In the past, there were only two market situations that created a well-understood, if often ignored, cycle. Demand for seismic services was either high, in which case the seismic

Figure 1. Launching the work boat from the Wavefield Inseis 3-D vessel Geowave Commander. (Images courtesy of Wavefield Inseis)
contractors were able to make good margins and invest in new technologies, or demand was low, with contractors surviving by shooting only partly funded non-exclusive surveys and laying up vessels. This cycle was very much a part of the seismic business, and its history is referred to in relation to the cycle’s peaks and troughs. New technologies were developed and differentiated some of the major players from the rest, but the main criteria for success was the ability to build up supply during the boom periods and to successfully manage a cutting-back during the bust periods.

There will probably always be some cyclical changes in the business, but oil and gas companies no longer just require more or less geophysical data during the course of their own exploration and development focus cycles. Increasingly, they require bespoke seismic data designed for the specific problems of a particular basin or reservoir. There is also the demand for other, non-seismic measurements to enhance their understanding of the subsurface before drilling exploration or development wells. And more than ever they need integrated services delivered within shorter and shorter time frames.

All these new requirements, driven by the ever-toughening challenges faced by the oil and gas companies as they struggle to replenish their reserves, have given rise to a number of new services and techniques such as multi-azimuth and wide-azimuth seismic data acquisition, high resolution acquisition for 4-D applications, sparse multi-azimuth ocean bottom seismic, four-component (4-C) ocean bottom seismic, permanent seismic reservoir monitoring, and electromagnetic (EM) seabed logging.

The service company best suited to today’s market will not necessarily be a long-established
Figure 2. Airgun arrays.
player that has been forced to adapt and mold its organization to meet the new market situation. A new company that is rapidly deploying the very latest techniques and technology and is growing its organization and business over the coming months is well-poised to have the flexible and innovative approach that is needed in today’s market.

Wavefield Inseis, a new company built from scratch, has had a number of unique opportunities on which it has capitalized. At the beginning of last year, as the company was about to launch, it developed a strategy designed to position itself at the forefront of the modern geophysical services market. Part of the strategy has been to fast-track the introduction of a flexible fleet of towed-streamer vessels capable of providing the type of acquisition techniques now increasingly being used in areas like the Gulf of Mexico for subsalt imaging.

Additionally, the company is deploying large numbers of closely spaced streamers for 4-D acquisition while also being able to acquire large exploration surveys and deploy the numbers of both streamers and sources to allow acquisition using the over/under concept. This has led to a fleet of six vessels comprising dual streamer 2-D vessels and large 3-D vessels with up to 16 streamers.

Emerging technologies
Wavefield Inseis also has been able to identify emerging technologies. This, together with the fact that it is now a top pick for many of the industry’s investment analysts and so very successful in securing funding for growth, has meant that it has managed to secure access to technology which company officials believe will propel the company into a leading position in two specific areas.

The first is permanent seismic monitoring, and the second is a new application of EM data acquisition. At this stage, the latter is a research project, conducted with industry backing together with a research establishment, and one which Wavefield Inseis predicts will lead to a commercial system in the near future.

The new technology for Wavefield Inseis’ 4-C ocean bottom cable for permanent reservoirs has been developed by the Weatherford subsidiary Optoplan AS, now jointly owned by Weatherford and Wavefield Inseis after Wavefield Inseis purchased 35% of the company in January. The ocean bottom cable, which comprises a completely passive wet end, utilizes the optical seismic sensors which Optoplan developed for the already commercialized Weatherford downhole seismic array.

The company already is planning its first permanent seismic monitoring project and, together
Figure 3. The eight-streamer Commander in action.
with its EM project, is also looking at several other cutting-edge projects in order to capitalize on its ability to bring new technology to market in a very short time-frame. According to Chief Executive Officer Atle Jacobsen, “We have a compact organization, so if we have a good idea in the morning, we can be implementing it in the afternoon.”

QHSE
Another area that has benefited from Wavefield Inseis’ “built from scratch” personality is its quality/health/ safety/environment (QHSE) system. After many years in the seismic acquisition business, and having worked in all aspects of it, the company’s personnel had a very well-defined view of what a QHSE system should be able to do. Named Vision, the system was designed and put together in close cooperation with a software developer who provided the basis of a Lotus notes application. Vision is an electronic, Web-based system that allows quick and easy access to processes and information to allow everyone in the company to perform their task safely and efficiently.

The people challenge
It is often stated these days that the main challenge facing the industry is a lack of qualified people. New, streamlined and rapidly expanding companies such as Wavefield Inseis have an edge on the more mature organizations in that they are offering new employees the chance to be involved in a variety of different activities. These can be designing and rigging new vessels prior to taking them out and putting them to work, being part of a new technology development team, opening new offices, or developing new markets, all within an expanding organization where rapid career advancement is possible.

Clearly, today’s brand-new company is tomorrow’s established major, but a brand-new company that emerges with strong ambitions to lead the way in today’s highly challenging and dynamic environment should have the ability to remain light on its feet and keep pace with the ever-changing demands of its ever evolving client base.