Seismic data acquisition • MultiClient data library • Seismic imaging • Geoscience data integration and analysis

Contract Acquisition Services

Contract work is seismic data acquisition under exclusive contracts directly with customers, were the client owns the acquired data. PGS delivers fast and efficient acquisition of high-quality seismic data with safe and environmentally sound operations.

Production seismic, or 4D, is a growing segment of the seismic contract market that enables energy companies to optimize resource extraction from producing fields. Operational precision, data resolution and survey repeatability are essential, and are areas where PGS excels. The value of using 4D seismic is increasingly acknowledged outside of the traditional areas of the North Sea, Brazil, and Angola. High-resolution 3D surveys are repeated at regular intervals during a producing field’s life cycle, and those first acquired with GeoStreamer multisensor technology are generally repeated with multisensor. During down-cycles in the oil and gas industry, energy companies may temporarily reduce the frequency of 4D surveying to save cost and protect cash flow. Despite this, production seismic and near-field exploration deliver short-cycle return on investment and these markets tend to be more resilient than pure exploration projects. The ongoing energy transition drives seismic demand towards infrastructure lead exploration and production as the energy companies extract more value from producing fields and existing portfolio acreage. PGS expects 4D acquisition activity to grow further.

PGS New Energy has secured several 4D baseline surveys for development of Carbon Capture and Storage (“CCS”) projects. Carbon storage plays a significant role in all net zero scenarios and identification, characterization and monitoring of carbon storage sites could constitute a significant new seismic acquisition market.

MultiClient

MultiClient data is acquired, imaged, and owned by PGS. Energy companies buy a license from PGS to use a specific data set, and a single survey is typically licensed to multiple energy companies. To build and maintain the MultiClient data library, PGS makes significant investments in developing, acquiring, and imaging new surveys. By continuously investing in the MultiClient data library the Company expands its footprint in proven hydrocarbon basins and selective frontier areas.

The ability to identify and initiate new MultiClient programs with solid economics over the life of the data library asset is a key success criterion for the MultiClient business model. PGS de-risks new programs by securing prefunding commitments from energy companies, with a targeted prefunding level for the combined portfolio in the range of 80-120% of the capitalized MultiClient cash investment.

Initiation of New MultiClient Surveys

The MultiClient business is about having the right data, in the right place, at the right time. PGS initiates attractive new MultiClient projects by capitalizing on its existing data library, in combination with applying in-house imaging and reservoir expertise, and feedback from customers regarding exploration and production areas of interest. The PGS MultiClient data library provides information about the geology in all the world’s major hydrocarbon basins. By analyzing these data, including available public or ‘open file’ data, PGS imaging and reservoir experts can propose extensions to the existing library and new areas of hydrocarbon resource potential that have a high likelihood of being of interest to energy companies. These findings are assessed against feedback from clients on where they see hydrocarbon potential and would like more seismic data to support their exploration and production activity.

The information is combined with an overall risk analysis of the area, such as geological prospectivity, geophysical imaging challenges, political risks, past performance of surveys in the region, and the likelihood of future license rounds or other sales trigger events to ensure the business model is robust.

A key part of the MultiClient business involves assisting governments to explore and promote their resource potential in the best way possible, noting that every country and basin requires a slightly different approach. PGS has supported many governments by providing high-quality data and advice on how to promote interest and optimize offshore hydrocarbon opportunities.

MultiClient Data Library Sales

PGS has a modern and diverse global MultiClient data library focused in largely mature areas of high oil and gas prospectivity. By accessing PGS’ data library, customers can evaluate hydrocarbon potential faster, compared to acquiring and processing a new seismic survey on a proprietary basis. The rapid access to high-quality seismic data enables oil companies to assess the subsurface risks before applying for acreage in licensing rounds, guides exploration efforts, and evaluations of farm-in opportunities.

License rounds serve as important sales triggers for the PGS MultiClient data library and guide long-term investment decisions for new MultiClient data acquisition. The geographical diversity and strategic positioning of PGS global MultiClient library enables the Company to benefit from license rounds around the globe.

