ARKeX has been awarded a contract to perform the first ever marine BlueQube gravity gradiometry survey off the western coast of Greenland. The survey is for the Cairn Energy group and its joint venture partner Nunaoil.
The BlueQube gravity gradiometry survey will cover 5,000 sq km of Blocks 1 & 3 (Sigguk & Eqqua) that Cairn was awarded in the Disko West Licensing Round.
Offshore Greenland is a frontier area which has been largely unexplored but has significant petroleum potential. By using BlueQube, Cairn, who are the operator, will be able to quickly assess the petroleum geology of the area with the aim of helping to de-risk any future exploration.
The Arctic basins of Greenland are increasingly being recognised as a potentially world class prospective area. In July 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) released its Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal report and concluded that "The extensive Arctic continental shelf may constitute the geographically largest unexplored prospective area for petroleum remaining on earth". A previous study by the USGS in 1996 recognised Greenland as one of the world's top ten potential hydrocarbon destinations for "yet to finds".
"Offshore Greenland is a great area to show the capabilities of ARKeX's BlueQube technology," said Paul Versnel, ARKeX, VP Eastern Hemisphere, "The geology demands high resolution imaging and this is exactly what BlueQube delivers".
The survey is due to start in July 2009 and will include gravity gradiometry, magnetic and bathymetry measurements.
Cairn has an 87.5% interest in Blocks 1 & 3 (Sigguk & Eqqua) with the remaining 12.5% held by Nunaoil.
About ARKeX
ARKeX provides geophysical surveys for the oil, gas and mineral exploration industry, using BlueQubeTM technology. BlueQube is a cutting-edge technology that gives explorationists an accurate picture of subsurface geology. The key technology in BlueQube is gravity gradiometry. It measures minute variations in the earth's gravitational field to help image--from an airplane or ship-- oil, gas and mineral bearing structures deep underground. ARKeX, based in Cambridge, UK, has offices in Sherington, UK, and Houston, USA, and has global operational capabilities.
About Cairn
Cairn Energy PLC ("Cairn") is an Edinburgh-based oil and gas exploration and production company listed on the London Stock Exchange. Cairn's exploration acreage position in Greenland is held through its 90% owned international exploration subsidiary Capricorn. A total of eight offshore blocks were acquired during 2008 and Capricorn has already completed its obligatory seismic work programme for the first four year period over all of its blocks.
Posted by ARKeX on 01 July 2009 10:27
Location Greenland
Category Company News Release
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