The Petroleum Commission has signed a pact with TG-GeoPartners to conduct a major multi-client 3D geophysical survey in the offshore Keta Basin of the Volta Region.
The new multi-client 3D seismic acquisition programme is expected to help unlock and accelerate development of what could be the next wave of major oil discoveries in the country.
14,000 square-km
The project will comprise the acquisition of about 14,000 square-km of 3D-long-offset broadband multi-client seismic over open blocks that will be available for application.
Chief Executive of the Petroleum Commission, Mr. Egbert Faibille Jr., signed on behalf the Commission, while the Managing Director of TG-GeoPartners, Mr. Thomas Tsiboe-Darko, signed for the partners.
The advanced new acquisition and imaging techniques will provide improved illumination of complex structures, and the process of acquisition is set to commence in early 2021 over a period of 10 months – with final processed volumes available in both time and depth by the second quarter of 2022.
In an interview, Mr. Tsiboe-Darko said the agreement with the Petroleum Commission to conduct this very large 3D seismic survey in the relatively underexplored but highly prospective Keta Basin offshore is welcome news for the country.
Multi-client seismic
He said while the primary-play will undoubtedly be the late cretaceous turbiditic – meaning a geologic deposit of a turbidity current, which is a type of sediment gravity flow responsible for distributing vast amounts of clastic-sediment into the deep ocean channels found in Jubilee.
“We are excited about the possibility of extensive late cretaceous and tertiary basin floor fans containing very large volumes of hydrocarbons, which could exceed the existing discoveries offshore Ghana,” he said.
Mr. Tsiboe-Darko explained that application of the new imaging technologies is required to improve subsurface understanding and lead to increased exploration success rates.
Cost-effective
Multi-client seismic surveys provide a cost-effective means of acquiring high-quality data, as costs can be shared and larger surveys acquired for a better overall view of the prospect than is generally the case with smaller proprietary surveys.
They ensure access to large surveys in both mature and virgin areas, allowing oil companies to reduce their exploration risk; and helps to reduce the time required from licence award to drilling wells.
Postage-stamp-size surveys often leave holes in the data coverage, are inefficient due to the disproportionate time spent on line turns, and have different acquisition parameters and azimuths – making regional exploration more challenging.
Industry experts welcome the by the Petroleum Commission’s move to ensure the country’s data room will be richer and more attractive to investors.