A large MultiClient library with continuous coverage has obvious benefits. Geology is broad scale in nature, and it is difficult to understand and predict the characteristics of a local area if it is not set in context of the larger geological system. By re-imaging existing data in the MultiClient library, PGS creates regional data sets, which make it possible to interpret and analyze a whole basin in a consistent manner. Santos Vision in Brazil, Flex Vision
in the Gulf of Mexico and GeoStreamer PURE in Norway, are three such examples of re-imaged regional data sets. PGS also employs geological expertise, which is used to plan and market MultiClient projects and advise governments how to maximize the value of their subsurface acreage, from licensing and exploration through to appraisal, development and production, and now also carbon storage.

PGS MultiClient data library is orientated towards 3D, with a total 3D footprint of more than 1 100 000 square kilometers (sq. km). This is comprised of several hundred individual 3D surveys that fall into the following categories: GeoStreamer 3D acquired using multisensor technology (577 000 sq. km), Conventional 3D (329 000 sq. km) and surveys that have been combined and reprocessed which include Vision 3D (107 000 sq. km)
and MegaSurveyPlus (103 000 sq. km).

PGS’ MultiClient 2D library comprise approximately 590 000-line kilometers, of which approximately 70% are GeoStreamer data. In addition, the Company has more than 875 000 square kilometers of MegaSurvey, built by integration of available public data together with PGS-owned 3D data to produce large-scale geologically continuous regional 3D datasets.

PGS GeoStreamer MultiClient data can also be used to minimize uncertainty and failure risk when selecting carbon storage sites. In addition to new seismic data acquisition for development of CCS projects, PGS has made several MultiClient sales for the same purpose.

Ramform Advantage

PGS is currently operating a core acquisition fleet of Ramform vessels, comprising four Ramform Titan-class vessels, one Ramform S-class vessel and one Ramform V-class vessel. Ramform vessels have delta-shaped hulls and uniquely wide back decks, enabling safe and highly efficient seismic acquisition. The breadth of the Ramform back decks, 40 meters on the Ramform S-class and the V-class, while it is 70 meters on the Ramform Titan-class, which provides unparalleled streamer handling capabilities. The PGS fleet delivers industry leading performance in deployment, acquisition, and streamer recovery.

PGS leads the industry in HSEQ performance and aims to sustain and improve this, with a culture based on operational excellence and safety.

GeoStreamer Technology

PGS launched GeoStreamer in 2007 and has equipped all vessels with this multisensor streamer technology. Benefits of the technology include subsurface images of greater resolution, accuracy, and reliability. The streamer is towed deep, increasing the low-frequency signal content and its multisensor recording allows the accurate removal of unwanted noise that interferes with the seismic signal. The Company is evolving the technology to increase durability, while maintaining data quality. The useful life of the streamer has been increased from seven years, for the earlier design, to more than ten years for the latest version.

In 2019 PGS launched GeoStreamer X, which capitalizes on the GeoStreamer technology with an innovative acquisition configuration. Adding new azimuths to existing data offers a highly cost-efficient alternative to improve illumination and subsurface understanding versus ocean bottom node systems.

Imaging Services

PGS has the capability to run several of its imaging algorithms in the Cloud, which offers unconstrained scalability and efficiency on an almost unlimited virtual-CPU capacity. All of the Company’s imaging centers globally, where the Company images all new MultiClient data acquired and provides proprietary imaging services, have the capability of using Cloud-compute. In addition, PGS uses its state-of-the-art imaging technology and innovative workflows to rejuvenate existing MultiClient library data. The Company’s external imaging activities supply bespoke high-end, high-value services to a wide range of energy companies. Imaging services comprise GeoStreamer-based imaging technology, reservoir characterization, 4D processing solutions, and advanced imaging of ocean bottom node data.

Geoscience data integration and analysis

PGS’ modern, broadband 3D GeoStreamer seismic data is especially well-suited to reliably determine subsurface properties, even in the absence of well-data. Seismic data in combination with PGS’ highly experienced geoscientists can help clients to maximize the value of their subsurface assets, ranging from licensing and exploration through to appraisal development, production and carbon reinjection.