Companies Start 3D Data Acquisition in Barents Sea Ahead Licensing Round
A group of 17 oil and gas companies has agreed on jointly acquiring seismic 3D data in the Southeastern Barents Sea, following the requests of the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.
The coordinated seismic acquisition attracted the attention of 30 companies, as it will give more information ahead of the 23rd licensing round that will take place in 2014.
According to Statoil, which is the operator, the new projects reflects the increased interest in the Barents Sea, partly due to the discoveries in the Johan Castberg area.
“It will ensure very good data quality, since the industry to a much greater extent will be able to utilise the companies' collective professional expertise within geological understanding and seismic acquisition and processing,” Gro G. Haatvedt, Statoil's senior vice president for exploration on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, said in a note released on Tuesday.
The group expects to start the project in April 2014 and conclude in the autumn of the same year.
“The initiative lays the foundation for fewer, well-planned operations, thus reducing acquisition costs," Haatvedt explained.
The companies who will be taking part from the beginning are BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Det norske oljeselskap, Eni, GDF Suez, Idemitsu, Lukoil, Lundin, Norske Shell, PGNiG, Repsol, Spike, Statoil, Suncor, VNG and Wintershall.