OMV begins 3D seismic campaign in Austria

Integrated oil and gas company OMV has commenced a 3D seismic campaign in Austria in a bid to discover natural gas deposits.

Covering around 600km², the survey will explore the geological subsurface of the Weinviertel, Lower Austria at depths ranging between 4,000m and 6,000m.

The company expects the requisite indicators for a discovery and the subsequent testing for economic feasibility to ensure stable natural supply gas well into the future.

The survey will focus on providing information on the layers of the earth that potentially hold gas reserves.

It will be carried out on an area extending from the north-east of Vienna via the majority of the Marchfeld through to north-east Schönkirchen.

Having completed the preparatory work, OMV has already started the actual survey with up to four fleets, each with three impulse generator vehicles.

The impulses generated by the special vehicles are reflected by the geological layers in the subsurface and recorded by geophones.

Upon completion of the seismic survey, the data will be processed, accompanied by the creation of a three-dimensional image of the subsurface.

Thereafter, OMV geologists will evaluate the image to enable discovery of potential accumulations of natural gas.

The company currently has a market share of around 10% of Austria’s natural gas consumption, producing more than 28,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd).

In 2016, OMV produced around 311,000boepd globally.