In late May PGS mobilized for a simultaneous node and streamer acquisition contract for Lundin Energy Norway (and partners in PL1083) in the Barents Sea. The project was completed mid-August and during the survey PGS set several acquisition records.
Meeting the technology requirements was essential to winning the contract. PGS provided an innovative solution, including an ultra-wide hexa-source configuration towed behind the Sanco Swift, on top of a massive, high-density 3D GeoStreamer spread towed behind the Ramform Hyperion, and a unique node-deployment solution.
The survey area covered 3 812 square kilometers in a tandem source-over-streamer operation. The GeoStreamer spread towed behind the Ramform Hyperion comprised of 18 streamers with 75-meter separation and 8 025 meters length – setting a world-record for quantity of towed streamers, 144.45 kilometers. The Sanco Swift’s ultra-wide hexa-source was also a record breaker, at 437.5 meters this is the widest source spread ever towed.
A substantial portion of the survey area was also covered with a sparse grid of approximately 1 000 ocean bottom nodes, the first survey to use automated free-dropped nodes. To deploy the nodes onto the seabed, PGS designed a conveyor belt system, installed on a support vessel, which provided greater efficiency and lower HSE exposure than other node deployment solutions. The nodes were safely retrieved from the seafloor using an ROV, with 100% node recovery.
“The successful management of this integrated technology project in a complex offshore setting, including the most advanced in-sea equipment configuration to date, is further proof of PGS’ operational capability and that this capability translates smoothly from streamer to node operations” says Rob Adams, EVP Operations in PGS.
Records:
- World record: Largest streamer count amounting to 144.45 kilometers of streamer deployed.
- World record: Widest towed 437.5 meters hexa-source.