EAGE Newsletter Asia Pacific

EAGE NEWSLETTER

ASIA PACIFIC

Issue-1 2018

2019 is shaping up to be a more fruitful year

We are improving our connection with you

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s EAGE President for a second term, I am very pleased to be able to greet once again our Asia Pacific community of geoscientists and engineers, even though circumstances are not of my making. Unfortunately, our Vice-President-Elect felt unable to meet the commitments of a year as President and withdrew, so the EAGE Board felt the best course of action was for me to continue for another year.

In the last year the EAGE Board has been very focused on tailoring our offerings to service the needs of our members, but keeping within the limits of the resources available to us. In some regions, we have had to cancel or postpone some events if not well enough supported. We are also more actively seeking to partner with other professional societies to avoid unnecessary duplication of similar events. This prudent strategy is paying off in that we can now report a sustainable positive budget, which was a priority for me when I first took office.

Those of you who were able to participate in the impressively well attended Annual Conference and Exhibition in Copenhagen will know that the other important directions for EAGE are encouraging diversity in our disciplines and managing the evolving transition from fossil fu-

By Jean-Jacques Biteau, EAGE president (2018-19)

els to more environmentally friendly sources of energy. For example, in the conference technical programme we have achieved a better geoscience balance with more attention devoted to geological topics. More generally, we are funding a number of green initiatives, the latest being a Minus CO2 Challenge inviting students worldwide to come up with ‘green’ solutions for future oil and gas development. I hope students from universities in the region will consider taking part either in 2108 or, if too late, in the years to come. This, after all, is the future.

In my new term of office I look forward to seeing the continued development of the EAGE’s Asia Pacific office as we place a great deal of importance in extending our reach in the Asia Pacific region where I know our services are appreciated. The last few years have not been the easiest to engage with those geoscience and engineering communities impacted by the long downturn in the oil industry. Hopefully, the worst is over and we will be able to bring more events and learning opportunities to the region.

Already I must commend the Asia Pacific office on a number of ‘firsts’. We held a wellreceived first workshop in China on unconventionals. We collaborated with SEG in a first joint event in KL on multi-component seismic.

Another first was the symposium on carbonates held in Sarawak with Petronas. Particularly welcome was the great reception we received Read more on p. 2 ➤

Our service to members in the Asia Pacific region has just got better!

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s part of a reorganization, EAGE’s Asia Pacific office in Kuala Lumpur is to have a broader role in taking care of all members’ queries and requests including membership, registration to events and questions about the many other services and opportunities available within the EAGE portfolio (not just in Asia Pacific but from all over the world).

Read more on p. 2 ➤

What's inside New country advisor in China

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First Big Data Workshop comes to APAC

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EAGE/SEG Workshop on Marine Multi-Component Seismic 6 And more …

EAGE UPDATE

2019 is shaping up to be a more fruitful year Continued from p. 1

from the many participants attending our first near surface meeting in Yogyakarta organized with our Indonesian partner HAGI. The followup 2nd Asia Pacific Meeting on Near Surface Geoscience & Engineering is already scheduled for KL next year from 23-26 April 2019.

In fact, 2019 promises to be an exceptionally busy and fruitful year. In the first quarter of 2019, we can look forward to a workshop on Sub-Basalt Exploration and Foothills Imaging in India, a workshop on Big Data and Ma-

chine Learning in KL, the 11th edition of IPTC in Beijing, a workshop on Managing Deepwater Assets in E&P through Geosolutions in Brunei, plus workshop on Rift Basins in KL. Keep a look out for further events for 2019, because I understand there are plenty of announcements to come on events and services from which members in the region can benefit.

I am personally hopeful that we make everything the EAGE has to offer more accessible by the new initiative to establish a Shared Service Centre in KL, which is tasked to provide a higher, more professional level of service, al-

lowing staff more autonomy to meet the specific needs of members in the region.

With the change in our internal structure and the programme ahead I expect us to deliver an expanding quality service. This includes the unquantifiable value of EAGE membership, which creates networking opportunities with fellow professionals and contact with companies and institutions. We welcome your feedback.

Meantime let’s work together to promote our professions and overcome the challenges that have beset many companies and individuals in the past few years.

We are improving our connection with you Continued from p. 1

Gerard Wieggerink, regional manager Asia Pacific, said: ‘We are excited to be able to deal better with all our members’ needs; and since the Shared Service Center is located also in Malaysia, we can serve our members at a local and regional level even better. This will help us to build on our growing EAGE geoscience

EAGE Newsletter Asia Pacific Executive Director Marcel van Loon (ml@eage.org) Regional Manager Asia Pacific Gerard Wieggerink (gw@eage.org) Account Manager Advertising & Subscriptions Daan van Ommen (don@eage.org)

and engineering community in the Asia Pacific region.’

