Petroleum Geo Services (PGS) has commenced a 26,000 sq km 3D seismic survey in Angola’s pre-salt province
p>Petroleum Geo Services (PGS) has commenced a 26,000 sq km 3D seismic survey in Angola’s pre-salt province
The survey is being carried out in the Kwanza and Benguela basins by the Norwegian seismic contractor’s vessel, Ramform Valiant. The vessel will be joined by a second unit, PGS Apollo, in February with work set to continue until the fourth quarter. Data processing is due to start in March.
The survey is being jointly funded by BP, Total and Statoil, which recently secured operatorships on two blocks each in the deep-water Kwanza basin licensing round, and Angolan state oil company Sonangol, a partner on the acreage. GeoStreamer data gathered from the survey will be used by the oil companies to plan their exploration well commitments on the blocks – 19, 24, 25, 38, 39 and 40 – within the next five years.
Parallels have been drawn between the geology of Angola’s pre-salt basins and a similar region off Brazil that has yielded huge oil discoveries in recent years, increasing explorers’ expectations. PGS said in a statement that there is a “clear geological link”, and that “recent advances in tectonic reconstruction point to parallels with the prolific pre-salt Santos and Campos basins” off Brazil.
