Dutch survey and geotechnical services firm Fugro said it has been awarded a contract by China’s Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey (GMGS) to perform gas hydrate investigation on the Northern Continental Slope of the South China Sea.
The contract is valued at approximately $40 million and is expected to commence in the second quarter of 2018.
The gas hydrate field research program is the fifth that Fugro will undertake for GMGS, and the two companies have worked together in this field of research since 2007. Gas hydrates, “frozen” gas-water solids resembling ice, may be an important source of future energy.
Operated from drilling vessel, Fugro Voyager, the site characterization program comprises logging while drilling, pressure coring and geotechnical sampling. The report and assessment of gas hydrate reservoir volumes delivered by Fugro will be used by GMGS to plan China’s second gas hydrate marine production test scheduled for 2019.
“We are pleased to be reappointed to execute further exploration work in the South China Sea and to continue our long-standing relationship with GMGS,” said Jerry Paisley, Fugro’s Director for Marine Site Characterization in the Asia Pacific Region. “Fugro has been involved in many of the world’s major gas hydrate field programs to date, providing technical advice, specialized tools, laboratory analyses and vessels.”