OMV completes Europe’s largest onshore 3D seismic survey

Austrian firm OMV has concluded Europe’s largest onshore 3D seismic survey covering a total area of 1,500km² in search of natural gas.

The survey stretched from the north-east of Vienna to Weinviertel, and south-west of the Danube.

As part of the survey, the data measurement will provide information on the composition of structures that may contain gas.

According to OMV, the measurements probe the geologic subsurface to depths ranging up to 6,000m.

The company performed the survey during a nine-month period between December 2017 and March 2019. The seismic acquisition was conducted exclusively in the winter months.

OMV deputy chairman Johann Pleininger said: “This 3D seismic campaign has enabled OMV to generate data of around 700TB, which puts us in the running as a digital frontrunner and forms a basis for future discoveries.

“A total of around 250 people were involved in the project. Together, they put in more than 500,000 working hours, all without a single incident.”

Along with 140,000 geophone stations and two million individual geophones, the survey involved a technology, known as the Slip-Sweep method.

OMV employed four fleets of three seismic vibrators during the 3D seismic acquisition.

The waves generated by the vehicles are reflected by geologic boundaries and then captured by geophones back on the surface.

During this survey, the firm achieved up to 1,200 vibration points a day.

With the completion of the seismic survey, the company will focus on evaluating the data to obtain a 3D picture of the subsurface.

The image will enable OMV experts to discover possible gas reservoirs.

In February, the Austrian firm closed a strategic partnership agreement with Sapura Energy. Under this agreement, OMV Exploration & Production purchased a 50% stake of the issued share capital in new joint venture company SapuraOMV Upstream.