BP has begun a $100 million/year, 4D seismic program for its North Sea fields that will last at least the next 5 years, said BP Thursday. The supermajor said a $10 million, 4-year seismic processing contract awarded Thursday to Compagnie Generale de Geophysique was the first in a number of contracts for its 4D seismic data initiative.
The project is evidently part of the company's previously announced plans to invest more than $4 billion in areas off UK, Norway, and the Netherlands over the next 4 years.
"We have now proven this technology in the Forties, Foinaven, and Schiehallion fields," said Peter Rattey, exploration business unit leader in Aberdeen. "We will now extend this to all suitable fields. This contract is the first in a number that will be awarded over the forthcoming months, which will include acquisition and further processing leading to continued drilling. These contracts will � [stimulate] more infill drilling programs to extend the lives of producing fields.
"The huge volumes of information involved and the ability to observe reservoir fluid movement will require new ways of working. We are investing heavily in the computing and visualization environments needed to handle these data in an integrated collaborative setting. We will make it a priority that both our existing staff and our new graduate recruits to the upstream business gain experience with the acquisition, processing, and integration of 4D seismic," said Rattey.
