Offshore seismic acquisition can offer an early indication of future drilling activity: according to Westwood, an exploration well is typically spudded around 2.5 years after completion of a 3D seismic survey.
Its latest analysis records 1,132 offshore 3D surveys between 2015 and 2025. However, the number of exploration surveys fell by 65% between 2015 and 2022, while annual full-fold exploration coverage declined from approximately 387,000 km² in 2015 to 143,000 km² in 2024.
Ocean-bottom receiver surveys increased from 7% of all surveys in 2015 to 36% in 2025, although most supported fields already in development or production. Meanwhile, the active 3D streamer fleet halved from 49 vessels to 25.
Around 75% of the exploration 3D surveys acquired between 2015 and 2024 remain undrilled. With limited new acquisition capacity, Westwood expects advanced imaging and the integration of legacy streamer data with newer ocean-bottom data to play an increasingly important role in future exploration.
Read the full analysis: https://www.westwoodenergy.com/news/westwood-insight/westwood-insight-what-offshore-seismic-trends-reveal-about-future-exploration
Image courtesy of TGS
