Robertson Geolab, the surface geochemistry arm of CGG, reported that it’s conducting a multiclient surface geochemistry survey to detect seafloor seepages of hydrocarbons in the southeastern Barents Sea.
The survey covers all blocks in the region recently proposed by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD), as well as sampling of outlying subareas where hydrocarbon seepages are suggested to be present by methods including satellite image analysis from NPA Satellite Mapping.
CGG says the coring method used has minimal environmental impact, as it involves dropping a thin, clean iron core barrel and penetrating seafloor sediments to a few meters depth to retrieve mud samples.
The main aim of the survey is to detect active petroleum systems in the area, targeting both larger and smaller structures of interest. The extensive geochemical analysis program for both the gaseous and liquid hydrocarbons in the sediments will yield information as to the gas- or oil-affinity of the petroleum systems and the sourcing-maturity of the hydrocarbons.
The collected data will be processed to provide a full geochemical interpretation report, including anomaly mapping in ArcGIS format for assimilation into clients’ own seismic or geological databases. The final report for this survey will be available in December.
CGG says the project has garnered interest from several major exploration companies.
