Understanding Africa’s Prospectivity
In discussion with Simon Cheesley – CGG’s Director, Sub-Saharan Africa, Earth Data.
CGG is exceptionally experienced in the African market – can you give us an insight into recent work undertaken regionally, and how the exploration insight you provide progresses discovery?
CGG has a long history in Africa, working closely with governments, IOCs and other seismic multi-client data companies to advance understanding of prospectivity within the region.
As a service company, it could be considered disingenuous to claim ‘discoveries’ based purely on our work. However, the E&P industry is very much an industry of partnership and successful outcomes invariably come as a result of teamwork between multiple groups of highly competent professionals. We work to develop those partnerships and improve understanding both over the exploration phase, and increasingly, the appraisal phase.
On-topic examples of this would be the CGG-TGS co-owned SCOB12 2D multi-client survey acquired in Orange Basin, Namibia: the Venus structure was first identified on our SCOB12 2D data as an amplitude play. A proprietary 3D was subsequently acquired (not by CGG) over the structure and the drilling result is well known. A more recent example is the Cameia field in Angola Block 21, which is planned to produce first oil by 2026. As a result of our ongoing re-processing of our 2013 3D multi-client data set over the Kwanza Basin area, clients have a much better understanding of the reservoir – thus aiding their investment decisions. We have not only produced a more accurate velocity model by using our proprietary high-end time-lag full-waveform inversion (TLFWI) imaging technology, which has vastly improved depthing and geometry over the area of interest - we have also improved resolution at pre-salt reservoir level, which makes for better structural interpretation.
How has the African energy marketplace evolved over the past decade – and how has CGG built and maintained relationships with the relevant governments?
Africa has a long E&P history dating back to the 1920s, which has been an important source of investment and revenue generation for the continent and contributes about 10% of global production of oil and 7% (and rising) of gas.
The leading production countries have remained consistent through recent years with Nigeria and Libya out in front in terms of reserves. In the post-Covid environment, we have seen a shift in IOC focus towards renewable energy and the energy transition, which for some time seemed to threaten the viability of frontier exploration which would describe much of Africa. However, with increasing understandings that oil & gas will be required in the energy mix to support an effective and equitable energy transition, current trends indicate a marked increase in activity in the region with multiple successful wells in Namibia following the Venus discovery. The Baleine Discovery in Côte d’Ivoire - estimated at up to 2 billion barrels - is having increasing impact on investment potential and these are just two examples of a region that reports new and exciting news on an almost monthly basis.
Increasing Co-operation, Confidence and Foresight
One could keep listing wells and the impact they have, but there is more to the story as African governments are increasingly looking to cooperation to maximise their assets in the ground. As an example, the recent bilateral agreement between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon opens up new opportunities to develop production and generate investment and revenue for both countries; this presents opportunities for profitable investment for IOCs which may not have worked in isolation.
Since the early 1990s, I have been working with governments throughout the region, and it’s been exciting to see the changes in countries’ fortunes.
At times, however, it has also been frustrating as regions become active for a period then wane as the industry heads off to other `hot spots’. Some of the most rewarding aspects of my work have been close partnerships with African governments and understanding how they rise to meet the challenges they face in this highly competitive environment. There are of course challenges across all parts of the world, but within our industry, throughout Africa, there are highly motivated energy professionals who chart the course of their respective countries/institutions through an ever-changing global setting and do so conscientiously with ever increasing confidence and foresight.
Critical Impact of Regional Knowledge and Experience
One message we try to emphasise at CGG is that whilst we may have the latest technology and insights based on new higher-resolution data, play concepts and understanding, we can never replicate the decades of experience and knowledge available within the Ministries and National Oil Companies.
Listening and working with them is the best path to developing successful outcomes. Many countries went through long periods of little or no hiring into their increasingly ageing Ministry/NOC/Authority teams. Recent years have seen a pleasing influx of a new generation of qualified professionals. Working to help their organisations develop their knowledge and experience can only be a win-win for the industry and for the planet. CGG is passionate about the benefits of working with and developing the skills of these new professionals in our partner organisations. Capacity building, so often seen as a `cost of business’, is in reality an opportunity for the industry to develop the next generation of leaders and improve outcomes for all.
Where do you view there as being specific regional opportunities? How can CGG optimise those and at what stage are the most fruitful partnerships established?
With the current increase in activity in Africa, CGG is well placed to benefit from the uptick with our modern 3D data sets in many of the current hotspots. We are of course always searching for new opportunities to acquire data in Africa and the team is busy working across multiple areas developing relationships and opportunities with our partners as activity levels continue to rise.
Developments in East Africa
East Africa is an interesting region with large potential, with recent agreements on pipelines and infrastructure in Tanzania and the Mega Gas project in Mozambique. With around 2.8tcm of proven gas Mozambique lies 3rd in Africa for gas reserves behind only Nigeria and Algeria. This gas will support energy transition and drive increased investment as securing gas supplies is popular eastwards, northwards and southwards of them, let alone the opportunities for nation building, in line with the need to lower greenhouse emissions, that it brings to the respective governments.
