The ocean environment is vast and there is a severe lack of knowledge and data for scientists to work on. In 2017, PGS launched a Global Ocean Data Sharing Initiative. Since then we have provided ocean data such as temperature, salinity, and currents to research organizations around the world. In 2019, we signed a memorandum of understanding with Seabed 2030 — an organization whose aim is to map the entire ocean floor by 2030. In 2020, all PGS vessels will collect bathymetry data 24/7/365 and deliver this data to Seabed 2030.
Seismic operations suffer from the littering and plastic pollution of the oceans first hand. Everywhere they work, PGS seismic crews remove debris, waste, and ghost nets tangled in their equipment. Over the past five years, the PGS fleet has removed close to 200 tons of floating debris from the sea. In 2020, we will intensify our effort to find and recover such pollution. We are developing advanced detection capabilities using drones and echo sounders to spot marine pollution during our surveys, and we continue to work on advanced solutions for plastic removal.
Hydrocarbons will remain an important energy source during the transition to greener energy, however we shall do our utmost to minimize the carbon footprint of our operations. Over the past decade, PGS has reduced its CO² emissions per data unit* by 30% and has set a target to reach 50% by 2030. We will achieve this by reducing drag on our vessels and equipment, maximizing the efficiency of our fleet and optimizing the utilization of our resources. Digitalization and data analytics can enable significant improvements in this arena. In 2020, we started development of new advanced operations optimization capabilities.
*As measured by Common Midpoint kilometers – or CMP km.