Subsea Seismic Survey Fleet Breaks Records

CGG claim its new fleet, with the addition of four vessels from its newly acquired Fugro Geoscience, has set two new industry records.

The first record claimed is for the longest offsets in the industry for a full-azimuth (FAZ) multi-vessel survey
Through its proprietary ground-breaking StagSeisTM survey configuration, CGG can claim the record for deploying the longest offsets in the industry for a full-azimuth (FAZ) multi-vessel survey. For the recent multi-client ‘IBALT’ survey in the Gulf of Mexico, offsets were a record-breaking 18km.

StagSeisTM data are acquired using multiple vessels with an innovative staggered configuration, developed to provide the ultra-long offsets, full-azimuth and broad bandwidth (especially low frequencies) required to face the challenges of imaging in complex areas such as the Gulf of Mexico. As the data are acquired in a regular grid, processing is compatible with conventional wide-azimuth techniques, allowing faster turnaround than alternative non-linear methods.

The second record is for the largest single-vessel acquisition footprint in the world
Secondly, the Geo Caribbean operating in the Gulf of Mexico can claim the title of the largest man-made moving object on the face of the earth, with its record-breaking 13.44 km2 towing configuration.

The challenge was to design a configuration that would enable the client to meet its survey objectives in a cost-effective and efficient manner, while also achieving the survey’s geological objectives. CGG proposed a wide tow of eight streamers with a 160-m separation, 60% wider than a typical survey with a 100-m separation, enabling a greater area of data to be acquired in a single pass and hence greater production efficiency. By deploying a streamer length of 12000m, CGG delivered the long offsets required to achieve the survey’s geological objectives. The end-result is an efficient survey design and the largest single-vessel acquisition footprint in the world.

Jean-Georges Malcor, CEO, CGG, said: "These impressive achievements by our marine fleet are further examples of our continuing commitment to innovation and our pioneering role within our industry. With the addition of Fugro’s C-class vessels to our recently upgraded fleet, we now have the largest seismic fleet of modern high-end vessels bringing the benefits of innovative illumination solutions to our clients."