WesternGeco announced today that it has begun acquisition of the Bjørnøya Phase I “Ice Bear” 3D multiclient survey in the highly prospective West Loppa area of the Barents Sea. Following previous surveys in the area, the Ice Bear survey will extend the existing WesternGeco West Loppa datasets to the North and West. Building on previous 2D datasets, the Ice Bear survey will consist of approximately 2500 sq km of 3D seismic data, acquired using 10 X 7 km streamers. Advanced acquisition techniques coupled with demultiple processing using the WesternGeco 3D GSMP* General Surface Multiple Prediction technology will provide high-quality 3D data.