Norwegian survey contractor TGS has commenced a new regional multi-client 2D seismic campaign offshore Bangladesh in partnership with SLB (formerly Schlumberger) and national energy company Petrobangla.
The programme's initial phase will comprise approximately 11,000 line kilometres of newly acquired high-resolution broadband 2D seismic data on a regional scale to enhance geological understanding of the prospective Bengal Fan.
In addition, the data will also be an essential tool for acreage evaluation, supporting future licensing rounds under the soon-to-be revised fiscal terms widely anticipated by industry, noted TGS.
Giant gas discoveries have been made in the Bay of Bengal offshore Myanmar and in India’s territorial waters, but Bangladesh has not yet tasted such success, and recent licensing rounds held by the Dhaka administration have failed to attract much interest.
The overall seismic campaign plans to encompass around 32,000 line kilometres of multi-client seismic data covering most of Bangladesh’s territorial waters.
Regional framework
The new data will be acquired using long offset and long record lengths to image the deeper sections and will be processed through modern high-end broadband pre-stack time and depth migrated workflows.
"We’re pleased to commence this multi-phase seismic programme that will provide a much-needed regional framework for understanding the Bengal Fan, considered one of the most extensive unexplored frontier basins remaining in the world,” said TGS chief executive Kristian Johansen.
“Following the successful completion of our extensive East Coast India 2Dcubed reprocessing project, we continue to provide a seismic-fuelled boost across the Bay of Bengal to support offshore exploration in this region and augment licence round decision-making."
The latest Bangladesh survey envisages final processing deliverables being available in the first quarter of 2024. Fast-track results will be available for early acreage evaluation, added TGS.
This seismic shoot had been scheduled to start in 2020 with delivery of the outcomes the first quarter this year but the Covid pandemic derailed that plan.
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