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Seismic Equipment News

24 Jan 2023

Rovco Expands Offshore Capabilities with Glomar Supporter Charter

Credit: Rovco

Rovco, a UK-based subsea robotics and survey firm, has signed a three-year charter with Glomar Offshoreof the multipurpose support vessel, Glomar Supporter.The company said the charter was part of its growth strategy within its site characterizing business unit, and market a significant expansion of the company’s offshore hydrographic, geophysical, and shallow geotechnical survey capabilities."Responding to high client demand amid a rapidly growing offshore wind market, Rovco…

25 Jun 2021

Seismic Firm Polarcus Set for Business Wind-down, Delisting from Oslo Exchange

Polarcus Limited, a seismic surveyor in liquidation, is set to be wound down and delisted from the Oslo Stock Exchange.As previously reported, in January this year, lenders took control of the company's vessels after a debt payment default, and decided to sell them and let go all the employees.On February 8, 2021, David Griffin and Andrew Morrison of FTI Cayman, and Lisa Rickelton of FTI London were appointed Joint Provisional Liquidators (JPL) of the struggling seismic services provider by an order of the Court. Liquidators were specifically authorized by the Court to take all necessary steps to develop and propose a restructuring of the company’s financial indebtedness with a view to making a compromise or arrangement with the company’s creditors.Since their appointment…

10 Jun 2021

Shearwater GeoServices Recycles Seismic Vessel

 Western Trident -Credit:Shearwater

Marine seismic contractor Shearwater GeoServices has sold the seismic vessel Western Trident for recycling as part of the company’s fleet renewal strategy.The vessel has been delivered in Turkey for recycling. In late 2020, Shearwater also sold the CGG Alize vessel to be repurposed outside of the seismic industry.Shearwater said the vessel sales, coupled with the company's recent acquisition of six modern seismic vessels, forms part of Shearwater’s fleet renewal strategy to replace older and less efficient units.

03 Apr 2020

PGS Cold Stacks Two Seismic Vessels in Response to Low Oil Price

For illustration: Ramform Hyperion vessel - Image by PGS

Norwegian offshore seismic surveyor PGS has said that the coronavirus pandemic and the disruption in the oil market present unprecedented challenges for the offshore services industry, including the marine seismic industry.PGS expects the low oil price will have a material adverse impact on demand for seismic services and activity levels.Brent crude futures fell 3.2%, or 97 cents, to $28.97 per barrel as of 0636 GMT, after having risen 21% on Thursday.While oil companies have recently canceled several seismic survey contracts…

30 Jan 2020

Polarcus Seismic Vessel Refit Completed

(Photo: Navalrocha)

Portugal’s Navalrocha shipyard said it has completed a multimillion-euro repair and refit project for Dubai-based marine geophysical company Polarcus.The drydock project which completed in January 2020 involved a broad package of work to the ultra-modern 14 streamer 3D/4D seismic vessel – Polarcus Naila.The vessel is environmentally advanced with diesel-electric propulsion, high specification catalytic converters, a double hull and advanced bilge water cleaning system.“The Polarcus Naila visited Navalrocha shipyard for a total of 33-days running through the Christmas period…

02 Aug 2019

Seismic Solutions Market to Reach $890mln by 2024

The global offshore oil and gas seismic equipment and acquisitions solutions market stood at around $660 million in 2018 and is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 5% to cross $890 million by 2024.According to a report by ResearchAndMarkets, the growth of global offshore oil and gas seismic equipment and acquisition solutions market is majorly attributable to rising investments in oil & gas exploration activities, stability in crude oil prices and an increasing number of strategic partnerships.Moreover, the increasing demand for oil and gas is resulting in rising exploration activities to find more oil and gas reserves, which in turn, is further fueling the growth of global offshore oil and gas seismic equipment and acquisitions solutions market.In terms of type…

12 Jul 2018

SeaBird Exploration Acquires Geowave Voyager

SeaBird Exploration announced it is in an exclusive process to acquire the seismic vessel Geowave Voyager and certain seismic equipment from Exploration Vessel Resources II AS, a wholly owned subsidiary of CGG S.A., for a cash consideration of $17 million.SeaBird intends to carry out a private placement of new shares in the company raising gross proceeds of minimum NOK 80 million and maximum of NOK 120 million. The subscription price  in the Private Placement will be determined through an accelerated book-building process. The net proceeds from the Private Placement will be used to finance the Transaction and for general corporate purposes.The company is currently in an exclusive process with CGG to acquire the seismic vessel Geowave Voyager…

02 Dec 2014

Schlumberger Cuts Seismic Fleet to Lower Costs

Schlumberger Ltd, the world's No.1 oilfield services provider, said it was reducing the size of its marine seismic fleet to lower costs as it expects customers to cut exploration spending. Schlumberger said it would take a charge of $800 million to write down the value of six vessels and other WesternGeco assets in the fourth quarter ending December. Oil and gas producers, Schlumberger's customers, have scaled back spending plans due to a 40 percent fall in oil prices over the past six months. Analysts expect exploration spending, in particular, to be hit hard as oil and gas producers are unlikely to invest in new fields as long as prices remain low. Schlumberger's fleet of vessels come with seismic equipment that help exploration companies survey potential oilfields.

