There have been, however, some significant changes to the architecture of the system that aim to improve overall recording productivity, system reliability and channel count scalability. Key enhancements were made to the central recording system. The PC-based central electronics were simplified. For instance, the chassis uses fewer cables, and off-the-shelf, 64-bit motherboards, multicore processors and network and memory cards replace costly, long lead-time, custom-built components. As a result of these and other changes, the central’s footprint is smaller, 60% lighter, more rugged and better able to withstand overheating.
The telemetry system has been upgraded to incorporate the latest transmission and switching technologies. Scorpion employs four Ethernet, 1-gigabit backbones that enable the platform to handle extremely high station-count surveys, high sampling rates and complex Vibroseis sweep schemes. The ground electronics for the analog version of Scorpion have also been reworked to incorporate simplified, off-the-shelf chip sets that are inherently more reliable.
In addition, the System Four operating system software has been recompiled in LINUX. While improving overall system stability and uptime, this change also opens up a broader set of development and debugging tools that will be able to continuously enhance system functionality and performance as subsequent software updates are released. More importantly, Scorpion is backwards-compatible with the analog and digital ground electronics of the predecessor System Four platform.
Recommended Reading
Iraq to Seek Bids for Oil, Gas Contracts April 27
2024-04-18 - Iraq will auction 30 new oil and gas projects in two licensing rounds distributed across the country.
US Raises Crude Production Growth Forecast for 2024
2024-03-12 - U.S. crude oil production will rise by 260,000 bbl/d to 13.19 MMbbl/d this year, the EIA said in its Short-Term Energy Outlook.
Halliburton’s Low-key M&A Strategy Remains Unchanged
2024-04-23 - Halliburton CEO Jeff Miller says expected organic growth generates more shareholder value than following consolidation trends, such as chief rival SLB’s plans to buy ChampionX.
Vår Selling Norne Assets to DNO
2024-05-08 - In exchange for Vår’s producing assets in the Norwegian Sea, DNO is paying $51 million and transferring to Vår its 22.6% interest in the Ringhorne East unit in the North Sea.
SLB OneSubsea JV to Kickstart North Sea Development
2024-05-07 - SLB OneSubsea, a joint venture including SLB and Subsea7, have been awarded a contract by OKEA that will develop the Bestla Project offshore Norway.