HD3D® in Onshore

Onshore started acquiring high density 3D (HD3D®) multi-client seismic in 2002. Since then, nearly all new multi-client surveys that have been acquired have been HD3D® seismic. PGS Onshore also shoots a significant amount of HD3D® contract seismic.

Since 2002, Onshore has invested approximately USD 100 million in new multi-client seismic in the U.S., while, at the same time, had multi-client revenues of USD 140 million. Much of this investment has taken place in the Wichita Mountain Front located in Southwestern Oklahoma, USA where PGS has acquired over 5 500 square kilometers of multi-client data. PGS survey design has evolved over the years, continually pushing the envelope and redefining state-of-the-art acquisition. The term HD or ‘high density’ refers to how often the subsurface is sampled.

Current surveys in the Wichita Mountain Front contain over a million data samples per square mile: a five fold increase over what we acquired just 5 years ago.

Drilling an exploration well is often very costly and has considerable risk associated to it. HD3D® seismic improves our customer’s chances of success by providing them with a Clearer Image of the geology. HD3D® technology also saves our clients time and costs by
allowing them to use the same survey for both exploration and development. Due to the high quality of our HD3D® data petroleum producers are able to shorten the cycle time from discovery to field development.

HD3D® seismic onshore has not only been a success factor for our clients, but also for PGS, our employees and shareholders. We expect the demand for HD3D® seismic onshore will continue to increase going forward.

The images show strike line from conventional survey with dynamite (to the left) and HD3D® survey with Vibroseis (to the right). Note the fault clarity and improved bandwidth the HD3D® survey conveys.