Fukada Offshore Gas Hydrate, Mogami, Japan

Working with our long-standing strategic partner, Fukada Salvage & Marine Works Co. Limited, Geoquip Marine successfully undertook this challenging offshore site investigation as part of preliminary research for the Mogami gas hydrate development, close to Sakata in Japan.

The downhole phase was completed using our GMTR150 drill rig, which is installed and operated on Fukada’s vessel, the Poseidon-1. Mobilisation and demobilisation for the fieldworks took place in Niigata port, Japan, with fieldwork taking place very rapidly, between 5th – 29th August 2021. This was a challenging deep-water project, taking place at locations with water depths greater than 500m, and which demanded advanced CPT and sampling systems with suspected methane hydrate ice encountered in the samples.

The project was further complicated logistically by the strict Covid restrictions in place at the time. We undertook composite downhole PCPT and sampling boreholes with PS Logging at four of these locations, as well as a separate stand-alone PS Logging location to a depth 61m below mudline.