ION Completes Acquisition Of Northeast AtlanticSPAN
Houston, TX - ION Geophysical Corporation announced recently that its GX Technology (GXT) subsidiary has completed acquisition on the first phase of the company's latest, basin-scale seismic imaging program -- Northeast AtlanticSPAN. The program covers less-explored areas offshore Northwest Europe that are believed to have significant hydrocarbon potential below thick basalts that diminish the quality of seismic images acquired via traditional methods.
Ken Williamson, Senior Vice President of ION's Integrated Seismic Solutions group, commented, "The Northeast Atlantic margin is currently covered by an extensive grid of existing legacy data. Unfortunately, these data are of varying vintages and inconsistent with one another. A new basin-scale program was needed to help oil and gas companies thoroughly investigate the region's hydrocarbon potential. The Northeast AtlanticSPAN addresses many of these problems with a single, high-quality dataset. Northeast AtlanticSPAN consists of the longest lines ever acquired in the region and covers all of the areas believed to be most prospective. We look forward to helping our customers extract the maximum value from Northeast AtlanticSPAN and to extending our SPAN programs in other potential hydrocarbon-producing areas around the globe."
Phase I of Northeast AtlanticSPAN extends from the Porcupine Basin offshore southern Ireland to offshore mid-Norway. GXT worked closely with regional experts to design a survey that ties a large number of deep and deepwater wells with optimized line orientation. The program will image the full crustal structure and the ocean-continental crustal boundary, providing geoscientists with new insights into the architecture of the continental margin, including variations in continental crust thickness within prospective basins. In addition, it is expected that Northeast AtlanticSPAN will increase the effectiveness of existing seismic datasets by improving event identification and cross-survey correlation. Phase 1 of Northeast AtlanticSPAN contains over 7,200 km of high-quality, consistent seismic data, covering three main regions along the continental margin: Ireland, Faroes/Shetland Islands, and Norway.
Delivery of this dataset is aimed to coincide with the ongoing licensing round in the Porcupine Basin and the upcoming licensing rounds in the Faroes and United Kingdom.
About SPAN Programs
ION's SPAN programs are regional, basin-wide, ultra-deep seismic data surveys that are acquired and imaged using the most advanced geological and geophysical acquisition and processing technology available. BasinSPAN programs are custom designed to provide a holistic understanding of petroleum systems including source rock deposition, hydrocarbon migration paths, sediment fairways, and reservoir trapping mechanisms. BasinSPAN programs exist for the Gulf of Mexico, the margins of West and East Africa, and for offshore basins in Colombia, the eastern Caribbean, India, Eastern and Northern Canada, and Alaska. Additional BasinSPAN acquisition is underway in the eastern Java Sea, offshore Argentina, and Brazil. More BasinSPAN programs are planned for key petroleum provinces around the world.
SOURCE: ION