24 Oct 2014

Rederij Groen Takes Delivery of 7-Waves

Photos courtesy of Damen Shipyards

Rederij Groen’s entire SRSV fleet built by Damen Maaskant Shipyards Stellendam. Dutch offshore services company Rederij Groen has taken delivery of the 7-Waves, the second of a total three identical Seismic Research Support Vessels. Once the third of these so-called offshore chasers will join the fleet in January 2015, all of Groen’s five custom built chasers will have been built by Damen yard Maaskant. Prior to ordering the three 35mSeismic Research Support Vessels of this current ‘7’-class in November 2013…

13 Nov 2013

Dolphin Reports Improved Operating Margins

Polar Duchess

Seismic vessel operator Dolphin Group AS reported its financial results for the third quarter 2013. Atle Jacobsen, Dolphin Group CEO commented, "Dolphin delivered solid operating margins for third quarter with EBIT of 25%, driven by improved contract prices and high vessel efficiency. As for the entire seismic industry, Dolphin also experienced low Multi-Client late sales and a competitive market for new projects in the quarter. The seismic market has recently been challenging and will impact our Q4 2013 and Q1 2014.

30 Oct 2013

Braemar Adjusting Makes Several New Appointments

From left: Ian McInroy, Jeremy Palmer and Vincent Marrot

Braemar Adjusting continues its global expansion with the addition of one director in London, two directors in Houston and an energy adjuster in Singapore. Ian McInroy re-joins Braemar’s London office as a Director in October 2013 from a leading international insurance broking and consultancy group, where his primary responsibilities were to design risk transfer programs for offshore energy construction projects and advise clients on the terms and conditions of their energy contracts.

04 Oct 2013

Rolls-Royce Seismic Research Vessel Delivered

FA XIAN6: Photo credit Rolls-Royce

Seismic Research Vessel FA XIAN6, a Rolls-RoyceUT 830 CD design for Shanghai Offshore Petroleum Bureau, (Sinopec), is the first of its type to be built in China. It is equipped with a package of Rolls-Royce power and propulsion systems as well as advanced automated handling systems for deploying the seismic equipment. Built by Shanghai Shipyard Co., FA XIAN6 has been delivered to Shanghai Offshore Petroleum Bureau, which is a part of the Chinese conglomerate Sinopec, expanding its current fleet of seismic and geophysical exploration survey vessels.

12 Jun 2013

Seismic Business Link-up: Mitcham's Seamap & PGS

Mitcham Industries' marine equipment manufacturing unit, Seamap, has signed a manufacturing agreement with a subsidiary of Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS). Over the past several months, Seamap and PGS have collaborated to develop PGS SourceLink, a customized and proprietary marine energy source controller based on Seamap's GunLink 4000 system. Under the terms of the arrangement, Seamap will manufacture and sell the PGS SourceLink systems to PGS, as requested. Guy Malden, Executive Vice President of Marine Systems of Mitcham Industries, stated, "We are delighted to have established this new relationship with one of the leaders in the marine seismic business.

22 May 2013

Unconventional Wisdom from Dolphin Geophysical CEO

Atle Jacobsen CEO Dolphin Geophysical

Atle Jacobsen, the CEO of Dolphin Geophysical, is, in many ways, a bit of a paradox. An experienced, no-nonsense, veteran of the marine seismic surveying industry, he is also disarmingly easy to “talk shop” with, engaging and has an obvious thirst for new ideas and technology. But the core contradiction lies in his approach to business. This is a man that shows no qualms about ripping up the rulebooks and making brave decisions, but at the same time there is a steadfast caution that underpins the very essence of the Dolphin business model.

14 May 2013

Vestdavit Secures Besiktas Seismic Chase Boat Davit Orders

PLR-15000

Norway-based boat handling system and specialized davit supplier Vestdavit was contracted to supply work boat and man overboard davits for four specially designed chase vessels which will support Norwegian seismic major PGS’ fleet of seismic ships. The ships are to be built at Turkey’s Besiktas Gemi Insa A. S.  yard for Faroe Island shipowner P/F Thor, which has chartered the vessels to PGS. Vestdavit Area Sales Manager Sven Arild Wågsæther said, “The workboat davit for each vessel will be our PLR-15000 davit with a SWL of 15 tons.

