Electromagnetic Geoservices (emgs) has been awarded a contract by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) to deploy its proprietary Seabed Logging survey technology as a first step in determining the oil and gas prospectivity of the Troms II area offshore Northern Norway. NPD chose emgs’ technology to establish whether seabed logging, in combination with other exploration methods such as marine seismic acquisition, can contribute to mapping the complex geology of the Troms II region off the Lofoten Islands, which was recently authorized for potential licensing by the Norwegian Storting (Parliament).

Seabed logging has the potential to provide the NPD with an additional tool for identifying the most attractive blocks to be included in future licensing initiatives. emgs introduced the method to the offshore exploration industry 4 years ago as a means to directly detect oil and gas, particularly in deep water, frontier and complex geological basins around the world. Hydrocarbon detection is carried out by a low-frequency electromagnetic (EM) source towed across an array of retrievable receivers placed on the seabed. The company has undertaken more than 200 seabed logging surveys and recently announced the order for a fifth vessel to meet growing oil industry demand worldwide.

Bente Nyland, director NPD, said: "This is a first for us. We have already endorsed the use of seabed logging as a valid exploration tool in the awards of the 2005 APA offshore licensing round. Now, as part of our remit to administer proposed oil and gas activities in Troms II and the Nordland VII areas, we will be testing if the emgs technology can contribute to the evaluation of the hydrocarbons potential in the area."

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