The new service arrangement establishes EAGE’s Shared Service Center (SSC), an accountable entity in the internal organization of EAGE tasked to provide a higher, more professional level of service taking account of local needs to members and delegates. The dedicated SSC has its own manager in Farmaz Somu, an experienced customer service manager. He said: ‘We have set out on a journey to ensure we continuously deliver world class quality service to our requestors who are both EAGE members and non-members. Our mission is to ensure all queries which come to us are resolved in a professional and timely manner.’

In practice, this means that the SSC staff in Kuala Lumpur will be assigned responsibilities to take care of specific member questions,

action points and general questions covering the full spectrum of EAGE activities. As part of the SSC duties it will also develop closer relations with all EAGE offices to ensure a professional and uniform service. For example, regional EAGE Education and Student Lecture Tours will come more directly within the ambit of the SSC but operating in close cooperation with other regional offices and HQ in the Netherlands.

Another benefit for the Asia Pacific region will be that the SSC, located in Malaysia, will allow membership and registration payables and receivables to be dealt with locally.

Should you require any assistance from our end, you may reach out to us at the following email addresses: Registration: registration@ eage.org; Membership: membership@eage.org; General: eage@eage.org.

Corporate Relations Manager (APAC) Shavin Kunju (sku@eage.org) Asia Pacific Office EAGE Asia Pacific Sdn. Bhd. UOA Centre Office Suite 19-15-3A No. 19, Jalan Pinang 50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Tel: 603 2722 0140 Fax: 603 2722 0143 E-mail: asiapacific@eage.org Website: www.eage.org Submission of articles communications@eage.org Newsletter on the Web (www.eage.org)

Looking forward to being more responsive to member requests.

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EAGE NEWSLETTER ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE-1 2018

EAGE UPDATE

Meet our new country advisor in China There can be no better way of reaching out to local communities than having an inspirational presence in their midst.

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hat’s why we are excited to welcome Hendrik (‘Henk’) Rebel to the EAGE family as the new Country Advisor for China. After over 30 years with Shell, Henk recently joined the Beijing-based company Geosciences and NBD of AE&E Technologies which specializes in combining geomicrobial and geochemical technology surveying for hydrocarbon detection from surface soil or sea bottom sediment samples.

In his career with Shell, Henk held some 14 different positions in E&P geology, geophysics and management in eight different countries with nine years of this time in China.

With over his 30 years of experience in the national oil and gas industry, Henk’s contacts

Henk Rebel receiving an award for his SLT at the President’s Evening in Copenhagen

and good relations with service providers and universities will be invaluable for advising on

technical collaboration, strategy, partnership, education, and training to support future EAGE China and Asia Pacific initiatives.

‘After my years of working internationally for Shell, I feel this is the perfect time for me to come and give back as well as to share my experiences with younger technical professionals and provide lectures to students’, Henk says.

At the EAGE Annual Meeting in Copenhagen, Henk received an award at the President’s Evening for his 2017 Student Lecture Tour in China entitled ‘Raising the bar: How gamechanging technology and “4G” integration can improve exploration success and ways-ofworking’.

UTP students win Best Student Chapter award

Winning team in the EAGE Laurie Dake Challenge, at 80th EAGE Annual Conference, Coopenhagen, EAGE UTP Group Picture with Jean-Jacques Biteau, president, EAGE, Professor Michael Pöppelreiter, EAGE

Denmark.

vice president, Gerard Wieggerink, EAGE Asia Pacific manager, Professor Deva Prasad Ghosh, head of Centre of Seismic Imaging, UTP.

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tudents at the Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) in Malaysia have won the coveted award for the Best EAGE Student Chapter Worldwide. The announcement was made at the 80th EAGE Conference & Exhibition 2018 in Copenhagen in June.

The EAGE UTP Student Chapter have become the first Student Chapter from an Asian university to receive the prestigious award. Sathes Kumar, president of the Student Chapter, said: ‘For such a young club only established in March 2015, this was more than acknowledgement of the goals we have achieved. It was recognition of our members’ hard work, ceaseless dedication towards establishing a network of

like-minded people, and finally, the promise to deliver more!’

The UTP Student Chapter students have expressed heartfelt gratitude to its supportive community, its dedicated student members, its advisor, Prof Michael Pöppelreiter, and EAGE Asia Pacific for its continued support. The aim of the Student Chapter is to provide a platform for both geoscientists and engineers to participate in a global network of commercial and academic professionals with a diverse range of interests, and pursuits activities including conferences, workshops, publications, and educational programmes, designed with the intention to evolve the frontiers of geoscience. An

EAGE NEWSLETTER ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE-1 2018

From left, Gerard Wieggerink, EAGE Asia Pacific manager, Sathes Kumar, president of EAGE UTP, Syafiq Md Noor, vice president of EAGE UTP with the mock cheque of Best Student Chapter Award.

exciting year is in prospect as a new team of office holders take over the Student Chapter’s leadership.

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EAGE UPDATE

First Big Data workshop comes to APAC

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AGE is proud to announce that the inaugural ‘Big Data & Machine Learning Workshop for E&P Efficiency’ - BDML 2019 - will take place from 25-27 February 2019 in Kuala Lumpur.

