?; differences between pressure regimes in extensional vs compressional basins; and the impact of overpressure on reservoir quality.

Geopressure is a global phenomenon, and many of the papers explore data and FIRST

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interpretations using case studies from around the world. Accepted papers will appear on an ongoing basis at: https:// www.lyellcollection.org/cc/geopressure.

Guest editors are Richard Swarbrick, Stuart Jones, Nick Pierpoint and Graham Yielding.

Valley of Geysers.

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Aberdeen Local Chapter treads a virtual path

Series of illustrations from virtual field trip to the Isle of Skye.

As part of the Scottish Geology Festival in September, Nick Schofield, John Howell and Jessica Pugsley (University of Aberdeen) recently led members of the Aberdeen Local Chapter on a shortened version of a two-day virtual field trip to the Isle of Skye.

The field trip looked at the Triassic to Jurassic basin development and sedimentation spanning from classic touristic locations such as Kilt Rock, Elgol and Bearreraig Bay to Raasay outcrops, as well as understanding the effect of later Paleogene intrusive and extrusive volcanism on basin history. Comparisons to the Atlantic Margin allowed the audience the context of the petroleum geology of the Faroe-Shetland Basin and the UKCS. With 3D outcrops (freely available to the public at v3geo.com), well data, seismic data and gravity data, we saw communication of complex 3D information over a range of spatial scales, and, although it can

never replace the physical field trip and touching the rocks, it certainly felt an augmentation of the physical field trip approach (without the midges).

In October, Cedric Fayemendy (Equinor) presented a fascinating talk on the company’s experience in installing and running four permanent reservoir monitoring (PRM) systems on the Snorre, Grane, Johan Sverdrup and Johan Castberg fields. Getting away from presenting just the excellent results obtained from PRM (though we did see some of that), the talk concentrated instead on practical considerations of how to achieve successful projects, such as the need for organisational buy-in, multi-disciplinary teams and extensive planning times, e.g., concept to installation taking four years.

Practical considerations of running the systems were also discussed, such as ownership of containerized seismic sources, requirements for power and space on offshore platforms, dedicated data communication lines to shore, and automated systems wherever possible. With so many questions from the engaged audience, we regretted the online format not allowing us to ask more questions in the pub afterwards!

Pictures credit: Virtual Skye fieldtrip images using LIME | VOG Group (virtualoutcrop.com).

The EAGE Student Fund supports student activities that help students bridge the gap between university and professional environments. This is only possible with the support from the EAGE community. If you want to support the next generation of geoscientists and engineers, go to donate.eagestudentfund.org or simply scan the QR code.

Many thanks for your donation in advance!

D O N AT E T O DAY !

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Personal Record Interview

Pioneering entrepreneur in fibre optics shooting for the Moon Born in Iran, Mahmoud Farhadiroushan has been at the forefront of fibre-optic monitoring technology developments, first as an award-winning engineering student in the UK and then as a successful entrepreneur, currently executive director of Silixa, the company he co-founded in 2008. He was a Joint winner of Metrology Award in 2000, British Telecom Award in 2001, Institute of Physics Innovation Award in 2015, and Silixa won the Queen’s Award 2021 for Innovation.

Applications include borehole seismic and one day may include Moon operations.

Tell us about your transition from Iran to the UK In 1979, I decided to continue my studies in England. I did a crash course in English and took GCE exams in less than four months followed by my A-levels a year later. I was then accepted at Queen Mary College, London University to study for a BSc in electrical and electronic engineering.

You gravitated to fibre optics?

One of the areas of my research was on fibre-optic gyroscopes for measuring the Earth’s rotation and I had to learn a lot about the interaction of light and the fundamental properties of optical fibres.

Why did you leave Sensornet for a garage workshop?

I enjoyed working with Tom Parker at Kings College London on distributed optical fibre sensors and we had several joint patent applications. We co-founded Sensornet in 1998 and then received investment from Shell Technology Ventures (STV) in 2002 to commercialize the technology and expand the business.

The company grew from two people to 40 employees before we agreed on a timely exit and formed Silixa in 2007. Dr Sergey Shatalin from Moscow joined us as a co-founder. We converted the garage to a lab and used the studio above as an office.

Origins of the name Silixa?

Naming your business is very important and it was really difficult to find a name 16

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that you could trademark and register as a domain name, even ‘Dark Photons’. Silixa means Silica (glass) with the X factor!

Did you really buy equipment from e-Bay? During the 2008 recession many telecom labs were closing down and our equipment could be purchased and auctioned on e-Bay. We built the first prototype unit just before the visit by our first investor Don Riley from Chevron Technology Ventures. Don said that he was going to invest on one condition, whatever we did we should not sell the garage. Later we had to explain to the UK VAT authorities that we were going to keep the garage door and convert the garage to a museum.

We still have the garage, the door and the optical fibre cables installed in the garden.

Temperature monitoring to seismic: how did that evolve?

We thought that by using a distributed fibre-optic sensor we would have a digital array of acoustic sensors along the entire wellbore that can be used to record and localize the acoustic energy resulting from fluid flow and listen to the sound of production. After an initial successful trial, Mark Thompson from Equinor contacted us to do a seismic field trial offshore Norway. This was the entry point for Silixa into seismic applications.

Equinor invested in Silixa in 2012, after an investment by Lime Rock Partners in

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2010, to expand our business into seismic and geophysical applications.

What markets does the company address?

Besides oil and gas, 50% of our activity, Silixa has also been heavily involved in many early carbon capture utilization and storage projects. Other areas include mining, environmental and earth science monitoring.

Next stop the Moon?

The advances in Silixa’s Carina sensing system enabled with engineered Constellation fibre has attracted new scientific applications such as the detection of gravitational waves. The Moon, being far quieter than the Earth, provides ideal conditions for the search of gravitational waves. There are a number of ideas about the siting of an optical fibre sensing facility on the Moon that are being discussed with Prof Stavros Katsanevas, director at European Gravitational Observatory (EGO/VIRGO) Institute, and with other international partners.

Advice for entrepreneurs?

Enjoy what you do, know your markets, customers, and competition, learn how to negotiate, define your strategy and your business model, plan for success and make a commitment, build a team, manage the cash flow, build a track record and create competitive advantage, and take time off!

Mahmoud Farhadiroushan

PERSONAL RECORD INTERVIEW

Ocean Bottom Seismic

Advanced Acquisition Technologies

DEEP-WATER

HYBRID ACQUISITION

SHALLOW WATER

Shearwater delivers high-quality cost-efficient deep-water ocean bottom

Hybrid acquisition combines more than one technology, such as nodes and towed streamer,

Our Qseabed system is a cabled multicomponent ocean bottom seismic system with a

acquisition. Our current capabilities are based on established nodal technology,

to provide increased efficiency by removing the requirement of multiple vessels and crews.

global track record. Its single-sensor acquisition system is complemented by position

combined with a mix of Shearwater source vessels and leased ROV vessels.

This specific solution is particularly useful when working in areas where obstructions are

accuracy and industry-leading source options.

Our unique source offerings, operational excellence and HSE culture, makes Shearwater the first choice OBN provider.

To find out more about our Node solutions, unique triple source capability and Harmony, our new source technology with enhanced low frequencies, visit the Shearwater website.

shearwatergeo.com/obs

present and traditional acquisition methods would be problematic.

The Qseabed solutions support flexible survey design options, minimizing the

Shearwater is experienced in this type of acquisition, using its MPVs (Multipurpose Vessels),

acquisition footprint on irregularly shaped surveys while maximizing the fold, providing

which are equipped with node handling systems, towed streamer spreads and source

you with multiple high-quality 4D datasets.

arrays, reducing cost and increasing efficiency.

Call Shearwater to discuss your Hybrid solution requirements with our experienced teams.

To discover how our Qseabed system can reduce survey time, cost and equipment exposure for your acquisition surveys, speak to Shearwater today.

Shearwater has the world’s largest seismic fleet, consisting

The leading marine seismic company

With 50 experienced engineers and developers based at our Oslo Technology & Innovation Centre, we are constantly striving to develop the next generation of

of 27 modern, high-capacity vessels, fully equipped and able

acquisition technology, while improving efficiency and

to perform surveys across all acquisition segments.

quality, and reducing impact.

We have scale and global presence, which, in combination

These teams work closely with our commercial

with our low cost base, enables us to operate efficiently and

community to develop new technologies to add value

competitively for our global customer base.

to our work and that of our customers.

The flexibility and resilience of our crew and operating

Technology & Innovation

model ensures we are able to deliver exceptional surveys in exceptional circumstances.

Marine Acquisition

Processing & Imaging

Reveal Software

Led by a dynamic and flexible team of leading

Our proprietary software is modern, flexible and cloud

processing geophysicists, our inhouse processing and

ready. It is the most modern seismic processing software in the industry, providing time and depth processing and imaging, for both land and marine environments.

