CGGVeritas has started acquiring its first StagSeis dual-vessel, long-offset multi-client full-azimuth (FAZ) survey in the Keathley Canyon area of the Gulf of Mexico (GoM).

The 221-block, 5,150 sq km (1,988 sq miles) full-fold 3D seismic data survey, known as IBALT, will take approximately 6 to 7 months to acquire and is the first phase in a multi-client program that CGGVeritas will conduct in the GoM over the next few years. A Fast Track data volume is expected to be available by mid-2013, and TTI RTM data will be the primary deliverable in the second half of 2013.

The survey will benefit from the improved illumination and penetration capabilities of StagSeis, a CGGVeritas new-generation acquisition and imaging solution designed to deliver seismic images of complex structures such as the subsalt structures of the GoM.