This document discusses a new technology for resource exploration called Terra technology. It provides several key points: 1) Terra technology enhances and increases knowledge of an area before expensive seismic surveys and drilling, allowing explorers to confirm resources more accurately. 2) Over 120 projects using Terra technology have been completed worldwide with very good results, saving exploration companies large amounts of money. 3) The cost of Terra technology is typically 80-90% lower than traditional exploration methods, helping reduce the risk of expensive dry holes.

1. PETROMINER No. 08/September 1, 2015 PETROMINER No. 08/September 1, 2015
TECHNOLOGY
24 25
of the sub-soils. Two projects have been
completed inIndonesia, one for oil and
gas in Sumatra (Lampung area) and one
for gold in Papua. Both projects showed
positive resources.
What is the reason we should con-
sider using new technology?
The modern day explorer needs to
elevate the early exploration result; they
need to drill valid targets as apposed
to low value targets. If the modern day
explorer continues to utilise traditional
methods and does not incorporate tech-
nology that has been developed for the
specific purpose of enhancing the mod-
ern day explorers capabilities, the devel-
opment of new resources will not prog-
ress at the rate it should or is required
to, and, the resources that are discov-
ered will cost far more money than they
should. To arrive at the results as indi-
cated, the wheel has not been reinvent-
ed; some of the ideas have been on the
table for a very long time.
The Minister of Energy and Miner-
als stated, that Indonesia needs to car-
ryout exploration and it needs to attract
investment, the way to do this, is to do
something different and be in the driv-
ing seat by knowing what and where
your resources are. Indonesia needs to
spend money on exploration in order to
attract investment for production.
So we must use new methods for
exploration?
Yes. New methods need to be used,
and if we are realistic and truthful with
ourselves, exploration has not really
advanced in the past 20 years and pos-
sibly more. It should be noted, that new
technology does NOT replace what the
explorer does today, it ENHANCES, and
it increases the knowledge of a given
area prior to mobilizing expensive seis-
mic equipment, personnel and drilling
rigs, it allows the explorer to confirm
the resource instead of looking for the
resource.
It should be noted, that satellite in-
formation that is mostly public informa-
tion is only 10% of what we do, 90% is
how the information is processed. We
“I
ask one very simple question: In-
donesia states that it is very rich
in minerals, oil & gas, geother-
mal, etc., but where are they exactly?
The answer is that we do not know, if we
did know, costly exploration, that gives
a return of a dry hole would not happen
so often. Major oil companies would not
return their blocks having lost a consid-
erable amount of money. Therefore al-
ternative methods of exploration has to
be considered in order to increase Indo-
nesia’s knowledge of the resources that
they believe they have in order to attract
investment.
In exploration, there’s always risk as-
sociated, along with high costs, we need
to be able to decrease the time, the cost
and the risk for exploration in order to
bring production to fruition ina shorter
amount of time, and of course we must
always be optimistic,” said George Bar-
ber, Marketing Partner Terra Energy &
Resource Technologies Plc to Petromin-
er in an exclusive interview.
What is the background of this
technology?
The first 50 years of Earth observa-
tions from space imparted the funda-
mental lessons that everything connect-
ed with the land, ocean, and atmosphere
is intricately intertwined and that the
Earth is a complex and dynamic system,
not only on the surface, but also be-
neath the sub-surface. In addition, “each
(satellite) mission taught scientists,
geologists and others something new
aboutthe Earth’s system, it also allowed
the development of new technology,
both in instrumentation and software
that allows exploration for the future to
be viable and cost effective. In the 1970s,
laser technology was first employed in
combination with satellites (Laser Geo-
dynamics Satellites [LAGEOS] 1 and 2)
that were designed for maximum reflec-
tivity to allow for the study of the Earth’s
geoid and the movements of tectonic
plates. Interestingly, this type of satellite
does not contain any instrumentation,
and for that reason the first such satel-
lite launched in 1976 is still operational
today. The Earth is organized; it is not
chaotic.