Following a surge in interest in East Africa in the early 2010s there was a hiatus from 2015 which appears to be easing back with increased enquiries and activity. Probably one to watch as the gas projects develop the infrastructure needed to support greater opportunities and governments come out with the fiscal changes that have long been under review in many of the countries.
Shortening Project Time in West Africa
West Africa continues to be an area of high interest, from South Africa all the way up to Mauritania with varying degrees of focus, as IOCs move back to the higher-cost deep water for exploration. I believe that a key consideration for all of them is that there is no substitute for having the best available data to inform their projects. IOCs are definitely looking to shorten project time as we saw in the recent North Sea UK round, where many projects were being looked at on the basis of a `straight to drill’ proposition utilising existing data.
The temptation to replicate this in Africa where there is less concentration of available data could be challenging. The costs of acquiring data and hence the cost of licensing it can be high, particularly in some of the tougher environments, but it is money well spent if it avoids a failed well. We are well placed with a large 25,000 sq km 3D survey supported by a more recent deep water 2D acquisition in Gabon close to the border with Congo. We see high potential in the areas covered by our data and it was specifically acquired to better image the pre-salt. Opportunities to carry out further work on the data, such as reprocessing, offers increased value to the industry and is an area we are exploring with multiple clients.
Obviously with the discovery of Baleine, CDI has become a hotspot for discussions in the industry and we are again well placed there with a 3D volume over an exciting area. In terms of timing there is always an element of `hindsight is 20/20` with regards to the best areas. CGG is benefitting from the foresight of previous projects and is well placed in terms of agreements and data in CDI, Mozambique, Gabon, Angola, and Cameroon as well as ongoing projects for South Africa to name but a few.
A Long-term Commitment
For a service company, the fundamental principle is about settling in for the long term, working closely with the governments throughout the downturns and upticks. A new acquisition project can take some years to get off the ground. Factors include developing an agreement with a government, increasingly more rigorous Environmental Impact Assessment requirements which take time and money and then gaining funding from the industry to get it started. Projects will then have a life of six to ten years initially, with extensions. It is very rewarding to open shop with new data just as a country surges into the upcycle, but making that call and getting it right is never straightforward. Ensuring our technical staff regularly reviews prospectivity in the region, thinks like exploration companies considering above and below ground risk, understands, and aligns with the considerations of the local communities and identifies areas for future potential is the key.
The temptation to be driven by IOCs’ current interest can result in hopping around, playing catch-up and not necessarily developing the depth of relationship needed with a partner government. The fundamental push for CGG over the coming two to three years is to deepen our relationships with our partners, think hard on future prospectivity and be proactive. The real challenge in a multi-client environment is that the days of shooting a big 3D survey on risk and expecting to sell it multiple times to multiple clients are past. Even prefunding for multi-client speculative acquisition is a challenge due to the project cycles IOCs are looking to work towards. To that end, hybrid shoots with a mix of proprietary and open data are increasingly the preferred model. This requires a closeness with both the client and partner government to make the project a reality.
We’re looking forward to welcoming CGG to the Africa Energies Summit – what can we expect to hear from you?
The Future of Mozambique
With the recent and successful 6th licensing round in Mozambique which saw commitment to some 30,000 sq km of 3D seismic and four wells over the coming years, this is a country we are looking to promote further. The licensing round was interesting, as much for the areas that didn’t get attention as for those that did.
We have a strong belief in the prospectivity of the blocks covered by our 3D and are looking to promote this during the Africa Energies Summit (AES) in May. The exit of a key IOC from two blocks covered by our data leaves us in the position of having modern 3D data sitting over open highly prospective acreage. We believe there is real opportunity in Mozambique and potentially an opportunity to enhance our offering there in the future.
At the Africa Energies Summit, we’ll be discussing our aims to explore this opportunity further. In addition, you can find us on stand E25 where we will be looking to promote our ongoing projects in CDI, Angola, Cameroon and Gabon whilst continuing discussions on other parts of Africa where we see potential for future growth.
Figure 1 - Prospectivity of Zambezi Delta Basin, Mozambique: RMS attribute maps from the Early Cretaceous to Mid-Tertiary show the basin’s evolution in channel morphology and orientation. The Early-Mid Cretaceous map shows (blue map) shows key sedimentation direction into the Zambezi Delta Basin. The Late Cretaceous interval (green map) shows a prominent MTC (dashed white line). The MTCs are dominated by localised erosion – possibly turbidity-induced channel systems which flow from west to east. The final map (orange map) shows the orientation and geometry of the deep marine channels related to the dynamics of the Zambezi River during the intra-Oligocene.
Figure 2 - Seismic line highlighting key stratigraphic intervals in the highly underexplored Gabon South Basin.
All images courtesy of CGG Earth Data.
