TGS hires Polarcus for Gulf of Mexico seismic work

Seismic acquisition player Polarcus has received a letter of award from TGS-NOPEC Geophysical for acquiring 6,172 square kilometers of 3D seismic data in the Gulf of Mexico.

Polarcus said on Thursday that the survey would begin in the first quarter of 2018 and last three months. The company did not reveal any financial details nor the name of the vessel to be used for the project.

According to Polarcus, the survey will be acquired utilizing Polarcus’ XArray multiple source acquisition method to deliver efficient and high quality broadband data. XArray specs state that it improves both in-line shots by 100-250 percent and cross-line bin density by up to 400 percent on any streamer separation and increase crossline sampling.

The company added that, following this award, all active Polarcus vessels would be on contract in the first quarter of 2018.

Polarcus noted that more than 70% of vessel capacity was booked for the first half of 2018.

Earlier this week, Polarcus received an award for a 3D project in the Caribbean scheduled for the second quarter of 2018 with a scheduled duration of two months.

In a separate statement on Thursday, TGS announced a new multi-client acquisition project named Alonso 3D in the Gulf of Mexico. The multi-client survey covers 6,172 square kilometers located in the Atwater Valley and Lloyd Ridge protraction areas of the US GoM.

Acquisition of this industry-funded survey is expected to begin in February 2018. Data processing will be performed by TGS using its Clari-Fi broadband technology.

“This project allows TGS to extend coverage from a core area in Mississippi Canyon into a more frontier area that is experiencing renewed interest from E&P companies. TGS will acquire new 3D data to provide the higher spatial resolution required to delineate multiple plays at multiple levels,” the company said.

Kristian Johansen, CEO for TGS, said: “Alonso 3D will expand TGS’ modern 3D coverage in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico. After a period of lower activity levels in the US GoM, this survey helps strengthen our position in an underexplored area that is of interest to our clients, ahead of upcoming lease turnover.”

Although TGS did not say it explicitly, it is highly likely that the 3D seismic project Polarcus was hired for is the Alonso 3D project. Both 3D projects cover an area of the same size and are set to start in the first quarter of 2018.

Offshore Energy Today has contacted TGS and received confirmation from a company spokesperson that Polarcus was contracted to acquire Alonso 3D data.

Offshore Energy Today staff