CGG has announced at ONS 2016 the launch of TopSeis™, the latest evolution in offshore broadband seismic, specifically designed to overcome the intrinsic lack of near offsets inherent in 3D towed-streamer seismic.

Exacerbated by the use of progressively wider spreads to meet the industry’s quest for greater efficiency, the lack of near offsets leads to an inability to image shallow geological features, such as faults, gas pockets, channels and stratigraphic pinch-outs, effectively. By overcoming this shortcoming, TopSeis enables exploration and development teams to make critical investment decisions on the basis of superior high-density broadband data delivered at a lower cost compared to other techniques, notably ocean bottom seismic.

TopSeis is the latest outcome of eight years of collaboration between Lundin Norway AS and CGG to develop innovative broadband solutions, including early benchmarking of CGG’s BroadSeis™ solution, to improve subsurface understanding and increase exploration success. Its dual-vessel acquisition design, which places CGG’s broadband source over a customised receiver spread, combined with proprietary imaging, is an industry first. Extensive field trials have shown TopSeis to be a highly-effective solution which delivers unsurpassed broadband imaging of shallow targets.

Turning the concept of shooting-over-the-spread acquisition into reality required a team of experts from multiple CGG business lines, including marine, multi-client, subsurface imaging and Sercel equipment.

TopSeis will play a key part in a forthcoming integrated geoscience study, including an extensive commercial survey CGG plans to acquire in the Barents Sea in 2017. This will offer other early adopters of this new technology the opportunity to benefit from the anticipated step-change in image quality for exploration and development in this region. TopSeis is also expected to have significant potential for applications in other areas offshore Norway as well as other parts of the world.

Halvor Jahre, Exploration Manager, Lundin Norway AS, says, “After successful close cooperation with CGG to develop, design and test the TopSeis acquisition concept, we view TopSeis as the next generation of broadband seismic acquisition. Results from a test offshore Gabon appear to confirm the data uplift indicated by modeling studies and we plan to move forward with full-scale TopSeis surveys on the Loppa High in the Barents Sea during 2017.”

Jean-Georges Malcor, CEO of CGG, says, “CGG has once again drawn on the multi-disciplinary expertise within its integrated geoscience offering to spearhead another step-change in seismic imaging to enhance subsurface knowledge. We are delighted to have had the opportunity to work so closely with Lundin on the development of TopSeis and look forward to seeing how this solution will open the door to a better understanding of shallow reservoirs to help oil and gas companies extract the full potential of these highly prospective fields in the Barents Sea and beyond. As we have seen with StagSeis™, the full-azimuth solution that we purpose-designed for subsalt imaging in the Gulf of Mexico, these made-to-measure approaches can prove very successful and reap dividends for the industry as a whole.”

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