Reveal is used by leading Exploration & Production companies because it is easy, highly interactive and

Shearwater is a marine geophysical company that innovates

imaging division is a critical component, bringing us

collaboratively from sensor to image. The process of

closer to the core decisions of our customers.

development is a continuous loop, between people, technology

We have ongoing strategic partnerships with

and platform, involving hardware and software.

provides the right tools for fast technology innovation.

shearwatergeo.com

major oil and gas companies, collaborating using our cloud solution Monsoon.

Make sure you’re in the know

EAGE MONTHLY UPDATE CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

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REGISTRATION 25 December 2021 Early Fee - Saint Petersburg 2022 Conference & Exhibition 30 December 2021 Regular Fee - Second EAGE Digitalization Conference & Exhibition

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Good COP, bad COP The biblical counsel ‘Judge not, lest ye be judged’ comes to mind More is the pity that the fiery speech from Mia Motley, presiwhen considering the outcome of the COP26 (UN Climate Change dent of Barbados, which was received with a standing ovation, did Conference) in Glasgow that was finishing at the time of writing. not get the coverage it deserved. She pleaded: ‘What must we say It is so easy to be suspicious of all the pledges and commitments to our people, living on the frontline in the Caribbean, in Africa, in announced by world leaders and others at these potentially auspiLatin America, in the Pacific, when both ambition and, regrettably, some of the needed faces at Glasgow, are not present? What excuse cious occasions.

Do they really mean what they say? Can they actually carry out should we give for the failure?’ She warned a rise in temperature their undertakings? Will it be enough? These are of course the cruwould be the death sentence for the people of Maldives, Antigua, cial questions but only the passage of time will provide the answers.

Barbados, Fiji, Kenya, Mozambique, and Samoa. To stand by and Better perhaps is to rejoice that the meeting took place at all. let this happen would be immoral and unjust. Confronting the more Furthermore, participants appeared to convey a sense of engagethan 120 government heads present, she stated that the failure to ment, even urgency, not obvious at previous gatherings. That in come up with the $100 billion a year for vulnerable nations to cope itself was an achievement given the predictably sceptical media with climate change, a pledge made as far back as 2009, has deadly coverage given to reporting such events as another big junket for consequences. heads of governments, big business bosses, Hollywood activists, To be fair the critical media treatment of the main protagonists was even-handed. Notably Thunberg was taken to task for cheeretc.

First impressions of major international meetings rarely make leading crowds of protestors with profanity littered language. Her for good optics. This time world leaders were promise to go ‘net zero’ on swearing in future revealed a welcome sense of humour amid all seen to be hobnobbing (banquets and photo ‘First impressions of ops) at what seemed a largely pointless G20 the earnestness. major international warm-up meeting in Rome on Covid-19 and Biased reporting is not helpful when people climate change. It concluded with a predictably meetings rarely make have to decide for themselves what difference obfuscating communiqué bereft of meaningCOP26 is going to make in terms of limiting for good optics.’ ful commitments. The countries did agree on global warming to the current agreed target calling a halt to overseas funding for coal but of 1.50 C by 2050. In any event, your average not domestically, a proposal opposed by China and India as major person feels peculiarly hapless in affecting the outcome. Listing consumers and Australia as a significant producer.

‘Ten ways you can help fight climate change’, the David Suzuki On to Glasgow and a flurry of negative publicity to trivialize the Foundation, a reputable environmental protection organization in importance of the event, e.g., arrivals by private jet, unnecessarily Canada, suggests these somewhat anodyne but not untypical ideas large entourages, chaotic organization, etc. Most notable would for individuals to adopt: ‘Urge governments to take bold climate be pictures of both US President Biden and UK Prime Minister action now, Help raise climate ambition by painting your town Boris Johnson literally caught napping during the early conference with climate art, Use energy wisely — and save money too!, Eat proceedings. For this, they can hardly be blamed. The opening for a climate-stable planet, Start a climate conversation, Green speeches by heads of different governments were carefully crafted, your commute, Consume less, waste less, enjoy life more, Invest in but predictably bland, qualifying for the ‘Blah, Blah, Blah’ category renewables and divest from fossil fuels, Mobilize for local climate cited by the climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg. action, and Get politically active and vote’. Such resolutions may

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make people feel better about themselves but will not do much to the two superpowers and the internal politics of the US must surely change the dial on lessening global warming. undermine confidence in a meaningful outcome.

One further omission from COP26 was no formal representaYet polls in the developed world invariably show a clear majority wanting firmer, if unspecified, action on climate change tion granted to the oil and gas industry. Answering questions during by governments. What is striking is that in the flurry of pledges and the announcement of the company’s third quarter results, Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden said: ‘We were told we were not welcommitments made in Glasgow, there was no call for any compulsory change in lifestyle for the citizens of the world, particularly come.’ The absence of an industry voice seems extraordinary. How those living in wealthier nations. Politicians for obvious reasons can a sensible conversation about decarbonization be held without the input of the oil business. Only climate action zealots can imagine continue to shy away from prescriptions likely to alienate voters, that the world can abandon dependence on hydrocarbons overnight. for example, being cautious even in proposing the use of higher If there is an explanation it must be COP26 not wanting to be seen regulatory pricing to alter behaviour. Arguably, without a more beholden in some way to the oil industry, or trying to avoid mention interventionist approach in our everyday habits, the goals set by the of the several decades ahead when oil and gas will still be needed.

2015 Paris Accord will not be met.

Depressingly this mindset makes all the more challenging the oil Last minute wrangling may change the definitive commuindustry argument that it needs to be seen as part of the solution not niqué from COP26 agreed by attending nations. Numerous side just the problem. The case would certainly have been made by the agreements between groups of countries and major businesses on 500 or so lobbyists for fossil fuel companies reportedly present in decarbonization measures plus additional money from financial Glasgow, the single largest interest group. institutions may also add to the overall outcome. But curbing One immediate appraisal of COP26’s proceedings came from methane emissions, phasing out coal-fired coal, halting fossil fuel the International Energy Agency building on its World Energy Outfinancing (not just coal) and preventing more deforestation were the look 2021 published in October. It had calculated that the pledges early headliners. from more than 120 countries to lower their Rectifying the shortfall in the annual emissions fell short of the Paris 2015 agree$100 billion financial climate change aid for ‘The absence of an ment. Full implementation, itself an optimistic vulnerable developing countries was promindustry voice seems assumption, would result in the world heading ised by 2023. There seemed to be significant for 2.10 C by the end of the century. moves to strengthen accountability regarding extraordinary.’

Since mid-October, however, IEA said more nationally determined contributions (NDCs), countries had been raising their ambitions. In widely regarded as inadequate. NDCs are the particular Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had strengthened individual government commitments to climate actions, includthe country’s 2030 targets, and pledged to hit net zero emissions by ing climate-related targets, policies and measures required to be 2070. These announcements were limited to CO2 emissions, with updated every five years. The period may now be shortened. A more than 100 countries promising to cut emissions of methane by COP meeting in 2023 was also being floated to keep countries on 30% by 2030. In this new context, an updated analysis indicated track. that full implementation on time would be enough to hold the rise in When the agreed final statement from COP26 emerges, a fatal global temperatures to 1.8° C by the end of the century. IEA stated flaw will be the missing signatures of China and Russia. Both this was a landmark moment, ‘the first time that governments have countries stayed away from the main meeting. Nor is the status come forward with targets of sufficient ambition to hold global of the US presence, ranked the world’s second largest emitter of warming to below 2° C. greenhouse gases, to be regarded as reliable. President Trump Spoiling the party, Climate Action Tracker (CAT), said to be famously withdrew from the Paris 2015 Accord. With divisions so one of the most reliable data sources, warned that ‘Glasgow has deeply ingrained in the American electorate, President Biden will a massive credibility, action and commitment gap as the world is struggle to get any serious climate change legislation through both heading to at least 2.4 ̊ C of warming, if not more.’ It claimed that the House of Representatives and Senate. An early clue is that the with all target pledges, including those made in Glasgow, global US did not join with countries voting to end use of coal as a source greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 will still be around twice as high of power. No coincidence that Democrat Senator Joe Manchin, as necessary for the 1.5° C limit. currently holding the balance of power in the Senate, represents the Stalled momentum from leaders and governments on their coal producing state of West Virginia and has made clear his opposhort-term targets has narrowed the 2030 emissions gap by only sition to any coal restriction measures. Likewise the unexpected 15-17% over the last year. With 2030 pledges alone – without longer announcement in the final days of COP26 of an agreement between term targets – global temperature increase will be at 2.4°C in 2100. the US and China on ‘concrete and pragmatic’ regulations in decarTake your pick on which interpretation to bet. Neither is a bonization, reducing methane emissions and fighting deforestation winner. invites distrust. Although widely welcomed, the rivalry between

Views expressed in Crosstalk are solely those of the author, who can be contacted at andrew@andrewmcbarnet.com.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

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Stryde opens office in Dubai

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Shearwater wins African surveys

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US ramps up wind energy plans

Seismic companies start on road to recovery Seismic acquisition companies are reporting improved market conditions as the world emerges from the Covid pandemic and oil prices demonstrate sustained recovery.