The oil and gas industry has accumulated huge amounts of data during the last 50 years and new data is being acquired at an increasing pace every year. The workshop will be the perfect place to present and discuss leading edge big data and machine learning applications, and to better understand the future potential and impact of these technologies on our industry. To add more spice to the BDML 2019, the EAGE Earth Hack Hackathon will also be held during the meeting!

The event is the first of its kind in Asia Pacific and we are excited to confirm participations by Saudi Aramco, Woodside, Shell, PETRONAS, Repsol, CGG, Schlumberger,

Connections of the future!

Halliburton, IBM, Nvidia, AWS, etc. Check www.eage.org for the latest information on

the workshop programme, the EAGE Earth Hack Hackathon and how to register!

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18/10/2018 13:32

EAGE NEWSLETTER ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE-1 2018

EAGE UPDATE

Thinking out of the box at unconventionals workshop in China

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here better than a workshop on unconventionals to stage a ‘thinking out of the box contest’? That was the conclusion of the organizers of the EAGE Workshop on ‘Unconventionals in China: the next 10 years’ held on 12-14 September 2018 in Cheng Du. Special thanks to FracGeo and Baker Hughes as the Main Sponsors and PetroChina and GGRE as the Event Sponsors.

Three teams entered the competition called ‘The 1000-BCM Contest’. They were challenged to propose solutions to force hydraulic fractures to initiate in a vertical plane perpendicular to the horizontal well despite the strike-slip stress regime in Sichuan basin.

The issue is highly relevant because insufficient shale gas production in some horizontal wells in Sichuan basin could be due to the low productivity

Runner-up team at work.

of horizontal hydraulic fractures. Indeed, wells in this region do not frac the same way they do in US fields, and this is creating a major headache for operators in China.

The teams only had one day to solve this critical problem.

One team had a good time discussing and arguing about the problem but preferred not to come up with any official solutions. The other two teams came up with some interesting concepts: • Perforation phasing: 1800 vertical was one suggestion, with the other team going one step further by proposing a star-shape perforation pattern with perfs all in the same plane perpendicular to the wellbore.

• Fishbone drilling prior to fracking: drill laterals up and down in a vertical plane, for example using coiled tubing drilling.

• Drill two parallel horizontal wells in a vertical plane – similar to SAGD, and frac them at the same time with pairs of perfs along the same vertical line.

• Controlled explosions prior to fracking, for example using the perforation phasing idea a combined with explosive propellant technology.

Winners who thought out of the box.

The star-shape perforated stages

• Drill and frac a dragon-shaped well (going up and down in a vertical plane). However, somebody pointed out that such a well would be a nightmare to produce!

Over 60 participants attended this highly successful workshop which included 38 oral and poster presenters. The majority of attendees were from China providing EAGE with some good exposure. There were also representatives from Australia, Canada, Netherlands, France, Iran, Malaysia, Poland, Russia, and the US.

Beijing is hosting 11th IPTC event

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he 11th edition of the big International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) is being held on 26-28 March 2019 at the Beijing International Convention Centre. It is being co-hosted by China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Saudi Aramco with the theme ‘Partnership and Innovation: The Silk Road towards a Sustainable Energy Future’. Over 4000 energy professionals are expected to attend.

Founded in 2005, IPTC is the flagship multidisciplinary technical event in the Eastern Hemisphere. IPTC is a collaborative effort between AAPG, EAGE, SEG and SPE. The synergy of these four leading individual member societies provides the most comprehensive opportunity to form multi-disciplinary committees. IPTC seeks to disseminate knowledge across the oil and gas exploration and production industry, showcasing new and current technology, and best practices across multiple disciplines, emphasising the im-

11th IPTC programme selection meeting.

portance of collaboration to identify and deploy innovative solutions to maximise assets.

IPTC is renowned for bringing technical professionals and industry experts together, from exploration geoscientists to production engineers. The programme committee consists of subject matter experts from all sponsoring societies, who have set high selection criteria for the papers to be presented at this conference, ensuring an unrivalled quality for this multi-session programme.

EAGE NEWSLETTER ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE-1 2018

With over 30 technical categories, most of them diverse and multi-disciplinary in nature, the organizers believe that the topics are representative of the issues and challenges facing the industry today.

Panel discussions with industry leaders and technical sessions will address a broad range of topics and challenges including: ‘Industry Cycles: What Have We Learned?’, ‘Emerging Technologies – Beyond Cost Saving and Creating Efficiency’, ‘The Role of Gas in the Future Energy Mix; What’s Next in Unconventional?’ and ‘Industry 4.0: What’s in it for Our Industry?’.

Highlights of the event include: 10 dynamic CEO plenary and panel discussion sessions; three engaging ‘Ask the Expert’ sessions; four Integrated Project Award and case study sessions; 70 multi-disciplinary technical sessions; over 500 technical presentations; and two educational programmes.

