PGS has reached an agreement with Perupetro to create a new MegaSurvey in Peru. First data will be available in Q1, 2020. This large-scale merged and matched dataset targeting the extensive coastline of Peru will provide an excellent opportunity to evaluate prospectivity on a regional basis.

The PGS Peru MegaSurvey comprises 21 000 sq. km of 3D seismic. This data will be matched and merged, together with approximately 23 000 km of 2D data. The resultant dataset will be converted into depth from a seismic-horizon-constrained velocity model that extends through five different basins, from the prolific Talara basin in the north to the frontier basins in the extreme south.

Releasing Regional Understanding

MegaSurveys are very large, merged, post-stack datasets consisting of multiple surveys that have been rebinned to a common grid and then matched to produce a phase-balanced and uniformly scaled contiguous regional volume.

This extensive coverage can be used to identify new prospects or to continue exploration in proven areas, revealing analogs of existing interests. Field-scale geological understanding can now be placed in a basin-wide context.

Their regional nature permits fuller exploration of tectonic and basin developments, leading to a greater understanding of existing and potential petroleum systems.

The PGS Peru MegaSurvey covers both existing discoveries and licensing opportunities in open blocks. It can be used to pick prospects or to evaluate the successes and failures so far across the entire region.

Offshore Peru: Geology and Prospectivity

The Peruvian continental margin is characterized by the Peru-Chile trench, where the Nazca Plate converges obliquely and subducts beneath the South American Plate. This margin is a classic accretionary prism, comprising a series of Mesozoic - Cenozoic fore-arc basins that form the continental slope.

These basins are separated by rotated basement highs, generated by strike-slip faulting. Intermittent reactivation of these basement faults caused the extension and inversion of several offshore basins during the Cenozoic.

The diverse regional geology provides a range of structural and stratigraphic traps with reservoir intervals spanning Paleozoic - Tertiary. Mature basins with producing fields to the north and underexplored frontier basins to the south provide the perfect exploration environment with many exciting opportunities.

A first merged product from the PGS Peru MegaSurvey will be available from Q1, 2020. For more information, to explore prefunding options or to arrange an early data show, contact nsa.info@pgs.com.

KeyFacts Energy Industry Directory: PGS