Norwegian seismic duo secures pre-funding for survey offshore Brazil

Norwegian seismic companies PGS and TGS have secured pre-funding for the Santos Sul MultiClient 3D project in the southwest Santos Basin offshore Brazil.

Ramform Tethys. Source: PGS

The survey will cover more than 15,000 square kilometers of both open acreage made available by ANP via the new Permanent Offer mechanism (POR), and the exploration blocks recently awarded in the 17th Concession bid round and 3rd Cycle of the POR.

Ramform Tethys will mobilize for the survey in January and the acquisition is scheduled to complete in August 2023.

“We are pleased to announce this joint venture with PGS, further strengthening our 3D data library and position in Brazil. The Santos Sul 3D project will be instrumental in providing invaluable data and actionable insights into new and emerging plays outside the Pre-Salt, allowing our clients to de-risk their exploration activities in the region for active and future licensing rounds,” said CEO of TGS, Kristian Johansen.

The Santos Basin is the largest offshore sedimentary basin in Brazil, ranging for a total area of over 350,000 square kilometers. The first investments in exploration and production studies date back to the 1970s.

“We experience continued exploration interest offshore Brazil where the combination of the Ramform designed vessels and GeoStreamer technology is in strong demand. The Santos Sul MultiClient survey expands PGS and TGS 3D data coverage in Brazil and will provide high-quality data essential for the exploration of these newly awarded blocks,” said President and CEO of PGS, Rune Olav Pedersen.

“The PGS/TGS collaboration in this portion of the Santos basin also provides coverage over a wider area available through the permanent offer licensing round.”

TGS and PGS in May secured pre-funding for the South Bank phase II project offshore Canada. The project included the acquisition of 10,000 square kilometers of 3D data, building on the existing library of extensive 2D data coverage in the region.