Searcher Seismic started preparations for regional multi-client airborne gravity, gravity-gradiometry and magnetics survey over the near-shore areas, Gulf of Papua.

The Roho Airborne Gravity, Gravity-Gradiometry and Magnetics Survey covers approximately 60,700 square kilometres (~51,000 line km equivalent) along the southern coast of PNG.

The survey follows several marine seismic and geochemical projects recently completed by Searcher aimed at assessing the hydrocarbon potential of the Gulf of Papua and adjacent Coral Sea areas, offshore PNG.

Rachel Masters, global sales manager for Searcher Seismic, said: “PNG has become an area of increasing industry interest in recent years and successful exploration and development projects onshore have ignited interest in the potential prospectivity offshore, which is largely unexplored.”

The Roho Survey is designed to bridge the gap between the onshore areas of PNG where many wells have been drilled, providing good geological control points, and the offshore regions in the Gulf of Papua and Coral Sea, where a substantial database of new, seismic data is now available, but well data is sparse or absent all together.

“Much of the area covered by the Roho Survey will comprise shallow water transition zone environments where seismic operations are difficult and expensive. Roho will provide companies with a cost-effective tool to assess these areas and effectively focus future exploration efforts,” Masters added.

Mobilisation is said to be underway and acquisition should begin in late November 2017. The survey is being acquired by CGG Multi-Physics, using a Basler BT-67 twin turbine fixed wing aircraft.

Final data will be available early 2018 and a regional interpretation of the new data will also be completed by June 2018.