Most of the big players, with the exception of PGS, reported either improved third-quarter net profits or considerably reduced net losses. TGS leads the way with a net profit of $19 million on revenues of $200 million in Q3 2021 compared to a net loss of $70 million on revenues of $58 million in Q3 2020.

oil companies continue to prioritize debt repayments, shareholder returns and energy transition-related investments, a higher oil price should eventually materialize in increased exploration investments.’

CGG, which has reported a thirdquarter group net loss of $17 million on revenues of $210 million compared to a net loss of $88 million on revenues of $178 million in Q3 202O, pointed to a big increase of multi-client sales. Multi-client segment sales of $92 million were up 26% year on year and up 149% sequentially.

Ramform Hyperion.

‘The frequency of licensing rounds globally is on the rise again, following an effective freeze of acreage awards during the pandemic. Furthermore, the order inflow has improved,’ said Kristian Johansen, CEO of TGS who added that TGS had committed to projects worth $55 million in the next few months. ‘The oil price has continued to increase, meaning that both oil companies’ cash flows and attractiveness of new investments are improving. Although

ION Geophysical, which has reported a third quarter net loss of $0.5 million on revenues of $44.4 million compared to a net loss of $16 million on revenues of $20 million a year ago, has reported a big increase in software maintenance renewal sales and towed streamer equipment spares as a result of increased offshore vessel activity.

Magseis Fairfield, which has reported a net profit of $0.6 million and an operFIRST

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ating profit of $4 million on revenues of $84 million, has also reported a backlog of $247 million. The company said it was benefiting from energy transition-related projects.

PGS cited continued low spending among energy companies impacting multi-client late sales as the reason for their third quarter net loss of $61 million on revenues of $132 million compared to a net loss of $33 million on revenues of $116 million in Q3 2020.

Rune Olav Pedersen, president and chief executive officer, said that it will not be until next year that recovery gains momentum. ‘PGS expects the oil price level and the ongoing global recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic to continue to drive a gradual demand improvement for seismic services,’ he said. ‘Energy consumption is expected to continue to increase longer term with oil and gas remaining an important part of the energy mix as the global energy transition evolves. Offshore reserves will be vital for future energy supply and support demand for marine seismic services. The ongoing contract market recovery is likely to also benefit from fewer seismic vessels operating in the international market compared to pre-Covid. Starting in 2022, we expect to see an increasing demand for seismic acquisition services related to carbon capture and storage projects.

PGS’ order book of $241 million is 50% higher compared to same quarter last year.

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TGS, CGG and BGP sign multi-client survey deal for offshore Suriname TGS, CGG and BGP have signed a multi-client agreement to acquire data in Suriname with the state-owned Staatsolie.

The deal will enable the consortium to acquire, promote and license multi-client seismic programmes, including new 3D acquisition and legacy data reprocessing, in the shallow water acreage offshore Suriname.

Suriname’s shallow offshore acreage includes three blocks recently awarded, and current open acreage slated to be offered in a competitive bid round for 2023. It is hoped that the new seismic data from the consortium’s multi-client programmes will be instrumental in delin-

eating the prospectivity and potential of this underexplored area – which is on trend with the recent material discoveries announced on the prolific block 58.

Plans are in place to start acquiring the 3D seismic data in the shallow offshore area from Q4 2021 with first products being made available during H1 2022.

BGP will deploy its 3D vessel BGP Prospector on phase one of the project.

Sophie Zurquiyah, CEO, CGG, said: ‘This major new programme marks our return to the Guyana-Suriname basin after our successful campaign in the Stabroek block. The resulting data will bring new insight and potentially extend

the trend of recent significant discoveries to the shallow waters of Suriname.

3D vessel BGP Prospector.

PGS signs digitization deal with MPE PGS has signed an agreement with a MPE (a JV of Mitsui and Preferred Networks Inc) to develop artificial intelligence (AI) driven solutions to improve accuracy of subsurface images and reduce turnaround time.

The companies will target improving subsurfacing imaging for oil and gas, carbon capture and storage, as well as for geothermal energy and offshore wind power.

PGS will contribute seismic data from its company’s global multi-client data library along with technical expertize, while MPE will lead the AI algorithmic development within a modern, scalable compute infrastructure. The collaboration aims to significantly reduce turnaround time needed to generate images of subsurface structures while improving accuracy.

Artem Lytkin, vice-president of New Energy Business Development at PGS,

said: ‘We seek to develop and deploy artificial intelligence methods to further strengthen our data processing and interpretation workflows.’

Yasuchika Maruyama, general manager, E&P Division, Energy Business Unit I of Mitsui said: ‘We look forward to combining our respective areas of expertise, to apply the power of digital technology to help create a more sustainable energy industry to the benefit of society.’

Shearwater launches Harmony seismic source technology Shearwater Geoservices has launched a seismic source technology for marine seismic surveys. Harmony provides enhanced low frequencies enabling better decisions for exploration, development and carbon storage monitoring applications, said Shearwater.

The technology has multiple applications, providing deeper seismic imaging, more realistic models of the earth’s subsurface and a more precise

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estimation of the reservoir properties for 3D and 4D applications, the company claimed.

‘We believe Harmony represents a significant upgrade to the quality of seismic data which will allow more accurate generation of models and images of the sub-surface and more precise characterization of rock and fluid properties. We are pleased to see that this technology has already attracted significant interest in the

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market with some very positive feedback from clients already testing it,’ said Shearwater’s chief technology officer Massimo Virgilio, who added that the technology was developed in close collaboration with energy companies who participated in trials. ‘Harmony comes after years of scientific investment to solve specific client needs and ambitions,’ he said.

Shearwater will make Harmony available across its fleet.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Recon completes Namibia survey Recon Africa and Namibian state oil company Namcor have completed the first-ever seismic acquisition programme in the Kavango Basin, in northeast Namibia.

The project comprises 450 linear kilometres of 2D seismic data. Some 150,000 hours of labour were utilized during the campaign, of which 80% was from Namibians recruited predominantly from local communities.

Polaris Natural Resources Inc, of Calgary, Alberta, was the principal seismic acquisition contractor. Data processing was carried out by Down Under Geophysical in Houston, Texas and Absolute Imaging in Calgary, Alberta. Processing of the seismic data and interpretation is expected to be finalized by early December.

Shiraz Dhanani, lead geophysicist, said: ‘ReconAfrica has successfully

drilled two important stratigraphic wells that clearly established the presence of a working petroleum system and conventional reservoirs. With the successful completion of this seismic programme, ReconAfrica intends to commence a multi-well drilling campaign in early Q1, 2022, targeting seismically defined traps and conventional reservoirs already encountered in the stratigraphic wells.’

Stryde opens offices in Houston and Dubai Stryde has opened offices in Houston and Dubai to respond to greater global demand for its nodal systems.

Over the last few months, the technology provider has signed a deal to provide Africa Geophysical Services (AGS) with 150,000 nodes for seismic projects – the largest deal for the company in the region and the highest-ever number of nodes used for seismic acquisition in a project in the Middle East.

In North America, Stryde has won a two-phase project to provide data for a carbon capture underground storage (CCUS) project.

The company claims to provide the smallest, lightest autonomous node on the market and, overall, more than 400,000 Stryde nodes have been delivered for high-density seismic acquisition projects across 17 countries.

To oversee further growth, Stryde has appointed Camilla Lapierre as chief technology officer and Kevin O’Connell as head of field operations.

Lapierre has more than 15 years’ experience of technical leadership in seismic and geoscience industries. She will develop the technical capabilities of Stryde’s nodal system and pursue the company’s mission to redefine the entry price to seismic data.

In his role as head of field operations based in Dubai, O’Connell will bring to bear his 30 years of experience in seismic technical support.

Stryde said that the growth of the business and its increasing market share

Magseis Fairfield and PGS target OBN market

– particularly in oil and gas – shows that demand for high-density seismic data is increasing, with oil and gas operators looking to maximize the value of both new and existing upstream projects.

Mike Popham, CEO, Stryde, said: ‘Ultra high definition seismic acquisition is revolutionizing complex geological imaging and enhancing modelling of existing reservoirs. It can dramatically increase the value of all upstream projects, including existing reservoirs and mature markets.

Magseis Fairfield has teamed up with PGS to target the growing hybrid towed-streamer and OBN seismic market. The strategic collaboration has a global scope with initial focus on the North Sea, with a duration of one year with options to extend by two plus two years.

‘The hybrid market is defined as the contemporaneous use of towed streamer and ocean bottom node acquisition technologies,’ said Rune Olav Pedersen, CEO of PGS. ‘We believe the strategic collaboration with Magseis Fairfield, the industry leading node company, will create a unique opportunity to take advantage of the untapped potential in the growing hybrid seismic acquisition market. We have experience from joint streamer and node projects. However, combining resources with Magseis Fairfield positions us much better to provide our clients with the best possible solutions.’

