Geological Agency begins 3D seismic survey in Tomini Bay with COSL

The Geological Agency, a unit of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, has started a three-dimensional seismic survey in Teluk Tomini, Gorontalo Province, in partnership with China Oilfield Services Limited (COSL), as part of a government push to accelerate upstream oil and gas exploration.

The survey—conducted using COSL’s vessel Hai Yang Shi You 760—is aimed at generating higher-resolution subsurface data for the Gorontalo Basin, one of the country’s unproduced but geologically promising sedimentary basins.

“The vessel has arrived and is ready to operate. Today we completed inspections and final preparations before deployment,” Edy Slameto, head of the Geological Survey Center, said Tuesday.

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The program forms part of Indonesia’s “massive exploration” initiative intended to attract investment and identify new oil and gas prospects, particularly in eastern Indonesia. Edy said better geological data would help improve investor confidence as the government seeks to offer new exploration blocks.

Tomini Bay was previously surveyed with 2D seismic, but authorities say 3D imaging is needed to pinpoint possible drilling locations. The offshore survey is expected to take roughly 40 days, followed by one to two months of data processing. Results will then be evaluated and handed over to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources for future licensing rounds.

Although findings will be preliminary and speculative, Edy said that even early data could make the area more competitive compared with basins that have no subsurface information at all.

Editing by Alexander Ginting