Business news for the week of 7 June 2010

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Seismic crew survey reports

1 June 2010—Ashtead Technology adds of one of the most advanced ground-penetrating radar (GPR) systems on the US market to its range of rental nondestructive testing equipment.

The Handy Search, from JRC examines reinforced concrete, bridges, roadways, tunnels and buildings for inspection, maintenance and quality assurance; it allows users to search for steel reinforcement bars, gas pipes, electrical wiring, plumbing, PVC pipe, cavities and more.

It can sense up to 30 cm in depth and its 512 MB memory card is capable of saving more than 200 data items.

VSG announces new release of Avizo software
1 June 2010—Visualization Sciences Group (VSG) released the 6.2 version of Avizo; a visualization and analysis software for scientists and engineers.

In version 6.2, new tools have been added and significant improvements have been brought even to basic features. The ergonomics of the program have been improved to make repetitive tasks easier to use, such as setting the position of a plane in 3D space. In this new version, particularly for the Wind and Fire editions, various calculation modules have been adapted to take advantage of multicore systems. A particular effort has been made to reduce the loading time of CFD files and the memory footprint of the application, allowing loading even larger files much faster than before. The quantification package also benefits from all enhancements made to the embedded Visilog package.

ION launches VectorSeis Ocean II
1 June 2010—Ion Geophysical Corporation announced the commercial availability of its second-generation redeployable ocean-bottom cable (OBC) acquisition platform, VectorSeis Ocean II (VSO II). VSO II includes advanced capabilities that improve the system's operational efficiency and further enhance VSO's health, safety, and environmental (HSE) advantages over conventional OBC systems.  

Product enhancements include:

• Continuous recording that improves operational efficiency by overcoming interruptions in data acquisition due to intermittent radio transmission in obstructed or congested areas
• Advanced diagnostic measurements and consolidated reporting tools that maximize productivity by streamlining maintenance and fault isolation and minimize the need to pull arrays onboard to troubleshoot problems
• Enhanced power delivery system that increases available recording time. VSO II remains a buoy-based system that eliminates the need for a dedicated recording vessel, thus reducing manpower needs, operational complexity, and the environmental footprint. Coupled with the Gator command and control system, VSO II automates and simplifies vessel navigation, spread positioning, data management, and QC across the seismic acquisition workflow.

Since 2004, VSO has been available to the industry exclusively through ION's service provider partner Reservoir Exploration Technology (RXT). Since the partnership began, RXT deployed VSO on numerous projects worldwide, including in the Gulf of Mexico, North Sea, Brazil, Caspian, and West Africa. The exclusivity term expired at the end of 2009, and as a result, ION's redeployable seabed acquisition system is now available for purchase by all contractors.

Stingray Geophysical and Ikon Science enter agreement to develop time-lapse technologies
1 June 2010—Stingray Geophysical and Ikon Science have agreed cooperate in the development, marketing, and joint delivery of a new time-lapse technology and services offering to customers in the upstream oil and gas industry.
Time-lapse seismic imaging of oil and gas reservoirs using multicomponent sensors permanently installed on the seabed will enable the monitoring of fluid, pressure, and geomechanical changes during production.

Paradigm to introduce petrophysical uncertainty analysis in the new edition of Geolog Formation evaluation software

8 June 2010—Paradigm announced that the company will introduce the latest version of Paradigm Geolog. The latest edition of Paradigm's petrophysical analysis, well-data management and geological interpretation software will introduce a model-based petrophysical uncertainty process that is new to the industry. This solution is designed to have a significant impact on E&P activities in both formation evaluation and geosteering projects.
 
Well logs are used to infer almost all the parameters needed to construct reservoir models, yet their inherent uncertainty and the impact of that uncertainty on reservoir volumes and connectivity is seldom considered. The outputs of this next generation technology are designed to feed into the Paradigm SKUA/GOCAD Reservoir risk Assessment (JACTA) module, Paradigm's existing solution for 3D uncertainty analysis. Considering multiple coherent realizations of the petrophysical data leads to more robust assessment of hydrocarbons in place.

Paradigm announces new seismic imaging solutions

9 June—Paradigm announced development and commercialization plans for two new seismic imaging products designed to improve the quality and reliability of subsurface images generated with the seismic method.
 
The seismic imaging products belong to two general classes of subsurface imaging solutions (ray-based and full wave) that are adaptable to different exploration and development objectives. The ray-based "common reflection angle migration (CRAM)" generates accurate angle-dependent reflectivity gathers in depth, ideally suited for exploration areas that can benefit from seismic characterization (e.g., AVA) analysis. A new version of the common reflection migration is available for licensing today.
 
The full wave reverse time migration (RTM) is ideally suited for application to subsurface areas requiring seismic images subject to the most complex geologic and velocity conditions. Both migrations can be applied to meet seismic imaging objectives when the velocity field must be described by anisotropic (VTI, TTI) velocity models. The reverse time migration developed in collaboration with Acceleware will be made available to Paradigm customers later this summer.

BOS continues Africa 2010 Seismic Campaign

9 June—The BOS Arctic will acquire a number of 3D programs in Cameroon, for Euroil (A Bowleven Company), using a six-streamer configuration.