IMAGE 2024: Viridien begins 3D OBN seismic work in Gulf of Mexico

Viridien, formerly known as CGG, has started the Laconia 3D ocean-bottom node (OBN) multi-client seismic program in the US Gulf of Mexico. 

Covering 330 Outer Continental Shelf blocks in the Garden Banks and Keathley Canyon protraction areas, the project is supported by industry funding. Acquisition started in July of this year, with delivery of initial products scheduled for second-quarter 2025.

To improve the resulting images and subsurface information, the company said this survey will record extra-long-offset full-azimuth OBN data and utilize the Sercel TPS (tuned pulsed source), an environmentally friendly low-frequency marine seismic source. This dataset is ideal for Viridien’s elastic full-waveform inversion (E-FWI), which will maximize the subsalt imaging and reservoir delineation.

Dechun Lin, Viridien's executive vice president of Earth Data, said, “we will deliver best-in-class images to reveal unprecedented subsalt detail and previously hidden resource potential. This will revitalize the underlying data and allow a better understanding of the complex subsalt geology and deep targets associated with the area to aid both exploration and the continuing development of discovered energy resources.”