Guyana advances major offshore seismic survey

The Government of Guyana (GoG), through the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), is pleased to announce the advancement of the 3D Multi-Client Seismic Acquisition which is being supported by Viridien following an international procurement process that commenced on September 6, 2024.

This partnership represents a major step in strengthening Guyana’s offshore petroleum framework and advancing the modernisation of the energy sector.

Viridien (formerly CGG Services (US) Inc.) and the Government of Guyana have maintained a working relationship since 2010, during which the company has been responsible for acquiring, processing and managing the country’s seismic data. This new agreement continues a long-standing partnership founded on years of successful collaboration.

Viridien is a global advanced technology and Earth data company specialising in geoscience, subsurface imaging and high-performance computing (HPC) for energy, mining and environmental sectors. The company has decades of experience in seismic acquisition and processing and is one of the foremost global experts in the field.

The 3D seismic survey is an advanced geophysical method that uses sound waves to create detailed, three-dimensional, high-resolution images of the earth’s subsurface, primarily used for mapping geological structures, identifying oil and gas deposits and optimising drilling.

The new agreement enables large-scale seismic acquisition without direct public expenditure. This is done through pre-funding, whereby energy companies provide early capital for geophysical surveys in exchange for exclusive early access to data. All data acquired will remain the sole property of the Government of Guyana, preserving our sovereign ownership of national petroleum data. The data can, however, be licensed to third parties for a fee.

The survey will cover approximately 25,000 square kilometers offshore Guyana. This includes all eleven (11) blocks from the 2022 Licensing Round located south of the Stabroek Block and continuing to the Guyana-Suriname border. The agreement also allows for the reprocessing and integration of existing seismic survey datasets over the three survey lots.

Thanks to advanced seismic acquisition and processing technologies, the 3D survey will materially de-risk the Guyana Basin, thereby enhancing the exploration decision-making process and increasing investor confidence. Furthermore, this data would bolster the basin’s marketability in future bid rounds and firmly position Guyana competitively within the regional exploration market.

In addition to the sector-wide benefits, the acquisition partners have also agreed to:

1. Maximise the use of local content in accordance with national legislation; and
2. Provide technical training and capacity-building for petroleum sector regulatory agencies.

Acquisition activities will commence upon securing the necessary pre-funding commitments. The acquisition phase is expected to take approximately one year, followed by processing and interpretation (Ministry of Natural Resources press release)