ONGC wants to shoot 7150-sq km broadband 3D
Seismic tender season is kicking off in India: ONGC is expected to issue an estimated $80m tender next month (March) to shoot and process 7150-sq km 3D using broadband technology off Mumbai and Gujarat and in the shallow waters off the KG basin.
It revealed these plans at a vendors meeting on February 5 attended by CGGVeritas, WesternGeco, Sovcomflot, FairfieldNodal, Hind Geophysical and Polarcus. ONGC wants the shoot to begin in November this year (2016) for completion by June 2017 before next year's monsoon season sets in.
After outlining the scope of work ONGC invited each seismic contractor to make a closed-door presentation on what technical parameters and commercial terms to include in the tender. Industry sources are pleased ONGC's new tender will be open to all kinds of broadband acquisition technology: slanted, where the streamer cables are kept at a slant; or deep tow where equipment is submerged 20 to 50 metres below the water surface; or whatever companies have available.
"Two years ago when ONGC began talking about broadband it wanted only deep tow acquisition," we hear. "Only CGG and WesternGeco have this technology so there was little competition.
" ONGC's only condition, as in previous broadband tenders, is that all processing should be completed in India in line with government policy forbidding contractors from taking data out of the country.