Carel Hoojkaas, CEO of Magseis Fairfield, said: ‘The combination of PGS’ high-end streamer and source technology and our proprietary innovative node technology will position us well to capture growth opportunities adding to our current node acquisition business. We see increased customer interest in hybrid surveys.’

Dubai. Stryde is active in the Middle East.

‘And it doesn’t need to be expensive, unwieldy, or slow. Seismic acquisition is now easier and more affordable than ever and, forward-thinking operators and seismic contractors are catching on.

Through our new office openings and senior hires, we are bringing our innovative seismic solutions to new markets.’

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CGG reports improved third-quarter results CGG has reported a third quarter group net loss of $17 million on revenues of $210 million compared to a net loss of $88 million on revenues of $178 million in Q3, 2020.

The company made an operating profit of $20 million compared with an operating loss of $43 million in Q3, 2020.

Segment revenue of $270 million was 35% up from $199 million in Q3, 2020 and up 71% sequentially. Segment operating income was $33 million. Segment EBITDA more than doubled to $118 million from $52 million in Q3 2020.

GGR segment revenue was $168 million, up 12% year-on-year and 53% sequentially.

Geoscience segment revenue was $77 million, stable year on year and up 5% sequentially. CGG said market recovery is being driven by high-end marine and OBN projects for reservoir optimization for IOCs. Orders are up by 10% year on year and 50% sequentially.

Multi-client segment sales were $92 million, up 26% year-on-year and up 149% sequentially. CGG had three vessels working on multi-client programmes, two in the Norwegian North Sea and one in Brazil. The company also had five reprocessing projects in the quarter including a new one in the Gulf of Mexico. Multi-client cap ex was $57 million. Prefuding for multi-client projects was $59 million at

a prefunding rate of 103%. Multi-client after sales were $32 million, down 4% year on year.

Equipment segment sales were $101 million, up 105% year-on-year and up 113% sequentially.

Sophie Zurquiyah, CGG CEO, said: ‘I am encouraged by our Q3 results and more importantly by the signs of the gradually increasing demand for our core businesses, supported by the strengthening macro-environment.

‘We are developing and commercially progressing a growing portfolio of business opportunities targeting digital geoscience, energy transition, environmental geoscience, and infrastructure monitoring.’

Shearwater wins surveys offshore Angola and South Africa Shearwater Geoservices has launched a 4D monitor survey for TotalEnergies at the Louro-Mostarda Development areas of Block 32, offshore Angola.

The survey comprises a two-month Wide Azimuth Towed Streamer (WATS) 4D monitor survey in the Louro-Mostarda Development areas of Block 32. The vessel Amazon Conqueror, equipped with the Isometrix multi-component streamer system, will be used for the survey, in

Amazon Conqueror vessel.

conjunction with the SW Tasman and SW Cook source vessels.

Shearwater conducted 4D survey work in Angola in H1 2021, also for TotalEnergies.

Meanwhile, Shearwater GeoServices has won a 3D seismic survey contract in South Africa for an unnamed client.

The four-month survey will acquire more than 6000 km2 of 3D seismic data and be acquired by the vessel Amazon Warrior.

TGS and Schlumberger shoot 3D survey offshore Egypt TGS has launched a 3D seismic survey in the Red Sea, offshore Egypt, in partnership with Schlumberger.

The 6800 km2 survey will be acquired with long offsets and processed using a Pre-Stack Depth Migration (PSDM) workflow to enable sub salt imaging ahead of the anticipated licensing round.

Final products are expected in Q4 2022.

Kristian Johansen, CEO at TGS, said: ‘The Egyptian Red Sea area comprises a

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range of prospective hydrocarbon systems with large, untested structures offering excellent growth opportunities for oil companies. Using modern acquisition and imaging technologies, we continue to improve subsurface understanding and increase exploration potential in a country that continues to attract investment from E&P companies.’

TGS and Schlumberger have a longterm commitment with the Egypt Ministry of Petroleum and South Valley Egyptian

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Petroleum Holding Company (GANOPE) to promote the prospectivity of the Egyptian Red Sea through the acquisition and processing of seismic data.

‘The Red Sea is considered to have significant hydrocarbon potential, and opportunities in Egypt are enhanced by a stable investment environment, established exploration infrastructure and regular, transparent and well managed licensing rounds,’ said TGS in a statement.

INDUSTRY NEWS

PGS reports third quarter net loss of $61 million

ModelVision Magnetic & Gravity Interpretation System All sensors Processing 3D modelling 3D inversion Visualisation Analysis Utilities

Minerals Petroleum Near Surface Government Contracting Consulting Education

Ramform Titan vessel.

PGS has reported a third quarter net loss of $61 million on revenues of $132 million compared to a net loss of $33 million on revenues of $116 million in Q3 2020.

The company made an operating loss of $30 million compared to an operating loss of $4 million in Q3 2020.

Segment operating loss of $40 million compared to a segment profit of $0.5 million in Q3 2020.

Segment multi-client pre-funding revenues of $35.3 million, with a corresponding pre-funding level of 101%, compared to $50.4 million and 89%, respectively, in Q3 2020 Cash flow from operations of $114.5 million, compared to $65.9 million in Q3 2020.

In the third quarter the majority of the company’s vessel capacity was utilized on proprietary contract work primarily in Northwest Europe and West Africa, which has led to a sequential rate improvement.

The Canada multi-client projects for two Ramform Titan-class vessels comprised most of the multi-client acquisition activity in the quarter. This is the 11th year in a row with solid multi-client projects offshore East Coast Canada. The overall pre-funding level for the quarter ended at 101%.

Rune Olav Pedersen, president and chief executive officer, said: ‘Multi-client late sales suffered from continued low spending among energy companies. With a strong oil price, increasing concern over energy supply and unsustainably low

investment levels, we expect sales from our multi-client data library to improve going forward, including a seasonal increase in Q4.

‘We have an order book of $241 million, which is an increase of 50% compared to same quarter last year. For our vessel operations, we are experiencing a seasonally lower activity level and some standby time after the end of the North Atlantic acquisition season. However, there is a healthy volume of contract sales leads and active tenders in the market. We expect the positive acquisition market sentiment experienced over the last quarters to extend into next year and we are already seeing strong demand for new acquisition during Q2 and Q3 2022.

‘We expect that segment revenues for the full year 2021 will be higher than for 2020. With the improving cash flow in Q3, increased cash position and a continued market recovery we expect to be in position to repay our 2022 debt maturities by cash flow and refinancing our 2023 and 2024 maturities, in line with the plan at the time of agreeing the revised maturity profile.’

PGS expects full-year 2021 gross cash costs to be in the range of $400-420 million. This year’s multi-client cash investments are expected to be approximately $125 million.

Approximately 35% of 2021 active 3D vessel time is expected to be allocated to multi-client acquisition.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

US publishes EIS on Cook Inlet leasing

Panoramic view of oil platforms in Cook Inlet, Alaska.

The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has published a revised draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for public comment on proposed leasing in the Cook Inlet off the coast of Alaska.

In compliance with an order from a US District Court, which ordered the Biden Administration to end a moratorium it had imposed on leasing oil and gas blocks, the draft EIS analyses the potential environmental effects of a proposed 2022

oil and gas lease sale on the federal submerged lands of Cook Inlet.

The area consists of 224 Outer Continental Shelf blocks towards the northern part of the inlet and covers approx.

1.09 million acres of seafloor, stretching roughly from Kalgin Island in the north to Augustine Island in the south.

The draft EIS analyses alternatives to leasing. It also analyses the leasing area’s environmental resources while identifying robust mitigation measures. In addition, it estimates the greenhouse gas emissions and their social cost.

The US Department of the Interior will use the findings to inform its decision on whether to hold the lease sale.

Oil and Gas round-up Equinor has discovered light oil at the Egyptian Vulture play in the Norwegian Sea in the Lower Cretaceous (Cenomanian) Intra-Lange formation. The top of the reservoir was at a vertical depth of 3684 m below sea level with 13 m net sand in a 37 m oil-filled gross interval. The upper part of the Lange sand interval has a high net-to-gross ratio. Data acquisition and preliminary analysis of the oil sample indicates very light oil. The operator’s preliminary estimate of recoverable resources is 19 to 63 MMboe (gross) and the oilin-place volume has been estimated at 220 to 440 MMboe (gross). Further appraisal could significantly increase the resource estimate for this laterally extensive discovery measuring approximately 80 km2 as defined by the seismic amplitude anomaly. The well was drilled 20 km from the Åsgard field and 23 km from the Kristin field.