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EAGE UPDATE

Workshop finds challenges remain for successful marine multi-component seismic surveys Over 90 delegates from 27 organizations representing 14 countries took part in the joint EAGE/SEG Workshop on Marine Multi-component Seismic held on 27–29 August 2018 in Kuala Lumpur. This is what transpired. seismic apparition and compressive sensing were presented. Both techniques, although based on very different assumptions, allow efficient simultaneous shooting and high fidelity data deblending.

Another opportunity for the use of ocean bottom nodes is their hybrid application in conjunction with more conventional streamer survey. This solution is perfectly suited in areas clustered with platforms, to avoid coverage

Participants attending the EAGE/SEG Workshop on Marine Multi-component Seismic 2018.

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he first keynote speaker was Dr Lee Bell who gave a historical perspective on seabed acquisition and the use of shearwaves in marine seismic. He was followed by Ashraf Khalil who presented a treasure trove of case histories from PETRONAS involving the many shallow gas pockets offshore Malaysia that obscure the underlying geology when using P-wave only. PETRONAS has been one of the prime users of multi-component marine seismic, primarily as a way to image through these gas clouds with S-waves.

Chris Walker (Seabed Geosolutions) presented the ‘State of the Art of Ocean Bottom MultiComponent Data’ focusing on surface wave inversion (SWI) to map shallow S-wave velocities with full waveform inversion (FWI) joint PP-PS reflection tomography applied in the North Sea Alwyn field OBN survey.

Joseph Jennings (Stanford University) showed a multi-component ‘Deblending of Marine Data using a Pattern-based Approach’ based on multi-dimensional prediction-error filters (PEFs). The method was first tested on synthetic numerical examples and then applied on field data from the Mediterranean Sea. The approach achieved a three times signal-to-noise ratio improvement.

Shamsul Shukri (Petronas Carigali) highlighted ‘OBS Technology Application in PETRONAS - Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow’. OBS has been a key technology adopted by PETRONAS with its first application since 2004. Full wave

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(PP and PS) datasets were acquired to improve seismic imaging below shallow gas in Malaysia.

OBS acquisition technology has also witnessed a move towards OBN (ocean bottom nodes) offering better advantages in operational flexibility and seabed coupling. Future directions include more simultaneous source tests for PP and PS dataset implementations and compressive sensing as another promising technology for testing.

Sooyoon Kim (Korea Maritime and Ocean University) showcased using decomposed Pwavefield for multi-component data. This involves full waveform inversion in time domain for decomposed P-wavefield using stress tensor followed by application of a pseudo-hessian and back-propagation technique. Numerical tests on synthetic data show improved inversion results.

The session on ‘Advances in Marine Survey Design and Data Acquisition’ started from where we should always start when planning a seabed acquisition: accurate modelling.

Through a combination of ray-tracing and finite difference modelling we can ensure that the survey delivers the desired outcome. Considering the costs of ocean bottom surveys, planning for success is a fundamental step.

Improvements in the efficiency of ocean bottom nodes are required in order to make these surveys suitable to a wider range of application. This was a common theme throughout the workshop. Innovative techniques such as

gaps in 3D and 4D surveys.

The session on ‘Data Acquisition and Processing Case Histories’ consisted of four presentations beginning with a hybrid solution using nodes and streamers to obtain coverage over an area with infrastructure. The main challenge was overcoming spatial aliasing by interpolating receiver node using a 5D method, followed by an implementation of FWI and Q-model compensation. This was followed by a study in Berau Bay, Indonesia where strong currents affect the ability to use towed streamers. In the latest 2018 survey, ISS OBN was acquired after a forward modelling exercise, and resulted in improved imaging through a karsted carbonate using FWI .

Common challenge of imaging The third presentation covered the common challenge of imaging through shallow gas, in this case over the Bokor field in Malaysia.

Elastic wavefield propagation simulations were performed to understand illumination issues and optimize acquisition design. The imaging results showed an uplift in the PP data, but a disappointing PS image which is still under investigation. Finally a Brunei survey acquired in an area of dense surface facilities using OBN technology and towed streamers overcame the effects of shallow gas and converted wave noise through careful processing including the use of pattern recognition algorithms.

Accurate modelling In the session on ‘Advances in Multi-component Seismic Imaging’ various vendors showed that continued efforts to improve joint P and S model building help to leverage the benefits of PS data. WesternGeco provided a good

EAGE NEWSLETTER ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE-1 2018

EAGE UPDATE

overview of its latest progress which includes joint PP/PS tomography, essential to ensure consistency of anisotropy parameters. Another promising approach is using interface waves to obtain shallow S-velocities. In addition, initial results of elastic FWI were shared. The key challenge here is to make this technique affordable.

CGG demonstrated PS processing with a range of technologies applied on multiple field data examples to solve specific and important PS imaging challenges. The company emphasized the need for converted waves from the point of view of basic physics and mathematics and showed the impact of PP-PS acquisition and processing on interpretation and reservoir characterisation. Processing can also help to overcome acquisition limitations to provide a more usable PS image at a lower acquisition cost.

