Responsible Marine Seismic Exploration in an Area With a Piracy Risk – Indian Ocean Case Study

The rapid increase in frequency and severity of pirate attacks in a number of hydrocarbon basins poses significant safety, cost and reputation risks to offshore seismic operations in piracy prone areas. We review the piracy risk analysis and mitigation strategy applied successfully to the Mbawa 3D marine seismic survey in an area close to Somalia’s southern border in December 2009. Information is provided from the perspectives of Operator, Seismic Contractor and Security Contractor and the paper covers legal, insurance, cost, risk analysis, logistical, stakeholder consultation and operational issues. The survey management knowledge developed during this operation is shared and suggestions on how to co-ordinate the seismic and security operations are included. The HSE results of the survey are presented including a review of the interactions with third party vessels encountered during the survey and a review of the regional piracy landscape before and during the seismic survey. The paper is concluded with suggested guidelines for managing piracy risks for marine seismic surveys