Offshore staff
BERGEN, Norway – Shearwater GeoServices Holding is collaborating with Equinor to develop new marine seismic source technology.
The development is supported by the Research Council of Norway.
“This collaboration targets an untapped potential of seismic sources with the goal of delivering better quality seismic data faster than current source technology,” said Irene Waage Basili, Shearwater’s CEO.
“We aim to bring about a step-change in productivity by completing surveys faster and reducing the overall cost and external impact of marine seismic acquisition.”
Shearwater will accelerate development of its marine vibratory sources which are said to provide full control of the emitted wavefield, a fundamentally difference from existing source techniques.
The non-impulsive nature of this development, the company added, should deliver environmental benefits, especially in sensitive, difficult to access areas and extreme climates.
Shearwater will hold exclusive rights to market the system while Equinor will initially have preferential access to the technology.
In a separate development, Shearwater revealed it would have 10 vessels in operation for the 2019 Northern Hemisphere summer season, based on a solid contract backlog, providing towed and seabed marine seismic acquisition services in response to rising demand from E&P and multi-client companies.
As of late May the vessel backlog stands at 33 months for clients such as Equinor, Shell, Aker BP, and TGS.
At this time last year, the company had three vessels in operations and a backlog of 14 months.
“It has been a very busy six-month,” Basili said. “We have already activated six vessels from cold-stack and have one more under way in response to growing demand for our high-end assets, operational capabilities and leading solutions.”
Contract awards to date this year include 3D and 4D projects for Shell and Equinor in regions ranging from offshore Australia to the Barents Sea; ocean bottom seismic projects for Aker BP and Equinor in the North Sea; and an exploration survey off Brazil by TGS.
Shearwater’s backlog for processing and imaging services has also risen sharply due to the strengthened market position, with new customers for the company’s Reveal software business.
05/22/2019
