(WO) — The Government of Guyana, through its Ministry of Natural Resources, is advancing a large-scale 3D multi-client seismic acquisition program offshore, supported by geoscience company Viridien.
The survey will cover approximately 25,000 sq km offshore Guyana, including 11 blocks from the country’s 2022 licensing round located south of the Stabroek block and extending toward the Guyana–Suriname border.
The program is designed to expand subsurface data coverage and improve exploration understanding across the Guyana basin, one of the world’s most active offshore exploration regions.
Viridien, formerly CGG Services (US) Inc., has worked with the Guyanese government since 2010, providing seismic acquisition, processing and data management services. The new agreement continues that partnership as the country seeks to expand exploration activity and improve geological data available to operators.
The seismic acquisition will be funded through a pre-funding model, in which energy companies provide early capital for geophysical surveys in exchange for early access to the data. The data collected will remain the property of the Government of Guyana, though it may be licensed to third parties.
Officials say the expanded seismic dataset is expected to improve subsurface imaging and reduce exploration risk across the basin. The program will also include reprocessing and integration of existing seismic datasets across three survey areas.
Acquisition activities are expected to begin once pre-funding commitments are secured. The seismic acquisition phase is projected to take about one year, followed by processing and interpretation of the data.
The initiative is also expected to support local content participation and provide technical training and capacity-building for Guyana’s petroleum regulatory agencies.