SWIM method examples PGS presented theory and examples of extending improvements in shallow imaging employing their SWIM method downwards using least squares migration (LS-FWM). This enables generation of seismic volumes suitable for geohazard assessment from conventional surveys. In addition PGS showed the effect of point-spread functions (PSFs) and how these can successfully compensate for illumination differences in the migrated domain.

The ‘Data Interpretation Case Histories’ session was composed of three presentations detailing case studies from projects in the Danish North Sea, Vietnam, and Malaysia. Christian Proud (QEYE) presented the results of a PP-PS simultaneous AVO inversion of OBS data where the imaging beneath a gas cloud was improved.

Fong Cheen Loh (CGG) presented the challenges and results of a PS depth imaging project from the Cuu Long Basin, Vietnam. Finally, Camellia Onn (PETRONAS)discussed the value and improvement in imaging and understanding realized through application of multi-component seismic on a brown-field project in Malaysia.

‘Is the Industry Fully Up to Leveraging Marine Multi-Component Seismic Data?’ was the question for a distinguished panel moderated

by Sandeep Chandola, custodian & head (geophysical acquisition) in Petronas Exploration.

Eric Andersen, head of geophysics solutions, Petronas Exploration, referred to the growth of 4C seabed seismic technology offshore Malaysia for imaging below shallow gas and emphasized the need for closer collaboration between oil companies, service providers and the R&D institutes.

Dr Lee Bell, a well-known authority in converted wave data processing and imaging, discussed the processing of the first converted wave dataset acquired by Petronas in 200809 and the major developments in PS imaging during the last decade.

Dr Chris Walker, chief geophysicist, Seabed Geosolutions, explained why there are so few converted wave applications in the industry. He touched upon issues like dense wavefield sampling required to achieve good quality PS imaging, the high cost of data acquisition and the challenges in PS data processing which lead to low motivation amongst the oil companies for converted wave applications.

The final presentation in the panel session was by Chu-Ong Ting, senior vice president technology, CGG. He highlighted the need to develop innovative workflows and digitalization to efficiently process large volumes of multi-component seismic datasets.

Discussion themes In the discussion that followed themes that emerged were ‘the need to adopt innovative technologies like simultaneous sources’, ‘compressive sensing’, ‘surface wave inversion’, ‘marine sources with improved low frequency response’ and ‘how to reduce the turn-around time for processing of PS datasets through smarter workflows and digitalization and enhanced collaboration amongst the oil companies, equipment manufacturers, service companies and R&D institutions’.

The ‘Multi-Component Streamer Technology’ session allowed three leading geophysical contractors to present applications that went beyond the traditional broadband benefits.

Andrew Long (PGS) showed how separated wave-field imaging can improve the cross-line

sampling of towed streamer surveys and presented an impressive shallow imaging result from Brunei. He emphasized that recording high quality multi-component data should go hand-in-hand with high end imaging solutions like least squares migration to maximize the value of these technologies.

Rupam Chakraborty (WG) highlighted the interpolation capability of three-component streamers and demonstrated its effectiveness on a large 3D survey offshore Sabah shot in the strike direction despite steep dips and a large streamer separation.

Triple-source blended mode Shivaji Maitra (CGG) discussed the first commercial survey shot with Sercel’s SentinelMS cable offshore Malaysia in a triple-source blended mode and required cross-line interpolation as well as deblending.

Finally, Michelle Tham (WG) showed the results of a large survey acquired in the Northwest Shelf, Australia using continuous line acquisition. It required specific attenuation of turn-noise on all multi-component sensors.

Four interesting papers were presented in the ‘Future Directions’ session. Jack Bouska discussed the historical progression in OB S in proportion to the increase in recorded trace density, fold and innovations in survey design while John Archer (SAExploration) talked about the current progress on marine vibroseis, its operational challenges and opportunities.

Luc Haumonte (Kietta) discussed is company’s Midwater Stationary Cable (MSC) and results from recent deployment. Last but not least, Aleksandr Nikitin from Geology Without Limits (GWL) spoke about acquiring and processing ultra-long offsets and low frequency for velocity model building.

Q&A session.

EAGE NEWSLETTER ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE-1 2018

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EAGE UPDATE

Make SEAPEX part of your schedule

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on’t miss out on the upcoming South East Asia Petroleum Exploration Society (SEAPEX) Conference. It is a not-tobe missed biennial event for upstream oil and gas industry professionals and investors on 3-5 April 2019 at Fairmont Hotel, Singapore.

With a line-up of more than 30 presentations from across Asia-Pacific, SEAPEX 2019 will disseminate critical upstream knowledge,

provide first-rate networking opportunities and promote investment in the region. You can also support your industry by taking up one of the sponsorship opportunities for the event.

Please note that SEAPEX membership is required for attendance, which is included in the registration fee. For details about this event, visit www.seapexconf.org.

