PGS will start acquisition of a large 3-D GeoStreamer survey in the Barents Sea in partnership with TGS in late May 2018, PGS said May 29.

The project will cover about 6,100 sq km in an active APA area of the Hammerfest Basin and is due to be completed in September 2018. Fast-track data will be available in first-quarter 2019 with final data in the fourth quarter

This project is designed to improve the imaging of the known fields and discoveries and to allow identification and development of new targets in both mature and new plays. The survey area contains shallow targets on the basin flanks and platforms, with deeper exploration potential elsewhere in the basin.

The Hammerfest Basin dataset further expands PGS' Multiclient GeoStreamer coverage in the Barents Sea, applying true broadband technology to reveal the full potential of the area. The Hammerfest Basin is already producing hydrocarbons and is highly relevant for further exploration in the current and upcoming APA rounds.

The project configuration employs an intelligent towing scheme to maximize resolution. Ramform Atlas will deploy an ultra-high-density 3-D configuration with a 16 x 56.25 m x 7000 m setup with a hyperbolic front end. Three of the streamers are towed with 10 km offsets for optimized performance of full waveform inversion (FWI). This is combined with a triple source.

The acquisition design is tailored to fully utilize the potential of an advanced Pre-Stack Depth Migration and FWI processing workflow. Reliable GeoStreamer data attributes also offer significant advantages for quantitative inversion.

“In addition to providing an excellent basis for exploration decisions, this new Hammerfest dataset can be used as a baseline survey for future 4-D comparisons, making this a cost-effective solution for exploration, evaluation, field development and production monitoring,” PGS CEO Rune O. Pedersen said.