Equinor Hands Shearwater Norwegian Survey Tripleheader

Norwegian state producer Equinor has awarded Shearwater GeoServices a multi-project contract to carry out 4D seismic surveys in the North and Barents Seas, Shearwater announced on February 25.

The three surveys will be conducted in summer 2019 at the Kvitebjorn & Valemon, Visund and Snohvit fields. The first survey is scheduled to start in the second quarter, with the full contract to be fulfilled within three months. Isometrix is the most advanced multi-component system developed allowing true 3D deghosting.

“We see a clear increase in activity in the 4D market in 2019, and we are very pleased to see a leading purchaser of 4D seismic choosing Shearwater’s Isometrix technology for their 4D surveys. Shearwater has decades of innovation and crew experience in 4D and it is important to see this capability selected by established clients” said CEO of Shearwater GeoServices Irene Waage Basili.

Equinor is the largest producer of natural gas on the Norwegian continental shelf and the largest gas supplier to Europe after Russia’s Gazprom. Equinor recorded record output in 2018 thanks to growth of 2% year on year, helping to increase net profit to $3.4bn ($2.6bn in 2017).

The company, which holds a significant gas portfolio outside Norway, has said it sees strong market opportunities for gas and expects global demand to grow by around 10% towards 2030 as more countries prepare for the energy transition. Equinor has sanctioned a portfolio of new projects that it expects to start producing by 2025. That, it hopes, will deliver continued profitable growth on the Norwegian continental shelf, reaching a record in 2025.