Rock physics workshop to make fifth appearance in Hong Kong Such is the interest in rock physics that EAGE is supporting the Fifth International Rock Physics Workshop (5IWRP) on 23-26 April 2019 in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong skyline.

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he rock physics event is being co-organized by the National University of Singapore and the Chinese University of Hong Kong which is providing an on-campus location for the workshop. Rock physicists, petrophysicists, geomechanicists, as well as geophysicists worldwide are encouraged to attend.

The main aim of 5IWRP is to demonstrate and discuss progress in the measurement, modelling, and inversion of rock physics properties, with an emphasis on multi-physics and the stressdependency of these properties. Theoretical developments, laboratory experiments and digital simulations will be covered for all applications,

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from resource characterization to CO2 storage.

The workshop targets the potential for linking these branches together.

5IWRP will consist of presentations in both oral and poster formats. In addition to classical rock physics topics, 5IWRP focuses on the coverage of themes such as anisotropic rock physics; elastic and flow behaviour of fractures and their characterizations; static-dynamic behaviour of rocks and geomechanics; digital rocks and their applications; and the role of machine learning in rock physics modelling and its applications.

Interested participants are invited to submit a

two-page extended abstract using the template available on the workshop website listed below.

Discussions and interactions have always been the key components in this event. 5IWRP will be conducted on a manageable scale, by hosting around 100 participants. Limited support for student registration is available. A field trip on the geological setting of Hong Kong will be arranged for those interested on 27 April 2019.

5IWRP also has sponsorship opportunities for interested parties.

For all information about the event, please refer to the official website of 5IWRP: http://sgpnus.org/5iwrp.html.

EAGE NEWSLETTER ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE-1 2018

EAGE UPDATE

Experts from around the world to gather in KL for near surface meeting

Prof Kenneth H. Stokoe, University of Texas at Austin

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AGE and its associated society, the Geological Society of Malaysia are excited to host the 2nd edition of Near Surface Geosciences Asia Conference & Exhibition (NSGE) on 23-26 April 2019.

Following the tremendous success of the first event in Yogyakarta, Indonesia earlier this year, NSGE 2019 promises to be another excellent opportunity for geoscientists from all parts of the world to consider, research, technology and services in the near surface field.

An event highlight to look forward to will be the keynote address from Prof Kenneth H. Stokoe

from the University of Texas at Austin. Based on a lifetime of expertise, he will be speaking on ‘The Increasing Role of Field and Laboratory Seismic Measurements in Geotechnical Engineering’.

Over nearly 40 years, Prof Stokoe has accumulated vast experience in the areas of in situ seismic measurements, laboratory measurements of dynamic material properties, and dynamic soilstructure interaction. Earlier in his career he was instrumental in developing the crosshole seismic method for in-situ shear wave velocity measurement, now adopted as the standard by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM

Launch of the 1st NSGE 2018 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

D4428M). The method is used by geotechnical engineering firms worldwide.

Another keynote speaker that who be joining us for the conference is Prof M. Atilla Ansal from the Ozyegin University in Istanbul, Turkey. He will be speaking about ‘Uncertainties in Site Specific Response Analysis’.

By joining us at NSGE 2019 in Kuala Lumpur you can have the opportunity to meet Prof Stokoe and Prof Dr. Atilla personally as they share their expertise with the delegates.

The four-day conference has already proved itself to be the place for near-surface geoscientists to meet, exchange knowledge, and network with professional peers. Kuala Lumpur provides a fitting venue for delegates as a hub of entertainment, shopping, commerce, culture and most activities of import to the nation.

NSGE 2019 definitely should be on your calendar. Make sure to check the EAGE website for the latest information on this great opportunity to be involved with the near-surface community in the region and worldwide.

APGCE is ready to put on a show!

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resh Ideas, New Frontiers’. What could be a better theme for the Asia Petroleum Geoscience Conference & Exhibition (APGCE) which returns to Kuala Lumpur from 2930 October 2019. It will be bidding to repeat the success of the 2017 event which saw over 3,000 delegates, exhibitors and visitors attending.

The bar has been set very high, but EAGE is confident that APGCE 2019 will match if not exceed the achievements of the 2017 meeting.

Local and international geoscientists will have the opportunity to gather with colleagues to discuss a programme addressing some of the pressing challenges facing the oil and gas industry, whether it is how to maximize production from existing reserves or the best exploration strategies to find new hydrocarbons. In addition, there is an exhibition for companies to showcase equipment and services to the industry in the region and further afield.

The meeting is structured to include a conference programme with oral and poster sessions, popular core sessions, a student pro-

PETRONAS management at 2017 APGCE opening.

gramme, training courses and field trips. The Call for Extended Abstracts is currently open and the submission deadline has been set

EAGE NEWSLETTER ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE-1 2018

at 31 March 2019. Make sure you submit your abstract before the deadline! For more information please visit www.eage.org.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Timor-Leste buys ConocoPhillips interest in the Greater Sunrise fields

More gas field activity due in Queensland

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onocoPhillips is to sell its 30% interest in the Greater Sunrise fields to the government of Timor-Leste for $350 million conditional on funding, regulatory approvals and partner pre-emption rights Matt Fox, executive vice president, Strategy, Exploration and Technology, said: ‘ConocoPhillips has a long history in Timor-Leste through our operated interest in the Bayu-Undan field. Although we differ with the government on its proposed development plan for Sunrise, we recognize the importance of the field to the nation of Timor-Leste, and the sale of our interest to the government gives them a working interest in this important development.’

