Fugro Returns To China For Gas Hydrate Research Project

Fugro has been awarded a contract by Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey (GMGS) for gas hydrate investigation on the Northern Continental Slope of the South China Sea. The contract is valued at approximately US$ 40 million and the project is expected to commence in the second quarter of 2018.

This is the fifth gas hydrate field research programme 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 characterisation programme 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 re-appointed 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 Characterisation in the Asia Pacific Region. “Fugro has been involved in many of the world’s major gas hydrate field programmes to date, providing technical advice, specialised tools, laboratory analyses and vessels,” he explained.