OCTIO wins Ormen Lange gravimetry survey

OCTIO Gravitude has secured gravimetry survey work on the Norwegian Ormen Lange gas field during summer 2020.

The operation should last four weeks and produce water depth and gravitational field measurements at the seabed above the reservoir.

Seabed gravimetry and subsidence measurements occur every second year at Ormen Lange since 2012.

Gravimetry measurements detect mass changes in the subsurface and provide a picture of how fluids are moving in the reservoir.

Seabed subsidence measurements indicate how reservoir rocks are responding to the pressure decrease caused by hydrocarbon production.

This combination provides valuable insight to improve reservoir management and support efficient hydrocarbon production with reduced cost and environmental impact.

For this survey, OCTIO Gravitude will utilise the new gWatch technology, introduced in 2018.

The monitoring strategy at Ormen Lange combines two-yearly monitoring with gWatch with less frequent 4D seismic acquisitions.

“It is a challenging time for the industry, but low oil prices can make an even better case for cost-efficient monitoring technologies like gWatch” said Leon Løvheim, OCTIO Gravitude’s CEO.

“Gravimetry is a mature technology, and in some fields, it is the only geophysical monitoring tool utilized, completely removing the need for more costly 4D seismic”.

The Ormen Lange asset is maturing the concept for installing a subsea compression system to further enhance the recovery rates.

The gravity and subsidence dataset acquired in 2020 will provide a critical baseline measurement, and the comparison with future gravimetry campaign datasets will provide a valuable insight into reservoir monitoring with compression system and potential to further enhance recovery rates.

The Siem Pride vessel, operated by Siem Offshore, will be utilized for the survey.

The company will deploy the gWatch on a total of 120 subsea measurement locations via ROV supplied by IKM Subsea.