Dr Anthony Lynham.

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r Anthony Lynham, Natural Resources, Mines and Energy Minister, Queensland, Australia announced recently that four companies would soon start exploring more than

6600 km2 for local gas needs and export.

The blocks are in the gas-producing regions in the Surat and Bowen basins, as well as an area with significant potential in the Eromanga and Adavale basins. The four companies, Chi Oil and Gas, Cypress Petroleum, Armour Energy and Bridgeport Energy won tenders as part of Queensland’s annual exploration program.

Dr Lynham said: ‘Ultimately, these land releases will deliver more petajoules into pipes, bringing more gas to the east coast and more gas for export. We’re also fulfilling our election commitment to release land for gas exploration with the requirement that any gas produced will only be provided to our domestic market’.

CGG shares latest imaging technology with PETRONAS subsidiary

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GG and PETRONAS Carigali, a PETRONAS subsidiary, have agreed on a collaboration to provide access to CGG’s latest technology and expertise in high-end seismic and multiphysics imaging, and reservoir characterization.

CGG received a contract to develop a Centre for Advanced Imaging (CAI) for five years which will be operated by PETRONAS Carigali at its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the first-ever CAI award from PETRONAS Carigali and reflects the company’s strategy to partner with

external parties to bring in fast-paced, innovative solutions to solve its complex business challenges.

The CAI also allows direct and closer interaction with imaging geophysicists to fast-track bespoke processing of seismic and multi-physics data from PETRONAS’ acreage around the world. PETRONAS Carigali will be given access to software suites which will enable the company to perform advanced technical analysis at the pace and priority needed by its business.

The CAI facilitates collaborative R&D on the

CGG Multi-Physics imaging suite, resulting in mutually-improved products available to both organizations. The CAI will also enable PETRONAS Carigali to investigate expansion into multi-disciplinary solutions and explore the potential of cloud computing and machine learning.

Sophie Zurquiyah, CEO, CGG, said: ‘CGG is well placed to support PETRONAS Carigali in its ambition to take the technological lead in the upstream E&P business and achieve a sustainable energy future.’

Chinese coalbed methane project gets the green light

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K-based company G3 Exploration says final approval from the China National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has been received for the overall development plan of the Chengzhuang coalbed methane block, operated by China National Petroleum Corporation.

The project is located in Shanxi Jincheng Qinshui county with a contract area of 67 km² of which the development plan covers an area of 33 km² with 294 Bcf of gas in place with estimates of recoverable proved reserves of 176 Bcf. 114 wells have been drilled on the

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acreage of which 85 wells are productive. A further 147 production wells are planned.

G3E has a 47% participating interest in the GCZ Block with its 53% partner, (CNPC).

The GCZ Block is located in the Qinshui Basin with an area of 67 km², approximately 20 km south of the Greka Shizhuang South Main Block (GSS Block). Reservoir properties and geological settings are similar to those found in the GSS Block. There are two major laterally continuous shallow coal seams present throughout the GCZ Block. CBM in this area is imbedded in the coal formations at average

depths, ranging from 300 m to 600 m. The Block has been in commercial production since 2010.

G3E is a leading independent gas producer with operations in China and is listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.

It has 559 Bcf of 2P reserves and 2386 Bcf of 3P reserves across eight production blocks covering over 7566 km² of license area in the Shanxi, Jiangxi, Anhui and Guizhou provinces.

It holds six production sharing agreements with strong, highly capitalized Chinese partners including CNOOC, CNPC and PetroChina.

EAGE NEWSLETTER ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE-1 2018

INDUSTRY NEWS

Vietnam and Russia to co-operate on gas supply project

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etroVietnam representatives and Nguyen Quan Chinh, vice chairman of the Quang Tri Provincial People’s Committee, have signed a cooperative agreement in Sochi, Russia. It envisages supplying gas from the Bao Vang field, discovered by Vietgazprom, a joint operating company established by Gazprom and PetroVietnam, to a power plant to be built in the Quang Tri Province in the central part of Vietnam.

Co-operation signing in Sochi.

Additional exploration will be carried out at the Bao Vang field, with an updated reserves estimate and, if deemed economically viable, an option for follow-up development. The power plant construction project is under consideration at the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam. According to the Memorandum, the project will be included in the government plan for the development of Vietnam’s power industry until 2030.

