Challenge
Seismic companies are increasingly required to deliver processed and imaged data to clients quicker to reduce exploration time and enable rapid decision making.
Seismic acquisitions typically take 2-6 months including acquisition, processing, and imaging. Seismic data is physically shipped every 6 or more weeks from the seismic vessel during crew changes or resupply. Data is then processed once it arrives in the data center onshore, which means that the first view of the imaged data can take up to 9 weeks.
Any error in the data acquisition step can result in a significant impact to the overall cost and duration of the survey with a potential impact of millions of dollars.
Solution
Spectrum Geo, Inc. recently collaborated with Bluware to transmit seismic data from a vessel off the coast of South America using Bluware TELEPORT. Over the course of 20 days, approximately 10 TB of seismic data was acquired and successfully transmitted to Spectrum’s data center in Houston, Texas.
The vessel deployed for the survey had limited satellite bandwidth. As seismic data was acquired, Bluware TELEPORT continuously converted the acquired SEG-Y data into Bluware’s Volume Data Store (VDS) format with the highest quality as seen in the image below. Spectrum streamed the data from the vessel to their data center via satellite link. The data was continually converted for immediate use within Spectrum’s standard processing workflows.
Figure 1: Frequency Spectrum of Seismic Data Before and After Compression
Result
Spectrum geoscientists were able to process raw shots to advanced depth imaging (Reverse Time Migration – RTM) in only three days, as compared to nine or more weeks prior to using Bluware TELEPORT.
The images below represent a brute stack, which is a standard intermediate result for the industry when acquiring seismic data. With Bluware TELEPORT, a fast-track RTM was possible and in this case Spectrum was able to image the limit of the basin during acquisition.
Figure 2: Brute Stack
Figure 3: Initial Fast-Track PSTM with Bluware Teleport
Improve Control of Survey Acquisition
Bluware TELEPORT provided quicker access to the processed data giving Spectrum the confidence in the accuracy of the data being acquired and the ability to detect and adjust the acquisition process much earlier.
Deliver Seismic Data to Customers Earlier
Bluware TELEPORT significantly reduced non-productive time by reducing transportation time, simplifying logistics, and providing early access to usable data within processing workflows.
“Bluware TELEPORT provided us with the information necessary to adjust the program during acquisition. It also reduced the waiting period for our customers who are trying to make investment decisions based on the newly acquired data,” commented Mike Mellen, Executive Vice President at Spectrum.
Realize Cost Savings Compared to Traditional Acquisition Processes
Transmitting compressed data using Bluware VDS via satellite mitigated the costs and delays associated with physically shipping the data, particularly when the data needs to be expedited for the client to make critical business decisions.