Offshore staff
HOUSTON – Fugro has completed the second of three seep hunting and geochemical campaigns offshore Malaysia for Petronas.
The latest program, off Sarawak, started in early May from the Fugro Equator vessel.
Fugro acquired over 15,000 sq km (5,791 sq mi) of multibeam echosounder (MBES) data providing bathymetry, backscatter intensity, and water column information, identifying more than 40 discreet water column anomalies, and potential locations of active hydrocarbon seepage.
And by combining the MBES data with over 3,600 line-km (2,237 mi) of sub-bottom profiler data, Fugro and Petronas geoscientists also determined 350 locations for coring and geochemical analysis.
The Fugro Equinox mobilized in late May to target these locations, and over the two following months, the team acquired over 275 piston cores and performed more than 1,600 near-real-time geochemical analyses, including headspace gas, total scanning fluorescence, and extracted hydrocarbon gas chromatography (C15+).
The focus was on identifying precise seep locations quickly and accurately, in order to avoid unnecessary sampling locations and streamlines acquisition.
En Amiruddin Mansor, Head, Basin Strategy and Management, Resource Exploration, Malaysia Petroleum Management at Petronas, said: “The results from the deepwater Sarawak campaign have been exciting to receive in near-real time…
“The onboard geochemical analyses were very helpful in providing early results to accelerate our project timeline. The results from these campaigns have all been positive and will enhance our open block’s attractiveness for future block promotion and exploration activities.”
Fugro will start its third seep hunting and geochemical campaign for Petronas during the current quarter, this time off Peninsular Malaysia in the Straits of Malacca.
The first campaign, offshore Sabah, took place between December 2018 and March 2019.
09/02/2019