Alexey Miller, chairman of the Gazprom management committee. said: ‘Gazprom and Vietnam have a long history of partnership in a variety of areas. The new joint project will allow us to increase the economic effectiveness of our hydrocarbon exploration and marketing efforts in Vietnam. It will also stimulate infrastructure development throughout the country’s central region, including the Dong Nam economic zone, and will help preserve the ecological balance thanks to the use of ecofriendly fuel.’

Sri Lanka multiclient offshore survey underway

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hinese seismic vessel BGP Pioneer has been commissioned to carry out a data acquisition survey in the Lanka Basin offshore Sri Lanka.

The survey will comprise 5000 line km of data in the JS5 and JS6 exploration blocks in the Lanka Basin. It follows an agreement last May between the Petroleum Resources Development Ministry (PRDS) and Eastern Echo DMCC, a subsidiary of Schlumberger, to explore oil and gas resources.

The PRDS identified three basins: the Mannar basin from M-01 to M-10, the Kaveri basin from C-1 to C-5, and the Lanka basin from JS-1 to JS-6.

The company will collect, market and license petroleum data on a multi-client basis, enabling several data acquisition projects, including 2D and 3D seismic data.

Eastern Echo DMCC expects to invest $50 million in exploration under this agreement and hopes to recover its investment from sales proceeds to multiple investors.

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05/09/18 08:56

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INDUSTRY NEWS/CALENDAR

Western Australia onshore seismic surveys goes to great length

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ustralia’s longest single continuous onshore seismic line has been completed in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, running 872 km from Kiwirrkurra to Marble Bar. It was conducted by the WA Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety’s Geological Survey of WA (GSWA) and Geoscience Australia to identify the deep geological structures of the region and boost resource exploration investment in WA. The survey of the Kidson Sub-basin took 52 days and involved 40 crew, a convoy of three vibrator (Vibroseis) trucks and associated back-up

Survey equipment on the line.

vehicles. The raw data, acquired by the survey, will be processed and Geoscience Australia plans

to release the results at the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association’s annual Oil and Gas conference in Brisbane in May 2019.

The $4.75 million survey was co-funded by the Australian Government’s Exploring for the Future programme and Western Australia’s Exploration Incentive Scheme, which has a total of $100.5 million funding available.

A crucial part of the survey is said to have been the stakeholder engagement, particularly with the remote Kiwirrkurra, Kunawarritji and Punmu Aboriginal communities.

Australia is ripe for E&P technology innovation

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ustralia’s upstream sector will see greater integration of technology over the coming years, according to a new report from Fitch Solutions Macro Research.

The report says: ‘As one of the few developed markets in the Asia Pacific region with a fully-liberalized upstream industry, stable operating environment and a relatively tech-savvy workforce, Australia’s oil and gas sector offers an ideal environment for technology and

innovation to prosper.’

It noted: ‘A forecast upturn in industry-wide capital spending is expected to drive stronger spending on technology, as firms’ near-term strategies shift to focus on maximizing production from existing assets to capitalize on stronger oil prices, following years of subdued prices.’

Fitch Solutions Macro Research said industry sources estimate $22.5 billion of upstream capital expenditure will be spent in Australia over 2018

to 2020. ‘Offshore and deepwater projects will account for 85% of this amount, led by spending on Inpex’s newly commissioned Ichthys LNG and brownfield works across Western Australia and Northern Territory. By comparison, onshore investment will be kept relatively modest, amid tightening environmental regulations, continued statelevel opposition towards hydraulic fracturing, and geographic challenges to connecting remote onshore reserves to major consumer markets.’

EAGE Asia Pacific Event Calendar December 2018 3-5 December EAGE • Reservoir Geoscience Conference

April 2019

July 2019

3-5 April SEAPEX • SEC2019 For the Industry: By the Industry

10-12 July AAPG/EAGE • Joint AAPG/EAGE Workshop on Rift Basins

Fairmont Hotel, Singapore | www.seapexconf.org

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

22-24 February EAGE/SEG/SPG • Workshop on Sub-Basalt Exploration & Foothills Imaging

15-16 April EAGE • Workshop on Managing Deepwater Assets in E&P through Geosolutions

26- 28 August EAGE • Workshop on “The Interpretation of Attributes to Impact Decisions”

Dehradun, India

Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

25-27 February EAGE • Workshop on Big Data and Machine Learning for E&P Efficiency

23-26 April EAGE-GSM • 2nd Asia Pacific Meeting on Near Surface Geoscience & Engineering

29-30 October APGCE • Asia Petroleum and Geoscience Conference & Exhibition

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | www.eage.org

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

26- 28 March SPE • International Petroleum Technology Conference

23-26 April IARP • 5th International Workshop on Rock Physics

2-4 December EAGE • Reservoir Geoscience Conference

Beijing, China | www.iptcnet.org

Hong Kong SAR | http://sgpnus.org/5iwrp.html

Hanoi, Vietnam

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | www.eage.org

February 2019

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | www.eage.org

March 2019

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August 2019

October 2019

December 2019

EAGE NEWSLETTER ASIA PACIFIC ISSUE-1 2018