PGS has established a new energy business unit aimed at leveraging the company’s geophysical capabilities to support the energy transition.
PGS has established a new energy business unit aimed at leveraging the company’s geophysical capabilities to support the energy transition.
Headed by executive vice-president Berit Osnes, the unit will develop new imaging solutions and utilize PGS’ worldwide data library. Where the existing coverage is insufficient, PGS said it will offer data acquisition solutions.
‘PGS has planned and managed complex projects in a variety of offshore settings, and we are ready to help the industry identify solutions for tapping into new energy resources. We believe our collaboration, innovation and risk management skills are highly applicable to new energy projects and PGS is ready to take a hands-on role in the development process beyond data delivery,’ said Osnes.
In the carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS) sector consortiums need to identify geological storage in the form of depleted oil and gas fields and saline aquifers. However, reliable geophysical data is fundamental in the selection of specific sites for CO2 storage, and may not be readily available as saline aquifers are underexplored and lack well-data, said PGS.
The company said its GeoStreamer data is well-suited to reliably determining subsurface properties, even in the absence of well-data. These data – combined with PGS’ expertise in characterizing the subsurface – can be used to minimize uncertainty and failure risk when selecting CO2 storage sites.
Using GeoStreamer data, quantitative measures of reservoir quality can be determined to provide robust estimates of geological constraints and control on containment and injectivity. Similarly, a reliable characterization of the relatively shallow overburden is required to ensure the distribution of geological faults in each area is well understood and does not present an undue containment risk.
Meanwhile, seismic data can provide subsurface information to facilitate the selection and planning of offshore wind installations. One of the challenges for offshore wind is the growing geographical size of windfarm licences, many of which will be close to (or are larger than) 1000 km2.
At this scale, detailed seabed and shallow subsurface modelling will be required over areas comparable to those found in hydrocarbon exploration. ‘Today, even the highest resolution windfarm site surveys typically use 2D profiles, limiting severely the reliability of subsurface information to plan and profile the location. Offshore wind energy projects will benefit greatly from similar efficiency gains, using proven broadband seismic data such as PGS’ GeoStreamer,’ said PGS.
Because of the need to harvest seabed metals for improved battery technologies, the energy sector’s overall appetite for critical minerals could grow six-fold by 2040, according to the IEA World Energy Report. PGS is participating in an industry consortium in Norway, led by the research organization SINTEF, that hopes to define best practices to characterize, quantify, and understand uncertainty for seabed mineral resource exploration. Seismic acquisition tests may include data to establish an environmental baseline.
The company is also looking to get involved in offshore geothermal feasibility projects, such as UK government schemes to evaluate power generation from hot water produced by mature North Sea oilfields.
‘By providing high-quality geophysical data to effectively deal with subsurface risks, PGS will enable customers to execute on energy transition goals safely and efficiently,’ said Osnes. ‘Seismic data will be a fundamental requirement in many of these areas and our aim is to create the solutions of the future, in collaboration with partners. Our extensive data library and expertise in big-data processing and imaging offer value for new applications. For some projects, new measurements and new sensors may be required. For others, we may need to develop radically new offshore solutions from scratch.’
