SEG: Fairfield features ocean-bottom recording nodes

Offshore staff

DENVER – One technology feature from FairfieldNodal at the 2010 Society of Exploration Geophysicists annual meeting is the use of ocean-bottom nodes to produce development quality surveys as contrasted to exploration quality surveys, says Chris Walker, chief geophysicist, Data Acquisition Division.

One such deepwater Gulf of Mexico project for the cableless nodes is a base line survey for Shell. In a recent “first”, two ROVs were used to place the nodes on the seabed.

FairfieldNodal also is putting survey crews into the field. One is in the GoM and a second team is expected to be at work in the North Sea in 1Q 2011.

A third ocean-bottom cableless node survey team using FairfieldNodal equipment is operated by China’s BGP Marine. BGP is conducting survey operations for ARAMCO in the Red Sea.

FairfieldNodal makes two marine versions of its nodes, the Z700 for shallow water to 700 m (2,297 ft) and the Z3000 for depths to 3,000 m (9,842 ft).

10/19/2010