Vår Energi has drilled wildcat well 7122/6-3 S about 10 km south of the 7122/6-1 (Tornerose) discovery in the Barents Sea and 100 km northwest of Hammerfest. The objective of the well was to prove oil and gas in the Realgrunnen Subgroup in reservoir rocks from the Late Triassic to Middle

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Jurassic Age. Well 7122/6-3 S encountered a 28-m oil and gas column in the Stø Formation from the Early to Middle Jurassic period, of which 22 m were sandstone layers of moderate-to-good reservoir quality. The discovery is estimated at between 1.4 and 1.9 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of recoverable oil equivalent. Water depth at the site is 427 m.

Longboat Energy has made an oil discovery with the Mugnetind exploration well in licence PL906 in the Southern North Sea. Exploration well well 7/11-14 S encountered hydrocarbons in the Upper Jurassic Ula Formation. The Ula formation was reached at a vertical depth of 3985 m below sea level and consisted of a 28 m gross section with 14 m of net sandstone of moderate-to-good quality.

The reservoir section in Mugnetind is thinner than predicted as a thick coal layer was encountered immediately under the reservoir.

Mugnetind was drilled on a seismic anomaly, which had been identified as either hydrocarbon-filled reservoir or coal. The find is estimated to contain recoverable resources of between 5 and 11 MMboe.

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Gazprom Neft and RusGazDobycha have signed a joint venture to develop the Tambeyskoye field in the Yamal Peninsula, with gas production scheduled to start in 2026. Gas contained in Tambeyskoye is characterized by high ethane content.

Aker BP has made an oil discovery 17 km southwest of the Bøyla field in the North Sea, and 230 km west of Stavanger. The primary exploration target was to prove petroleum in reservoir rocks from the Palaeocene in the Hermod Formation. The secondary exploration target was to prove petroleum in reservoir rocks from the Palaeocene in the Heimdal Formation.

In the primary exploration target, the well encountered the Hermod Formation in a thickness of about 75 m. A 38-m oil column was proven in a total of 20 m of sandstone, with very good to extremely good reservoir properties.

In the secondary exploration target, the well encountered a total of 34 m of aquiferous sandstone with good reservoir properties in the Heimdal Formation. Preliminary calculations show approx. 0.8 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of recoverable oil equivalent.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Fugro completes seabed geo-data for South African port expansion Fugro has completed a geotechnical site characterization project for DRA Global as part of the proposed expansion of Richards Bay port in South Africa. DRA Global contracted Fugro to acquire critical seabed geo-data required for the completion of preliminary engineering and design works. The project began with mobilization of marine assets from Bangladesh and

UAE to Richards Bay and was completed despite challenging ground conditions and Covid-19 restrictions.

The very soft soils encountered at depths of more than 40 m below the seafloor required an innovative solution for positioning the two geotechnical drill rigs safely. Fugro mobilized two bespoke modular self-elevating platforms (SEPs)

to acquire high-quality geo-data in a wide range of water depths.

Cobus Rossouw, principal marine engineer at DRA Global, said: ‘Fugro performed well under difficult circumstances, including challenging site conditions and intense focus on environmental management in sensitive areas, all while working in an operational port.’

Schlumberger reports upturn in Q3 revenue Schlumberger has reported third quarter revenue of $5.85 billion, up 4% sequentially and 11% year-on-year. International revenue was $4.68 billion and North America revenue was $1.13 billion Schlumberger CEO Olivier Le Peuch said: ‘The sequential revenue increase was led by double-digit growth in Latin America complemented by sustained activity in the Europe/CIS/Africa and Middle East &

Asia areas. In North America, revenue of $1.13 billion grew 4% sequentially and 9% year-on-year. The sequential growth was driven mainly by a strong seasonal rebound in land drilling, higher Asset Performance Solutions (APS) revenue in Canada, and an increase in drilling revenue in North America offshore.

‘The industry macro fundamentals have visibly strengthened this year, par-

ticularly in recent weeks with demand recovery, oil and gas commodity prices at recent highs, low inventory levels, and encouraging trends in pandemic containment efforts.

‘These favourable conditions are expected to materially drive investment over multi-year capital spending growth globally, both on land and offshore.

CGG, PGS and TGS create merged data library with a single log-in CGG, PGS and TGS have launched a unified seismic data ecosystem giving access to three of the world’s largest multi-client libraries via a single log-in.

Versal is an independent, secure, cloud-based, multi-client seismic data ecosystem where clients can easily access all their data and entitlements in one place. As a result, E&P teams can now capitalize on their interpretation and analysis workflows for subsurface projects by leveraging a seamless licensed data experience that takes minutes rather than days, enabling maximum efficiency and opportunity generation.

Sophie Zurquiyah, CEO, CGG, said: ‘Versal is unique in streamlining industry access to more than 70% of

the seismic multi-client market, through a vendor-neutral, cloud-based common ecosystem. We are pleased to offer clients an easier and more efficient way to access the data they need to identify new opportunities and optimize field performance.’

Rune Olav Pedersen, president and CEO of PGS, said: ‘We believe that energy companies’ workflows will be transformed with Versal, enabling them to achieve their goals through rapid access to secure cloud-based multi-client seismic data and entitlements.’

Kristian Johansen, CEO at TGS, said: ‘This landmark collaboration with CGG and PGS provides a foundation for our clients to universally view, access and FIRST

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build innovative subsurface workflows at the click of a button.’

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Exxon Mobil advances second phase of US carbon capture project

ExxonMobil LaBarge facility in Wyoming.

Exxon Mobil has requested bids for engineering, procurement and construction contracts as part of its plans to expand carbon capture and storage (CCS) at its LaBarge, Wyoming facility.

The $400 million expansion project will capture up to 1 million metric tonnes

of CO2, in addition to the 6-7 million metric tonnes already captured at LaBarge each year.

A final investment decision is expected in 2022 and will be based on several factors, including regulatory approvals.

Operations could start as early as 2025.

LaBarge currently represents nearly 20% of all CO2 captured in the world each year. The expansion will further mitigate emissions by capturing up to an additional 1 million metric tonnes of CO2 each year.

ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions is evaluating several other large-scale carbon capture and storage projects in the US Gulf Coast, Europe and Asia.

ExxonMobil said that it will continue to advocate for an explicit price on carbon to to help incentivize industry and governments to make further public and private investments, such as the LaBarge expansion, in the highest emitting sectors.

The International Energy Agency predicts that CCS could mitigate up to 15% of global emissions by 2040, and the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates global decarbonization efforts could be twice as costly without wide-scale deployment of carbon capture and storage.

Energy majors’ results round-up Equinor has reported adjusted earnings of $9.77 billion and $2.78 billion after tax in the third quarter of 2021. IFRS net operating income was $9.57 billion and the IFRS net income was $1.41 billion compared to a loss of $2.12 billion in the third quarter of 2020. At the end of the third quarter 2021, Equinor had completed 17 exploration wells with 6 commercial discoveries and 11 wells were still being drilled. Cash flow was $10.80 billion for the third quarter, compared to $3.34 billion for the same period in 2020. Organic capital expenditure was $5.89 billion for the first nine months of 2021.

Exxon Mobil has reported third-quarter 2021 earnings of $6.8 billion compared to a Q3 2020 loss of

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$680 million and up from earnings of $4.7 billion in the second quarter of 2021. Third-quarter capital and exploration expenditures were $3.9 billion (down from $4.1 billion in Q3 2020 and up from $3.8 billion in Q2 2021), bringing year-to-date 2021 investments to $10.8 billion. Quarterly earnings increased by $7.4 billion versus 2020.

The company anticipates future annual capital investments of $20 billion to $25 billion and a fourfold increase in low-carbon spend.

TotalEnergies has reported $4.8 billion adjusted net income and $8.4 billion cash flow for the third quarter, up 38% from the second quarter.

Shell has reported third quarter adjusted earnings of $4.1 million and its highest ever cash flow from operations

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of 17.5 billion. Cash capex is expected to be around $20 billion for 2021.

BP has reported a third quarter loss of $2.5 billion, compared with a $3.1 billion profit for the second quarter 2021. Underlying replacement cost profit was $3.3 billion, compared with $2.8 billion for the previous quarter Eni has reported third quarter operating profit of €2.5 billion adjusted Ebit and a €1.4 billion adjusted net profit.

Upstream production has recovered from maintenance and grown by 6% to $1.69 million boe/d in line with guidance. Free cash flow is more than €4 billion.

ConocoPhillips has reported third-quarter 2021 earnings of $2.4 billion compared with a third-quarter 2020 loss of $0.5 billion.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Magseis Fairfield reports third quarter operating profit of $4 million Magseis Fairfield has reported revenue of $84.3 million and a gross profit of $25 million in the third quarter 2021, driven by more projects and improved project mix. EBITDA increased to $19.7 million from $14.3 million in the previous quarter and $10.4 million in Q3 2020.

Operating profit was $4 million and net profit after tax was $0.6 million. The company has a cash holding of $26.2 million, and available cash of $41.2 million including undrawn RCF. Magseis Fairfield reported three contract wins to bring its order backlog to $247 million at end September.

