Our founder got the idea for our company on the 10th of June 2016, on a plane from Copenhagen from Bologna. There was a downturn in the industry, and she wanted to create a company that planned ahead long term and was ready and available to support clients when better times would return and the need for subsurface expertise such as exploration geologists and the specialised disciplines were sought after again. 

The strategy was to spend the time carefully mapping the underground under the sea offshore Norway, based on seismic data and calibrated with interpreted well data, available to the company via the Norwegian DISKOS database, hosted by the Norwegian Offshore Directorate. 

Through careful interpretation of the data, diving deep into the detail, zooming out to calibrate with the bigger picture and then being given the time to zoom back in again to develop new hypotheses to test, the subsurface team was likely to bring new concepts and innovative ideas to surface. Perhaps these ideas and the underlying work could be useful for oil and gas companies for them to fasttrack their efforts? 

The first sale secured work for the new hired team for the first and second year. The team went operational in January 2017, backed by angel investors and with Pre-seed funding from Innovation Norway. Here, we focused on oil and gas prospectivity in the Barents Sea. 

Relevant articles and case studies include:

• Exploration team culture

In 2018 we focused our efforts on the Utsira High area in the Norwegian North Sea and business looked promising, but at the end of the year there was a drop of 20 USD/barrel in the otherwise stable oil price at that time around 85 USD/barrel - and everything stopped. There was no other way out than send the team out on furlough - but it only lasted for two days, and then work was secured to take us through the winter. And then work picked up steadily after that, assisting both smaller and larger companies in Norway with exploration and development of oil and gas projects, and licenses were applied for and won. During this time we also focused our efforts on mapping out the geology of the Norwegian Sea, so we would be enabled to run fast when clients wanted us to work in this area.

The Covid pandemic in 2020 hit the company hard and work worth millions got cancelled within days in the first week of March. Adapting to the harsh realities and the global assumption that oil and gas would no longer be needed, the team decided to initiate a study to understand what it would take to get geological CO₂ storage to work and run a business case. The insights from the time spent resulted in our team being ahead of most others during the coming years, clients and competitors, in terms of technical insights and efficiency. 

Relevant articles and case studies include:

• License support leading to discovery

• Farm-in support

• Regional study leading to APA applications

Because our team had already mapped the entire subsurface of the continental shelf offshore Norway, and had the technical expertise for finding the best suitable storage sites that would fit a client strategy, we were chosen by several companies to be a task force team working for the companies. During these years we were often 23-25 people from different disciplines working together to deliver what the clients needed, both for finding ‘the best CO₂ storage sites’ but also for oil and gas exploration in areas where we are experts. This work resulted in awarded licenses, both for CCS and oil and gas exploration.

During the periods with less activity we prioritised multi-client studies, and in 2023 we completed a study of the CO₂ storage capacity onshore and nearshore Denmark, which enabled us to have full insight into all awarded CO₂ storage licenses in Norway and Denmark.

Relevant articles and case studies include:

• Moving billions

• Contributing with fast tracked technical work for CCS license application

• Advising management teams and boards on CCS strategy

• Why there is a difference between theoretical CO₂ storage estimates - and more realistic estimates

• The most important thing you need to learn about CO₂ storage

In the spring 2024 we heard the words “Capex Focus” for the first time in years. At this point the costs for exploring for oil and gas, extracting it and storing CO₂ had increased dramatically over just a couple of years. And the market had changed for us: it was no longer the extra work force that was asked for. Our entire team had been booked out the year, but the client put the project on hold during the summer - and it was impossible to replace such an amount of work for so many people in the new market situation. 

At this point it was necessary to rethink ExploCrowd, and with the growing interest from European clients and people outside our community who understands what exploration (our core competence) is, the timing was right for a new name and a visual identity that better reflected our scientific expertise to our international audience. 

Hence, we closed the chapter of ExploCrowd and the new chapter with Ecteras Subsurface begun. The “EC” part of the name is a shortening of ExploCrowd and the legacy that we are so proud of, and “teras” is an academic version of Terra. Earth. It is pronounced [Ekteras].

Relevant articles and case studies include:

• CO₂ storage: 5 insights to strengthen your strategy

• We need robust regulators supervising CCS

• About the need for a common language in CO₂ storage

With a world that becomes more and more complex and an energy landscape that changes rapidly, there will be a need for subsurface expertise and strategic insights to navigate the new territory.

Our extensive practical experience and deep insights into the subsurface aspects and associated risks of all ongoing important CO₂ storage projects in Europe is currently making a difference for clients, and we expect this expertise to be relevant for all CCS projects moving ahead. 

At the same time we are supporting the oil and gas industry with new ideas and concepts that could potentially create significant value, long term. Our ability to be a ‘plug-in innovation team’ will no doubt be valued in the future. 

And on the side, our team of experts are investigating how we can find solutions to existing and future challenges, enabling us and our clients to move fast, with quality and confidence. 

Relevant articles and case studies include:

• About why a portfolio approach is the solution to move CCS forward

• Before you buy: A subsurface checklist for carbon removal credits

• Longread: reinventing exploration through risk-sharing

• Interview in Finansavisen TV