Searcher Seismic completes prospectivity study in Gulf of Papua

Independent seismic data acquisition company Searcher Seismic has expanded its offshore data library with the completion of the Gulf of Papua prospectivity study in Papua New Guinea.

The Gulf of Papua is a vast area comprising over 187,000 km2. With only 27 wildcat exploration wells drilled to date in shallow water, much of the region remains underexplored.

Searcher Seismic said on Wednesday that the Gulf of Papua prospectivity study was undertaken by Discover Geoscience on behalf of Searcher and consists of five main sections – tectonostratigraphic framework, tectonostratigraphic elements, facies, and EOD mapping, charge modeling plus play concepts and leads inventory.

The company added that the study was being offered to industry as an integrated multi-disciplinary report of the hydrocarbon prospectivity potential across the entire Gulf of Papua.

According to Searcher, its multi-client geoscience dataset in Papua New Guinea includes 77,910 kilometers 2D seismic data – newly acquired and reprocessed, 1,795 square kilometers of 3D seismic reprocessing, 60,690 square kilometers of airborne gravity, magnetic, and gradiometry data and a geochemical study covering the entire Gulf of Papua.

Simon Crellin, sales director for Searcher, said: “Modern seismic data has enabled deeper imaging of distinctive tectonic packages and basement which has been utilized in the study, leading to the identification of several new plays within the Gulf of Papua.

“The study has revealed significant prospectivity in this frontier region. Leveraging high-quality seismic data, drop cores, dredge samples, seep data, and geochemical analysis within this study has enabled us to build a comprehensive leads inventory for the Gulf of Papua.”

It is worth noting that Searcher Seismic completed a prospectivity study of the Northern Basins offshore Papua New Guinea back in October 2019.

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