East Resources believed acquiring densely sampled, full-wave data using FireFly would help them achieve their goal.

ION Geophysical delivered the first version of its FireFly cableless land acquisition system to contractors operating on behalf of BP and Apache in late 2006. The early field trials — in Wyoming and East Texas — wrapped up in the spring of 2007. Based on lessons learned from these field trials, ION delivered an improved, fully commercial Version 2.0 system in the summer of 2008, which was deployed in a rugged, environmentally sensitive area of northwest Colorado on behalf of the independent E&P operator, East Resources.

ION’s Version 2.0 FireFly platform combines proven wireless communication, data storage, and power technologies from other industries in a high-productivity, HSE-friendly land seismic acquisition system. The system is unique on several dimensions.

• First, FireFly is designed as a complete ecosystem using a portfolio of integrated technologies that revolutionize the way surveys are planned, operations are conducted, and data is processed. These workflow changes are made possible by FireFly’s proprietary command and control software system.

• Second, the FireFly system is designed to record high-station count, full-wave (multicomponent 3-C) data using broadband, high-fidelity, tilt-insensitive VectorSeis sensors. By using single-point VectorSeis receivers rather than arrays of geophones, geophysicists can obtain higher resolution images of subtle structures in the subsurface and better discriminate rock types, fracture patterns, and fluid distributions at the reservoir level.

At the heart of the FireFly technology package lies the Field Station Unit (FSU). The light weight FSU is designed to collect and store data from a VectorSeis receiver which is recorded on flash memory inside the FSU. The FireFly communications infrastructure also allows duplex communication between the FSU and the central recording unit enabling the relay of instructions from a centralized command location in the field while receiving real-time status and QC information.

Jointly recognizing the need for a flexible solution to counter the challenging conditions of a survey in northwest Colorado, Geokinetics and East Resources determined that ION’s FireFly cableless system could help them achieve their survey objectives.

In many fractured reservoirs, well productivity can be maximized by identifying horizontal well locations that bridge highly fractured intervals. East Resources believed acquiring densely sampled, full-wave data using FireFly would help them achieve their goal. More than 6,000 FireFly stations were deployed on the survey; 10,500 receiver points of full-wave seismic data were acquired. Nearly 7,000 dynamite shot points were used as the source, with the time from first shot to last spanning 20 days.

Geokinetics, a leading geophysical services company headquartered in Houston, served as the field acquisition contractor, while Green River Energy Resources executed various permitting and shot-hole drilling tasks.

FireFly’s cableless architecture minimized footprint and disruptions to the natural habitat and significantly increased the crew’s productivity by reducing system weight and minimizing the number of field personnel. “From some of the early traces, the seismic data looks to be of the highest quality. We couldn’t have completed this project without FireFly and the Connex system,” said Marty Williams, Geoscience Manager for East Resources.