08 May 2013

Kongsberg Contracted for New Seismic Vessel

Photo: Kongsberg

Kongsberg Evotec AS, a Kongsberg Maritime company, will provide the complete back deck solution for handling of up to 20 streamers simultaneously aboard a GC Rieber owned new-build seismic exploration vessel, awarded by builder Kleven. The ST324XT designed by Skipsteknisk in Ålesund, will be built at Kleven’s shipyard Myklebust Verft in Sande, Norway, and will be operated by Dolphin Geophysical from Bergen. The vessel can tow up to 20 streamers and features the most advanced technology for handling of cables, wires and ropes.

23 Nov 2012

GAC Overcomes Challlenges, Delivers to Central Africa

GAC UK & GAC Seaforth overcome challenges to deliver cargo to LakeTanganyika, Burundi, for Surestream Petroleum oil exploration. Independent oil exploration company Surestream Petroleum Ltd, headquartered in Reading, UK, contacted energy sector specialists GAC UK for help with shipping 60 tons of cargo to their seismic operations base on Lake Tanganyika, located to the west of Tanzania and also bordered by Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. The shipment comprised fabricated steel sections, stores, tools, chemicals, high value seismic equipment and a 10m chase boat. GAC was also appointed as the main agent to air-freight stores to Burundi and for a high-priority task to andfrom Malawi.

07 Nov 2012

New Sercel Marine Survey Design Software

Seismic equipment provider Sercel adds 'SeaPro Design' software to its marine navigation portfolio. SeaPro Design is a highly versatile tool for generating everything from simple geometry to complex designs for all types of marine surveys, whether 2D, 3D or multi-vessel seismic surveys. The software provides an enhanced graphic interface and all the advanced features needed to design surveys in a few simple clicks. Functionalities include geodetic definition, survey outline, streamer configuration, line direction and anchor point. With the addition of SeaPro Design to its navigation portfolio, which already includes SeaPro Nav, SeaPro Bin…

19 Nov 2010

Polarcus to Build Seismic Vessels at Ulstein

Polarcus, a provider of marine geophysical services, is building two seismic vessels of the new generation type SX134 at the Ulstein Verft shipyard. ULSTEIN has designed and built a number of state-of-the-art seismic vessels the past few years, and the contracts attest to the company's leading role in designing and building seismic ships. Polarcus is a shipowner committed to innovation and the environment, and is currently building up a fleet of the most modern and advanced seismic vessels in the world.

17 Feb 2011

Rolls-Royce Contract for Chinese Research Vessel

Rolls-Royce won a $32.2m order from Chinese conglomerate Sinopec to design and equip a specialist seismic research vessel. When operational it will carry out detailed surveys of the seabed to identify oil and gas reserves. The contract includes efficient power and propulsion systems and a range of advanced automated handling systems for seismic equipment. Rolls-Royce has a growing presence in the subsea and seismic technology markets, and during the last three months, inclusive of this contract, the Group has secured seismic orders totalling more than $80.6m. “Rolls-Royce has decades of experience in designing specialist vessels to meet the needs of the oil and gas industry and continues to develop industry leading technology.

26 Jan 2012

FairfielNodal Inks Deal for 6,000 ZLand Nodes

Spurred by Seismic Equipment Solutions (SES) Client demand, SES becomes preferred provider of the true cable-free system. FairfieldNodal today announced that global seismic equipment rental company Seismic Equipment Solutions (SES) acquired 6,000 channels of its ZLand nodal system. ZLand, the only true cable-free nodal system, is unique in the industry, making it faster and safer to deploy than conventional cabled systems, even in treacherous or environmentally sensitive areas. The commitment to FairfieldNodal makes SES the preferred global leasing provider for ZLand systems. According to SES, the acquisition was in response to contractor requests, which are, in many cases, prompted by the contractor’s own clients.

23 Oct 2012

Polarcus Innovation in Seismic Vessel Design

Polarcus Limited received its eighth 3D seismic vessel on 21 June 2012 when Polarcus Adira was delivered at Ulstein Verft in Norway. The vessel is the second of two 12-14 streamer Arctic 3D seismic vessels built at the yard, and is the eighth vessel in the Polarcus fleet of the Ulstein SX134 design. The marine geophysical company Polarcus Limited received its eighth 3D seismic vessel on 21 June 2012 when Polarcus Adira was delivered at Ulstein Verft in Norway. The vessel is the second of two 12-14 streamer Arctic 3D seismic vessels built at the yard…

18 Jan 2010

Otto Marine Charters PSV Otto Explorer

Otto Marine Limited announced that it has successfully found a charter for its MT6009 PSV, named Otto Explorer. The vessel will be chartered out to the Group’s subsidiary, Singapore-based Reflect Geophysical Pte Ltd, on a bare boat charter for a contract term of 7+1+1+1 years. The MT6009 PSV, a Multi Purpose Field Support Vessel (Hull 7037), is the first of her kind to be built in Asia on a turnkey basis. The MT6009 PSV is a DNV Class, diesel-electric propelled vessel that is environmentally friendly and provides its crew with comfort class specifications.