TGS launches 23,000 sq km seismic reprocessing project in the Norwegian Sea to support frontier gas exploration

TGS has launched the Atlantic Margin South Reprocessing project, targeting more than 23,000 sq km of 3D seismic data on the Norwegian continental shelf. The project covers an underexplored stretch of the Norwegian Sea where subsurface imaging has long posed real technical challenges.

Interim products are expected in Q3 2026, with a full seamless volume scheduled for delivery in Q2 2027.

TGS announces Atlantic Margin South Reprocessing project

The Atlantic Margin South Reprocessing project is TGS’s latest move into one of the Norwegian Sea’s less-explored corners. The dataset spans more than 23,000 sq km of existing 3D seismic data—a large-scale undertaking by any measure.

The elastic variant accounts for both compressional and shear wave behavior, and that extra detail can sharpen the final image considerably in volcanic settings.

The area sits within the Norwegian continental shelf, a region with decades of hydrocarbon activity behind it. Even so, this particular stretch has stayed comparatively underexplored. TGS is betting that modern reprocessing techniques can pull out what earlier surveys may have missed.

Delivery happens in two stages. E&P companies can expect interim early-out products in Q3 2026, with the full seamless volume following in Q2 2027. That phased approach lets operators start working with better data well before the complete dataset lands.

Imaging challenges drive advanced reprocessing workflows

The technical core of this project is a comprehensive pre-stack depth migration (PSDM) workflow. PSDM accurately repositions subsurface reflectors, and it’s especially useful in geologically complex areas.

What makes this basin complex? Intrusive and extrusive volcanic rocks. Volcanic formations scatter and absorb seismic energy in ways that degrade image quality, making it harder to spot potential reservoir structures beneath them. Standard processing methods tend to struggle here.

To tackle that, TGS is running a multi-step workflow that goes well beyond conventional approaches. It includes advanced machine learning-based denoising, which strips unwanted noise from raw seismic signals more effectively than older algorithmic methods. Adaptive demultiple is also in the mix—this technique removes multiple reflections, signals that have bounced more than once between subsurface layers, which can otherwise blur the true geology underneath.

The most technically distinctive piece may be Dynamic Matching elastic Full Waveform Inversion, or DM-eFWI. Full Waveform Inversion uses the complete seismic wavefield to build a detailed velocity model of the subsurface. The elastic variant accounts for both compressional and shear wave behavior, and that extra detail can sharpen the final image considerably in volcanic settings.

The project aims to derisk new gas prospectivity for E&P companies

The commercial goal is pretty straightforward: give exploration companies better data so they can make smarter drilling decisions. TGS CEO Kristian Johansen framed it around where the industry is heading.

“As the industry sharpens its exploration efforts in more frontier basins, this dataset will enable E&P companies to reveal and derisk new prospectivity in this gas-prone volcanic basin,” Johansen said. He also noted that TGS was pleased to secure funding and support for updating multi-client 3D data in this part of the NCS.

The basin’s gas-prone character is central to the project’s rationale. With European energy markets still working through supply pressures, frontier gas exploration in a well-regulated environment like Norway carries real strategic weight. Derisking, in exploration terms, means cutting the geological and technical uncertainty around a prospect before committing to expensive drilling — better seismic imaging directly supports that, helping geologists distinguish structures likely to hold hydrocarbons from those that don’t.

Context: Norwegian Sea exploration and multi-client data

The Norwegian continental shelf has anchored European hydrocarbon production for more than half a century, operating under a well-established regulatory framework that keeps drawing major and independent operators alike.

Multi-client seismic datasets are a standard commercial model in this environment. Instead of commissioning a bespoke survey, multiple E&P companies share the cost of a single dataset by licensing access to it. That spreads financial risk and makes frontier exploration more viable for operators who couldn’t justify the full cost on their own.

Reprocessing existing 3D data — rather than acquiring new surveys — is an increasingly common strategy. Advances in computing power and algorithmic sophistication mean older datasets can yield much better images when run through modern workflows. It’s often faster and cheaper than shooting new seismics, while still delivering a meaningful improvement in subsurface understanding. The Atlantic Margin South area has been considered underexplored compared to more mature parts of the NCS, reflecting a mix of technical imaging difficulties, historical exploration priorities elsewhere on the shelf, and the inherent complexity of volcanic basins.

Machine learning denoising, adaptive demultiple, and DM-eFWI

TGS’s Atlantic Margin South Reprocessing project covers more than 23,000 sq km of 3D seismic data in an underexplored, gas-prone volcanic area of the Norwegian Sea. The workflow is technically advanced—machine learning denoising, adaptive demultiple, and DM-eFWI were each selected specifically to overcome the imaging challenges that volcanic geology throws up.

Interim products are expected in Q3 2026, with the full seamless volume following in Q2 2027. The goal is to give E&P operators the subsurface clarity they need to identify and derisk exploration targets in a frontier basin that has, so far, received less attention than other parts of the Norwegian continental shelf.

Kelly Lippke

Kelly is an experienced writer with 15 years of experience exploring the big stories that shape our world, from tech breakthroughs and space exploration to climate, energy, and the fascinating quirks of science. She has a talent for turning complex ideas into sharp, memorable insights that stay with readers long after they’ve finished reading.