CGG has announced that it will commence a multi-client airborne gravity and magnetic survey offshore Mexico. The Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos (CNH) has authorized the program, which will include the acquisition of approximately 200,000 line kilometers over six areas across the Mexican Gulf of Mexico.
Data acquisition will commence in March 2016 and is anticipated to take twelve months utilizing specialized geophysical survey aircraft. The project has received significant prefunding from the oil industry.
CGG believes that the Mexican Gulf of Mexico has significant new petroleum potential, both in the shallow and deepwater areas and that CGG’s ability to image complex geological environments will help unlock that potential. The survey will provide coverage over the most prospective areas from the prolific Perdido fold belt with AOI 1, to the more mature near-shore heavy oil belt with AOI 6. The data will help explorers map crystalline basement and magnetic and density anomalies within the sedimentary section. The airborne survey will also collect continuous data through the “transition zone” from the marine environment to onshore.
A comprehensive interpretation, combining this new data set with available geologic and geophysical data, will also be undertaken by CGG’s in-house interpretation team. Deliverables will include a full geophysical interpretation report, including definition of basement lithology and structure, mapping of sediment fairways and depositional-centers and any intrusives or salt which may be present in the sedimentary section. The final results will be presented in ArcGIS® format for assimilation into the clients’ own seismic, geological and well control databases. These survey deliverables will provide important insights to exploration and de-risking of prospective areas by oil companies.
Jean-Georges Malcor, CEO, CGG, said: "This airborne gravity and magnetic survey offshore Mexico will be a significant addition to our existing gravity & magnetic database in the Gulf of Mexico where we have over 1,000,000 line kilometers of multi-client data. Combined with our other seismic, geologic and satellite multi-client data in Mexico, this new airborne survey will provide a unique geoscience-rich library to support the successful exploration and economic development of this high-potential area for many years to come.”
About CGG
CGG is a fully integrated Geoscience company providing leading geological, geophysical and reservoir capabilities to its broad base of customers primarily from the global oil and gas industry. Through its three complementary business Segments of Equipment, Acquisition and Geology, Geophysics & Reservoir (GGR), CGG brings value across all aspects of natural resource exploration and exploitation.
CGG employs over 7,000 people around the world, all with a Passion for Geoscience and working together to deliver the best solutions to its customers.
CGG is listed on the Euronext Paris SA (ISIN: 0000120164) and the New York Stock Exchange (in the form of American Depositary Shares. NYSE: CGG).