In the quarter it introduced Echova, the first OBN technology platform, which started deployment in 2022 and carried out a pilot project over a windfarm area in Denmark.

‘We see growth opportunities as the current energy market indicates a need for increasing investments from our customers going forward. Our new Echova OBN technology platform will enable us to take a larger part of the value creation in this market.

In the third quarter, we continued the execution of our renewables strategy, and successfully mobilized and completed a pilot project over a windfarm area in Denmark, and are continuing to develop new opportunities in the renewables space,’ said CEO Carel Hooijkaas in Magseis Fairfield.

The company predicts 15% market growth in 2022. ‘Key opportunities remain in Europe, the Americas and Asia. Looking further ahead, the company sees 20% average annual growth in greenfield investments in 2022-25, with Magseis Fairfield uniquely positioned to offer OBN solutions into this growth market, the company said in a statement. ‘Magseis Fairfield also sees multiple tendering opportunities for renewables projects in 2022.’

TGS reports net profit of $19 million TGS has reported a net profit of $19 million on revenues of $200 million in Q3 2021 compared to a net loss of $70 million on revenues of $58 million in Q3 2020.

Operating profit was $35.5 million compared to an operating loss of $90 million in Q3 2020.

Net segment revenues were $61 million in Q3 2021, compared to $81 million in Q3 2020.

Free cash flow amounted to $6 million in Q3 2021, up from $4 million in Q3 2020. For the first nine months of 2021, free cash flow amounted to $108 million, compared to -$4 million in 2020.

‘Market conditions for multi-client seismic data continue to be challeng-

ing. E&P companies’ 2021 budgets do not allow for much spending beyond what was committed at the start of the year, meaning that the recent oil price increases so far have had little impact on spending levels.

However, with the increasing oil price combined with low cost of exploration-related services, the value proposition of exploration is approaching all-time-high levels, and we are starting to see some early signs of a recovery,’ said Kristian Johansen, CEO of TGS. ‘I’m pleased with the progress seen in our New Energy Solutions business, where we expect to generate approximately $10 million of pro-forma revenues this year.’

Searcher Seismic strikes deal to widen access to its data library Searcher Seismic has partnered with the Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia (PESA) to incorporate, store and present its entire technical data library on Searcher’s GeoClerk’s advanced geo-imagery search platform.

The partnership will provide users of GeoClerk, who are also PESA members, with the ability to access PESA’s technical library consisting of more than 4200 articles dating as far back as 1977.

The addition of PESA’s technical library to the GeoClerk platform complements the extensive back-catalogue of Australian geoscience and industry associations’ data provided by GeoClerk, said Searcher.

Alan Hopping, VP for Searcher, said, ‘The inclusion of PESA’s content, particularly the WABS archive, will provide PESA members with a level of access and functionality previously unavailable to active members.

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Alan Hopping, VP of Searcher.

leum databases provided by governments as well as institutional databases. Coinciding with the partnership with PESA, GeoClerk hit a major milestone with over 18 million images now searchable on the advanced geo-imagery search engine.”

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PGS, TGS and Western Geco start 3D survey offshore Malaysia

PGS vessel Ramform Sovereign is towing an innovative source.

A consortium of PGS, TGS and WesternGeco has started a multi-client 3D survey in the Sarawak Basin, offshore Malaysia.

The prefunded MC3D survey covers an 8500 km2 area in the West Luconia province of Sarawak. This area consists of Tertiary clastic and carbonate targets similar to

Sabah, being part of the greater northwest Borneo Sundaland geological province.

PGS vessel Ramform Sovereign is towing an innovative wide-tow source, a broadband multisensor GeoStreamer configuration of 14 streamers each 8025m long and with a streamer separation of 93.75 m, tailored to the targets and water depths in the area.

The acreage covered is included in the Malaysia Bid Round 2021 along with other open blocks.

This is the first phase of a multi-year contract awarded by Petronas in 2020 to the Sabah-Sarawak seismic consortium, through competitive bidding to acquire and process up to 105,000 km2 of multi-client 3D data over a five-year period in the Sarawak Basin.

The consortium is continuing prefuding talks.

ION reports third quarter net loss of $0.5 million ION Geophysical has reported a net loss of $0.5 million on revenues of $44.4 million in the third quarter 2021, compared with a net loss of $17 million on revenues of $19.7 million in the third quarter of 2020.

Year-to-date revenues were $78.1 million, an 18% decrease compared to $95.4 million one year ago. While the revenues generated in the third quarter 2021 significantly increased compared to the third quarter 2020, the increase was not enough to offset a one-time significant 2D data library sale during the first quarter 2020. Net loss was $31.2 million in the first nine months of 2021 compared to a loss of $24.1 million in the first nine months of 2020.

At September 30, 2021, backlog was $12 million.

‘Our third quarter results improved considerably, largely due to the successful execution of our 3D strategy,’ said Chris Usher, ION’s president and CEO. ‘Even in a challenging environment, our multi-client market share increased by approximately 50% primarily by launching new 3D programmes. Our team completed the 30

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second, much larger phase of Mid North Sea High and launched a third extension that is expected to conclude mid-November. In addition, we experienced strong sales of our newly reimaged 3D Picanha data offshore Brazil.

‘In Operations Optimization, our diversification strategy into ports and offshore logistics is gaining momentum with an increasing pipeline. We submitted our first multi-million-dollar country-scale digitalization proposals for the climate-smart digital infrastructure we are promoting with US government support for maritime detection, port management and illegal fishing. Two new client-driven Marlin SmartPort modules were launched that drive automation and efficiency and we received a grant to advance port decarbonization.

‘While the seismic market recovery remains uncertain, we expect momentum to continue into the fourth quarter due to conversion of existing backlog and a robust sales pipeline’ At quarter close, the company’s total liquidity of $35 million consisted of $24.1 million of cash (including net

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revolver borrowings of $19.4 million) and $10.9 million of remaining available borrowing capacity under the revolving credit facility, an increase compared to $32.8 million as of June 30, 2021.

E&P Technology & Services segment revenues were $35.8 million for the third quarter 2021, compared to $11.7 million for the second quarter 2021 and $10.1 million for the third quarter 2020.

Multi-client revenues were $32.5 million, an increase of approximately 250% from second quarter 2021 and an increase of more than 400% from third quarter 2020.

The increase in multi-client revenues reflects sales of newly reimaged 3D data offshore Brazil and our 3D programmes in the North Sea. Imaging and Reservoir Services revenues were $3.3 million.

Operations Optimization segment revenues were $8.6 million for the third quarter 2021, compared to $8 million for the second quarter 2021 and $6.1 million for third quarter 2020.

Consolidated operating expenses were $37.6 million, down from $44.5 million in the first nine months of 2020.

INDUSTRY NEWS

CO2 from fossil fuels up 5% this year says Global Carbon Project report Global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuels and cement have rebounded by 4.9% this year after a Covid-related dip of 5.4% in 2020, according to a Global Carbon Project report.

The Global Carbon Project estimates that fossil emissions in 2021 will reach 36.4 billion tonnes of CO2 (GtCO2), only 0.8% below their pre-pandemic high of 36.7GtCO2 in 2019.

Dr Glen Peters, research director at the Center for International Climate Research (CICERO), said the researchers ‘were expecting some sort of rebound in 2021’, but that it was ‘bigger than expected’. He added: ‘You could say the recovery packages have delivered

more in emissions than we were hoping – a little bit too dirty in the recovery packages and not enough low-carbon expenditure.’

The GCP study, which is not yet peer-reviewed, is the 16th annual ‘global carbon budget’. The budget also reveals that China and India both surpassed their 2019 emission peaks in 2021. Chinese emissions grew by 5.5% between 2019 and 2021, while Indian emissions grew by 4.4%.

‘However, oil emissions remain around 6% below 2019 levels and this persistent reduction is one of the main reasons 2021 emissions did not set a new record,’ says the report.

While fossil emissions are expected to return to near-record levels, the study also reassesses historical emissions from landuse change, revealing that global CO2 output overall may have been effectively flat over the past decade.

Previous GCP data showed global CO2 emissions increasing by an average of 1.4 GtCO2 per year between 2011 and 2019 – prior to Covid-related emissions declines. The new revised dataset shows that global CO2 emissions were essentially flat – increasing by only 0.1GtCO2 per year from 2011 and 2019. When 2020 and 2021 are included, the new GCP data actually shows slightly declining global emissions over the past decade.

Fugro completes geophysical investigation of Guyana-Suriname Basin Fugro has completed a geophysical site investigation for TotalEnergies off the north-west coast of Paramaribo in Block 58 of the Guyana-Suriname Basin.

The project sits approx. 150 km offshore in water depths ranging from 60 m to 2100 m and involved acquisition and analysis of geophysical data and geotechnical soil samples. Fugro will use this information to characterize site conditions and identify potential geohazards.