Is this new technology?
This is not new; it has been in devel-
opment for over 35 years and continues
to be developed. The technology took
a major step in 2002, when a scientific
discovery of “Small circular structures
Exploration for the Future
use 8 independent methods
of processing the data, if we
see agreement between 2 or 3
or more methods, something
has to be there!
How about seismic data?
Is that not good enough?
Seismic has its limitations,
it is not able to see through
certain materials such as ba-
salt, seismic data is also sub-
ject to interpretation, and no
two experts will interpret
data identically, even the
computers will not do this.
Geology is still a subjective
science. Although dry holes
have been greatly reduced by
3D seismic technology, they
have not been eliminated.
Is satellite derived explora-
tion technics full proof? Of
course not, nothing is full
proof or guaranteed in life,
but if something can give you
a 60/70% or even better probability of
drilling a successful hole, it has to be bet-
ter than a 10 or 20% success rate, which
is normal today.
The reason this happens, is that tra-
ditional methods of exploration has not
advanced sufficiently, we cannot detect
the hard to find, smaller and deeper re-
sources, if we could, dry holes, lengthy
and expensive seismic surveys would
not be required. The general feeling is
that drilling dry holes is part of the risk
for exploration, this should not be the
case, drilling a dry hole that can cost
$100 million or more should not be tak-
en as a risk, you need to have more than
a 20% change of success.
Can you compare Traditional
methods to Terra methods of explora-
tion?
The table below gives a very good
comparison between traditional meth-
ods and Terra’s methods.
What about the accuracy of the
technology?
The accuracy from the information
given is extremely high. We can offer
something like a 60-80% probability of
success, but again, a basic understand-
ing of how this is achieved is required.
Terra does NOT replace what the explor-
er does; it simply enhances what they
do.
Provinces, regions, whole country’s,
unexplored oil basins such as the 22
unexplored basins in East Indonesia,
geothermal potential areas, areas unex-
(SCS) of unconsolidated sediments of
the Earth’s crust was made. By captur-
ing the Earths natural acoustic emis-
sions and processing the information,
different resources can be recognised
and processed with a result that can give
the position and depth.
How many projects has Terra car-
ried out?
Over 120 projects have been carried
worldwide out with very good results,
some of the results have saved the ex-
ploration company’s large of amounts
of money by simply being able to advice
them of the difficulties that will be en-
counted when drilling due to the nature
plored for minerals, covered
by jungle, volcanic areas,
greenfield, brownfield areas,
oil blocks that have produced
can also be explored for po-
tential oil that remains (be-
cause it does), but again, an
understanding of what we
can do is required and why
we say that Indonesia does
need to do exploration with
new technology in order to be
able to substantiate that they
are resource rich.
How much for the cost?
The cost really depends
on the size and the scope of
work, but it is fair to state that
the cost could be and is very
often 80-90% lower than tra-
ditional methods of explora-
tion, but again, a very basic
understanding of what can be
done is required. If the risk of
drilling a dry hole that costs
$50 million or more can be reduced, the
cost of early exploration is small. The
cost of carrying out a seismic survey in
Papua for example is huge, therefore
anyone asking what the cost is, should
know what the cost of traditional meth-
ods are and what cost is incurred when
dry holes are drilled or nothing is found.
It is not only financial cost that should be
considered, it is also the time factor.
What is the correlation between
Plate tectonics, topography, seismol-
ogy, and volcanology?
The theory of plate tectonics was
driven largely by observations in the
1950s from ocean vessels mapping the
magnetic field and the seafloor shape,
some of which can now be obtained
more easily from satellite observations.
Several decades later, satellite observa-
tions enabled a scientific revolution in
advancing the theory of plate tectonics
by providing highly detailed, quantifi-
able measurements of the Earth’s sur-
face. GPS has enabled measurement of
plate positioning and velocities, thus re-
solving the geologic. (W18)
George Barber.
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