Marine Vibrator Milestone: A Pilot Seismic Survey

Abstract

Abstract The Marine Vibrator Joint Industry Project (MVJIP), sponsored by TotalEnergies, Shell and ExxonMobil, completed a successful pilot survey in Q3 2022 using two Integrated Project Node (IPN) Marine Vibrators in an offshore European open water setting. The IPNs were deployed in two configurations: one under tow, and the other stationary at each shot point. Various sweep types and duty cycles were also tested. An airgun source of equivalent energy size was also used for comparison. Throughout the pilot the IPNs demonstrated exemplary performance. There were no HSE incidents during the project, nor was there any technical downtime related to the IPNs. Moreover, real time quality control results were able to show the IPNs high fidelity with respect to the pilot sweep and excellent sweep-to-sweep repeatability. A fast-track processing sequence was completed, which showed that the IPNs have been able to image the subsurface very well including steeply dipping reflectors. This demonstrates the progress that has been achieved by the MVJIP over the last 10 years and gives a real impetus to continue the development of the marine vibrators into a commercial source. The next steps will be to complete a more comprehensive full processing sequence on all the lines to extract the best possible images.