The nearly seven-month field programme was accomplished from the ves-

sel Fugro Brasilis using an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) for most of the geophysical data collection as well as piston and box corers for the seabed soil sampling. To streamline project delivery and reduce the carbon footprint, Fugro performed initial data processing and laboratory testing onboard the vessel.

‘This work represents one of Fugro’s largest site characterization programmes in the region in recent years,’ said Brian Hottman, Fugro’s director for the Caribbean and Pacific South America.

ExxonMobil signs carbon capture deal in Indonesia ExxonMobil and Pertamina, the stateowned energy company for Indonesia, have signed a deal to evaluate the potential for carbon capture projects in Indonesia.

They will identify potential subsurface CO2 storage locations; examine the feasibility of transporting CO2 in South-

east Asia and partner with universities on research and development studies.

The companies have developed technology for carbon capture, utilization and storage, and low-carbon hydrogen. By jointly examining subsurface data, the companies expect to identify geologic formations deep FIRST

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underground that could be suitable to safely store CO2, and the potential for safe, commercially viable utilization of CO2.

‘There are opportunities in Indonesia and throughout Southeast Asia,’ said Joe Blommaert, president of ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions.

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US ramps up offshore wind energy plans The US has announced three milestones in its quest to develop 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030.

The Department of the Interior will propose a lease sale for wind energy development in the Carolina Long Bay area offshore the Carolinas; initiate an environmental review of Mayflower Wind’s proposal for a commercial wind energy project offshore Massachusetts; and request information to further assess commercial interest in wind energy leasing in the Gulf of Mexico. The department is seeking public input on all three proposals.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) completed its review of a construction and operations plan (COP) for the Vineyard Wind project earlier this year, has 10 more underway, and plans to complete another five or more reviews by 2025 (for a total of at least 16 COP reviews). In addition to preparing for a lease sale offshore the Carolinas, the administration is preparing for lease sales in the New York Bight and California next year and is working with states, tribes and stakeholders to explore wind potential offshore the Gulf of Maine, Oregon, Hawaii and the Gulf of Mexico.

BOEM is requesting public input on a proposed lease sale in federal waters

Vineyard Wind 1 Offshore Wind Farm, Massachusetts, USA.

in the Carolina Long Bay area offshore the Carolinas. The proposed lease area consists of approx. 127,865 acres and includes the majority of the Wilmington East Wind Energy Area, which has the potential to unlock more than 1.5 GW of offshore wind energy and power more than 500,000 homes.

Prospective bidders must submit qualification materials by 3 January 2022.

Mayflower Wind has submitted a plan to construct and operate up to 147 wind turbines and up to 5 offshore power substations approx. 30 miles south of

Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, and 23 miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts.

The proposed project has the potential to generate more than 2 GW of energy, enough to power 800,000 homes.

BOEM will publish a call for information and nominations to further assess commercial interest in, and invite public comment on, commercial wind energy leasing in a proposed area in the Gulf of Mexico. The area consists of almost 30 million acres just west of the Mississippi River to the Texas/Mexican border.

Fugro wins contract to conduct airborne geo-survey of Ireland’s coastline Fugro has won a contract to capture high-resolution lidar geo-data along Ireland’s southern and western coastline and create a detailed 3D elevation model. The project has been commissioned by the Republic of Ireland’s Office of Public Works (OPW) to deliver a consistent, uniform and up-to-date baseline elevation model of this part of the Irish coast.

The OPW has commissioned Fugro to deliver a baseline survey of 1798 km² of Ireland’s south and west coasts to identify areas at risk of coastal change and flooding.

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To ensure maximum coverage of the target area, Fugro is currently acquiring the lidar geo-data using a specialist survey aircraft and high-resolution lidar sensor during low tide conditions. The use of airborne lidar technology offers many advantages over traditional survey techniques, including the capture of increased volumes of geo-data during faster cycle times, reduced safety and technical risks, and the potential for simultaneous multisensor geo-data acquisition, said Fugro.

Huug Haasnoot, Fugro’s director for land asset integrity in Europe and

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Africa, said: ‘Airborne lidar is ideal for achieving detailed mapping along complex coastlines and the nearshore. The geo-data acquired by Fugro will form part of OPW’s strategy for seamless elevation mapping coverage extending landward and seaward of the coastline to help determine where future interventions are needed to best manage coastal change and the risks from more frequent extreme coastal storm events.’

The survey includes the Unesco world heritage site at Scellig Mhichil, which is managed by OPW Heritage Services.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Woodside wins permit for 4D survey offshore Australia Woodside has won a permit to shoot a 4D baseline marine seismic survey (MSS) over the Scarborough, North Scarborough and Jupiter gas fields in the Carnarvon basin offshore northwestern Australia.

The 80-day survey, covering permit areas W-61-L and WA-62-R, is expected to be completed no earlier than 1 January 2022 and by 31 December 2023.

BRIEFS The Australian Government is seeking feedback (by 14 December) on areas nominated by industry for inclusion in the 2022 Offshore Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release. Energy companies have nominated Bonaparte Basin, Browse Basin, Northern Carnarvon Basin and Gippsland Basin.

The extent of the active source area is approx. 5650 km2 and the operational area is approx. 9200 km2. Water depths within the active source area and operational area range from ~800m to 1150 m. The operational area is approx. 201 km WNW of the Montebello Islands and Barrow Island, 188 km northwest of Northwest Cape and 245 km northwest of Onslow.

The UK Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has awarded a carbon dioxide appraisal and storage licence to Harbour Energy. The licence will cover an area in the southern North Sea off the coast of Immingham in northeast Lincolnshire. Harbour proposes using the depleted Rotliegend gas fields, Viking and Victor, c.140 km from the Lincolnshire coast to store the CO2 in deep geological formations c.9,000 ft below seabed.

Rockwash and Earth Science Anaytics combine to digitize drill cutting samples Rockwash Geodata has agreed with analytics and machine learning company Earth Science Analytics (ESA) to combine technical expertise and software to ‘transform vast quantities of dormant oil and gas data into high-value digital assets’.

Having long been overlooked and stored in geological core repositories, many drill cutting samples remain accessible only through physical visitation with many often unwashed and coated in drilling fluids. As a pioneer in the field of national cuttings digitalisation, Rockwash Geodata has brought these geological resources into the digital environment. With an emphasis on the collection of repeatable data from every sample in every well, many thousands of data points are gathered throughout the entire stratigraphic section, generating an excellent candidate dataset for computer-driven deep learning techniques.

The collaboration will combine ESA’s web-based cloud-native geoscience software and Rockwash’s geological expertise. In the first project under this partnership, Rockwash Geodata experts have taken a proprietary database of cuttings photographs and, using ML workflows from ESA, categorized the photos in terms of bulk lithology to create a fully labelled dataset of cuttings sample photographs.

By combining these newly created digital inputs with a quality assured set of traditional log suite curves prepared

by ESA, they have generated a set of high-quality rock property predictions which can be used to build larger, reservoir-scale interpretations.

Jack Cawthorne, co-director of Rockwash Geodata, said: ‘We have spent several years fighting the corner for cuttings as a crucial geological resource that is undervalued and have refined our procedures to ensure our data is produced as consistently as possible.’

Tatiana Moguchaya, CEO at Earth Science Analytics, said: ‘This collaboration paves the way for the practical application of cuttings data in daily subsurface workflows by demonstrating how the value of these, quite literally, tiny fragments of data, can be unlocked when augmented with machine learning techniques.

‘The activity will support a well cuttings scale interpretation workflow that is essential for good business decision making, not only in oil and gas exploration, but also for sub-surface CO2 storage and mining industries.

We have already identified a broad scale of application areas, where this technology will enable and accelerate the industrial digital transformation, as an opening up for new business opportunities.’

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ExxonMobil has announced plans to invest more than $15 billion in initiatives to lower greenhouse gas emission and help the company meet its 2025 emission-intensity reduction goals by the end of this year – four years earlier than anticipated. A significant share of the spending will be directed toward its Low Carbon Solutions business.

Hydro and Shell have agreed to explore the potential for joint projects producing hydrogen from renewable electricity. The ambition is to use the hydrogen to help decarbonize Hydro’s and Shell’s own operations, and to supply customers in heavy industries, the maritime sector and road transport.

Providence Resources has completed a seabed, shallow geophysical and environmental baseline survey at the Barryroe field, which lies under 100 of water in the North Celtic Sea Basin and is located 50 km off the south coast of Ireland.

Equinor has unveiled its design for a floating wind concept. Wind Semi, its semisubmersible floating wind foundation design for full-scale gigawatt (GW) floating offshore wind, will allow for industrial standardization, the company said.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

CGG launches monitoring solution for tailings storage facilities CGG has launched TailingsPulse, a smart mine monitoring solution for improving the management and safety of tailings storage facilities (structures that contain the residue left from mining operations).

The multi-method monitoring solution provides mine operators with actionable intelligence throughout the lifecycle of Tailings Storage Facilities (TSF).

