Morocco 2016 seepage studyAs a world-leading satellite remote sensing service provider, NPA Satellite Mapping (NPA) detect, interpret, classify and monitor natural seepage and pollution slicks occurring in offshore environments.

Morocco seepage studySeepage detection by SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) is a proven technique for mapping surface oil seeps which could provide the first indication of offshore petroleum systems.

Over the offshore Morocco study region, NPA currently have:

•365 interpreted SAR scenes

•over 3,500 mapped slicks

•over 100 slicks mapped as possible seepage

NPA are currently in the process of increasing the number of scenes in areas of sparser coverage.

Background

Morocco has maintained minor onshore oil and gas production from the Essaouira Basin and gas production from the Gharb and Atlas Basins for many years, plus one small offshore field at Cap Juby (1969 discovery in Jurassic carbonates, since relinquished by Cairn Energy). This has been supplemented recently by modest discoveries reported by Longreach Oil & Gas (293 Bcf GOIP) onshore Essaouira and Gulfsands in Gharb, but no major oil discoveries have been made, either on- or offshore, resulting in the country now being a 95% importer of oil and gas.

However, following recent discoveries in analogous geology further south along the NW African Margin, such as in Mauritania and most recently in Senegal by Cairn, several majors such as BP, Chevron, Repsol and Genel have now acquired Morocco deepwater acreage with drilling commitments.

One of the major risks in this play fairway is source presence and maturity, which the NPA SAR seepage study directly addresses, specifically in mapping the locations of repeating seepage slicks.

Archive coverage over offshore Morocco.

Possible seepage slicks identified offshore Morocco.

Offshore Seeps Study

SAR imagery coverage

Possible seep detection

© NPA 2016

© ESA

NPA Satellite Mapping - Offshore Services

CGG Worldwide Headquarters - Tour Maine-Montparnasse - 33, avenue du Maine - B.P. 191 - 75755 Paris Cedex 15, FRANCE +33 1 64 47 45 00

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General Contact Michael King - Offshore Services Manager michael.king@cgg.com Tel: +44 (0)1732 865023

Alan Williams - Oil & Gas Manager alan.williams@cgg.com Tel: +44 (0)1732 865023

Comprehensive mapping and categorization of offshore oil seeps is essential for efficient offshore oil and gas exploration. Enhanced and interpreted SAR satellite imagery is capable of identifying key regions of seepage, thus focusing exploration efforts and reducing costs.

Coverage •Multiple coverage - up to 10x coverage becoming standard

•Optimal satellite SAR data selected from weather screening of the world’s SAR archives

•Data integrated and interpreted with supporting geological, geophysical and geochemical data from Robertson, where available

•New high-resolution data from TerraSAR-X, Radarsat-2 and COSMO-SkyMed satellites used for license studies

Deliverables •Full ArcGIS* deliverables with all scenes and slick images

georeferenced and hyperlinked

•Unique repeats database comparing seep locations using multi-date coverage

•Results overlaid and compared to collateral data layers including: bathymetry, gravity, sedimentary thickness, magnetics, shipping lanes and ship wrecks

•New ship and rig layer available for all scenes to complement the interpretation

Additional unique features •Repeat database and seepage intensity maps - related to

basin leakiness parameters

•Seep data accessible via the Robertson Tellus geological database

•Complete CGG validation chain - Seeps - Multibeam - Drop Cores - Geochemistry

*ArcGIS is a registered trademark of Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI).

Global Offshore Seeps Database

Current coverage of our Global Offshore Seeps Database.

An explanation of how seeps form and are detected by satellite.

Global offshore seeps coverage

The principle of seeps

© NPA 2016

© NPA 2016

NPA Satellite Mapping - Offshore Services

cgg.com/npa