Shearwater GeoServices Holding AS (“Shearwater”) is pleased to announce the award of a large US Gulf of Mexico Ocean Bottom program, Engagement 3, the second project award under the recently announced Global Agreement with WesternGeco. The contract secures WesternGeco access for follow-on projects, providing certainty for continued acquisition using this technology in the Gulf of Mexico to accelerate and de-risk new development projects.

The three-month survey is expected to cover a nodal area of approximately 2,400 sqkm. The project builds on Shearwater’s experience from similar OBN geophysical data acquisition executed in the Gulf of Mexico in 2020. Sparse node projects use ultralong-offset OBN data to resolve subsurface imaging challenges by integrating new data with existing wide and full azimuth data to provide new geological insight.

Shearwater will deploy the high-end seismic vessels SW Gallien and SW Mikkelsen as source vessels for the project, working in combination with ROV node deployment. Both vessels are expected to continue to execute projects in the fast-growing OBN market.

“Shearwater has the flexibility to reassign our assets towards relevant markets, and by doing this support our clients’ strategies in the growing ocean bottom seismic market,” said Irene Waage Basili, CEO of Shearwater. “Our large high-end fleet of seismic vessels give us a significant competitive advantage, enabling us to evolve rapidly to answer our clients’ needs.”

Andrea Lovatini, Director WesternGeco, commented “With this new strategic partnership and first project due to kick off in early November 2022, WesternGeco will continue to build on its industry leading data portfolio in the Gulf of Mexico.”

WesternGeco will combine new OBN data with existing Wide Azimuth and Revolution data, through the use of proprietary Enhanced Template Matching Full Waveform Inversion (ETM FWI). This has proven to deliver a step change in subsurface imaging resolution accelerating near field development with reduced uncertainty.