Dave Priestley, VP, Energy Transition & Environment, CGG, said: ‘Tailings-

TailingsPulse multi-method monitoring solution provides a range of integratable data, including realtime monitoring. (courtesy of CGG).

Pulse eliminates blind spots and helps mine operators optimize TSF management and mitigate associated risks. Its launch builds on our successful MineScope Earth observation intelligence service.’

TailingsPulse offers processing and analysis of Earth observation data, which delivers remote, wide-area monitoring of the surface characteristics and behaviour of a TSF. Detailed 3D multi-physics imaging – of drone, airborne or ground data – provides subsurface attributes related to structure, seepage and ground water contamination. Enhanced monitoring is provided by Sercel S-scan passive seismic technologies and real-time measurements of strain and temperature, for early warning of evolving hazards deep within the TSF. TailingsPulse has been launched after the introduction of a Global Industry Standard on tailings management.

The predicted surge in demand for critical metals needed for the energy transition, and the associated increase in

mining waste production, is intensifying the focus on TSF management and safety, said CGG. Meanwhile, CGG has licensed its Northern Viking Graben, multi-client seismic dataset in the Northern North Sea to the consortium Northern Lights JV DA, for use in its CO2 storage developments.

Northern Lights is developing the world’s first cross-border open-source CO2 transport and storage infrastructure network to offer CO2 storage as a service to customers across sectors in Europe to help the transition to net zero emissions. Its aim is to help industries mitigate emissions that cannot be avoided in other ways, and to provide safe and permanent storage of CO2 under the seabed in Norway.

Dechun Lin, EVP, Multi-Client, CGG, said: ‘This is an excellent example of the geological insight our subsurface data and outstanding imaging technologies can bring to growing industries, such as CO2 storage and geothermal energy,’

Egis buys ambient noise-based seismic monitoring pioneer Sisprobe Egis has acquired the ambient seismic noise monitoring and imaging start-up Sisprobe.

Sisprobe claims to be the only company in the world focused on ambient seismic noise processing for industrial applications, using algorithms and know-how resulting from 20 years of research conducted at the Institute of Earth Sciences (ISTerre) at Grenoble Alpes University, France.

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natural sources (wind, sea swell, etc.) or human sources (urban or industrial noises).to produce high-resolution images of the sub-surface.

Sisprobe applies its technology to petroleum, mining, geothermal, geo-engineering, water resources, and geo-hazards. Its acquisition enables Egis to consolidate its offering in geotechnical and geodynamic expertise, opening up new avenues to innovative structural-monitoring methods.

Luc Boutonnier, director of geotechnical operations at Egis, said: ‘The acquisition of Sisprobe is a genuine opportunity for Egis to offer our clients innovative solutions to meet installa-

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French academics developed the technology.

tions safety requirements, or to acquire crucial data for the development of certain mining or geothermal energy projects. This technology will develop the overseas market, most notably in the US.’

Special Topic

DATA MANAGEMENT AND PROCESSING Geoscientists are continuously reinventing processing and reprocessing of seismic data in order to extract more information about the earth’s substructure and improve imaging.

Coupled with this ingenuity are rapid developments in computing power and machine learning aiding geoscientists’ application of complex algorithms to process data more effectively.

These developments are also facilitating integration with other data types, such as well logs and potential method information, to give a complete subsurface picture.

This month we look at the impact of technology on techniques such as Full Wave Inversion and how the latest technology is enabling geoscientists to get so much more from legacy data.

Yang Yang et al describe a new seismic inversion workflow to simultaneously invert for velocity and reflectivity.

Jean-Yves Blanc et al give an overview of oil cooling systems for data processing centres Kalashnikov Nikita et al describe a unified automated pipeline for first break and acquisition geometry control with deep learning models and find that it sped up both tasks while not compromising quality.

R.J.J. Hardy et al reveal what can be achieved from modern reprocessing of legacy regional 2D data using modern broadband and depth imaging techniques.

Paul Gibb et al present a new technique to carry out fast searches of large datasets.

Bin Wang et al compare and contrast LSRTM and FWI and conclude that the process of generating the FWI-imaging essentially amounts to nonlinear, data-domain inversion.

Alexey Dobrovolskiy goes through the steps required for successful processing of multisensor surveys and present possible workflows and solutions.

Submit an article

Special Topic overview January

Land Seismic

First Break Special Topics are covered by a mix of original articles dealing with case studies and the latest technology. Contributions to a Special Topic in First Break can be sent directly to the editorial office (firstbreak@eage.org). Submissions will be considered for publication by the editor.

February

Reservoir Monitoring

March

Modelling / Interpretation

April

Unconventionals and Passive Seismic

May

Global Exploration Hotspots

June

Geoscience & Engineering in the Energy Transition

It is also possible to submit a Technical Article to First Break. Technical Articles are subject to a peer review process and should be submitted via EAGE’s ScholarOne website: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/fb

July

Digital Transformation in Geoscience

August

Near Surface Geo Mining

September

Reservoir Geoscience and Engineering

October

Delivering for the Energy Challenge: Today and Tomorrow

November

Marine Seismic & EM

December

Data Management and Processing

You can find the First Break author guidelines online at www.firstbreak.org/guidelines.

More Special Topics may be added during the course of the year.

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CALENDAR

CALENDAR OF EVENTS 1-3 FEBRUARY

Second EAGE Digitalization Conference and Exhibition

Vienna, Austria www.eagedigital.org

December 2021 1‑2 Dec

First EAGE Rock Physics Workshop in Latin America www.eage.org

Online

1‑3 Dec

Third EAGE Eastern Mediterranean Workshop www.eage.org

Larnaca and online

Cyprus

3 Dec

EAGE-BVG-FKPE Joint Workshop on Hydro- Thermal- Mechanical Modelling (THM) and Ground Truth www.der-geothermiekongress.de

Bochum

Germany

5‑9 Dec

4th Edition: AAPG/EAGE Siliciclastic Reservoirs of the Middle East www.aapg.org

Online

5‑9 Dec

23 rd World Petroleum Congress: Exploring Innovative Energy Solutions www.23wpchouston.com

Houston

7‑9 Dec

SEG/EAGE Workshop on The Deliberate Search for Stratigraphic Traps: Has it Come of Age? www.seg.org

Online

9 Dec

Geothermal Energy - ‘New Opportunities for the Middle East’vv www.eage.org

Online

United States

February 2022 1‑3 Feb

Second EAGE Digitalization Conference and Exhibition Leadership, Technology and Business of Tomorrow www.eagedigital.org

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Vienna

Austria

CALENDAR

7‑9 Feb

Second EAGE Conference on Seismic Inversion www.seismicinversion2022.org

Porto and online

Portugal

14-16 Feb

EGYPS

Cairo

Egypt

17 Feb

Fifth EAGE Naturally Fractured Reservoirs Highlight www.eage.org

Online

17-18 Feb

GeoTHERM Expo & Congress www.geotherm-offenburg.de

Offenburg

Germany

21‑23 Feb

International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) 2022 https://2022.iptcnet.org/

Dhahran

Saudi Arabia

1‑3 Mar

EAGE Middle East Geomechanics Workshop Lessons Learned & New Frontiers www.eage.org

Abu Dhabi and online

United Arab Emirates

2‑4 Mar

2 nd EAGE/SEG Workshop on Geophysical Aspects of Smart Cities www.eage.org

Hong Kong

China

15-16 Mar

EAGE Workshop on Naturally Fractured Reservoirs in Asia Pacific www.eage.org

Online

21‑23 Mar

Fourth EAGE Workshop on Well Injectivity/ Productivity and Reservoir Management in Carbonates www.eage.org

Doha

Qatar

4‑6 Apr

EAGE GeoTech 2022 Second EAGE Geoscience Technologies and Applications Conference and Exhibition www.eage.org

London and online

United Kingdom

11-14 Apr

Saint Petersburg 2022 10 th International Geological and Geophysical Conference Geosciences: Time for Change, Time for Chance www.eage.ru

St. Petersburg and online

Russia

25-29 Apr

Engineering and Mining Geophysics 2022 Conference & Exhibition www.eage.org

Gelendzhik and online

Russia

25-29 Apr

Engineering and Mining Geology 2022 Conference www.eage.ru

Gelendzhik and online

Russia

4-5 May

Seismic 2022 Seismic 2022 and Beyond – The Continuing Role of Seismic in the Energy Industry www.spe-aberdeen.org

Online

30 May 4 Jun

Joint Workshop Meeting APSLIM II and 19IWSA www.sw3d.cz

Želiv

Czech Republic

83 rd EAGE Conference & Exhibition www.eageannual2022.org

Madrid

Spain

www.egyps.com

March 2022

April 2022

May 2022

June 2022 6-9 Jun

August 2022 8‑12 Aug

GeoBaikal 2022 www.eage.ru

Irkutsk and online

Russia

22‑24 Aug

Third EAGE Marine Acquisition Workshop www.eage.org

Oslo

Norway

EAGE Events

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