Sercel's passive acoustic monitoring system authorized for GoM use
March 31, 2017
The US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has authorized the use of Sercel’s QuietSea passive acoustic monitoring for seismic survey operations in the US Gulf of Mexico.
Offshore staff
NANTES, France– The US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has authorized the use of Sercel’s QuietSea passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) for seismic survey operations in the US Gulf of Mexico.
The monitoring system was specifically designed to provide mammal detection and localization information to PAM operators during seismic surveys. Used by an operator during the night or at times of poor visibility, QuietSea also provides automatic mammal detection during the day, which complemented the regular visual sightings by the marine mammal observer.
In a further milestone, the company also confirmed that QuietSea was deployed commercially for the first time on a proprietary 3D seismic surveyCGG conducted offshore Morocco late last year. The integrated architecture was used for a continuous three-month period during the operation.
Anna Katarzyna Leszczynska, PAM operator with Hydenlyne, who operated QuietSea on CGG’sGeo Caspian vessel, said that “no downtime was experienced as a result of PAM equipment failure or human errors.”
Sercel CEO Pascal Rouiller said that the two milestones confirmed the effectiveness of the system for environmentally responsible marine seismic acquisition.
