OMV announced on January 29, 2018, that it has started the largest Austrian seismic campaign in the company’s history.
The requisite indicators for a discovery and the subsequent testing for economic feasibility should ensure the sustainable security of supply of natural gas well into the future.
The latest seismic survey will explore the geological subsurface at depths of 4,000 to 6,000 meters and will provide information on the layers of the earth that potentially contain gas.
In the winter months of 2018 a total of around 600 square kilometers will be measured on an area stretching from the north-east of Vienna via the majority of the Marchfeld through to north-east of Schönkirchen.
Following the successful preparatory work, the actual survey has already started with up to 4 fleets, each with 3 impulse generator vehicles. These special vehicles generate impulses that are reflected by the geological layers in the subsurface and recorded by geophones.
Once the seismic survey is complete, the data will be processed and a 3-dimensional image of the subsurface produced. This image will be evaluated and supports the OMV geologists to discover possible accumulations of natural gas.
At present OMV produces around 10% of Austria’s natural gas consumption. Annually Austria requires around 8 bn cubic meters of natural gas for manufacturing, power stations, heating plants, traffic, transport and services.
