Expanded CGG Fleet Achieves New Industry Records in Gulf of Mexico

CGG announced that its new fleet, with the addition of four high-end vessels from its recent acquisition of Fugro Geoscience, set two new industry records that highlight the strength of its marine capabilities.

The longest offsets in the industry for a full-azimuth (FAZ) multi-vessel survey

Firstly, 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 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.”

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Press Release , April 04, 2013