The EAGE show in Rome this year was, well…interesting to say the least. The event organizers picked one of Europe’s great historical cities for their annual geophysical conference. But after only a few days, many of the exhibitors (including ION) were wondering if Rome will earn a reputation as one of Europe’s great cities in which to host an event. Where was Julius Caesar when we needed him!
The exhibition center was far from the city center, complicating travel matters for exhibitors and attendees alike. Power seemed a luxury as it intermittently cycled during the show (eventually blowing out one of our Scorpion demo systems). Lunches weren’t always delivered for our ‘Lunch & Learns’ related to XinChang and NorthEast AtlanticSPAN, but the learning went on anyway! And perhaps in the greatest testament to the rapid, on-the-fly creativity of the oil & gas industry, the exhibitors turned the EAGE-imposed chaos of the event Icebreaker into a smoothly running logistical operation in less than 24 hours when they took travel matters into their own collective hands.
Despite these obstacles ION was, as always, undeterred. The show went on. And we managed to connect with a number of important customers on key topics.
It’s always a bit risky to point out a single highlight of a show, but we’d probably have to look to the Whisper Suite of our marine imaging systems group if pressed. Our marine guys were booked solid for three straight days – by oil & gas companies and contractors alike – as they went through the architecture and components of their Intelligent Acquisition [IA] system for towed streamer surveys. There was significant interest in DigiFIN and what this streamer control technology brings to the execution of complex geometry and time-lapse 4D seismic surveys. And many of the contractors were pleased to learn that DigiSTREAMER is currently in operation (on Fugro's most productive vessel) and is available now as an alternative for contractors who preferred to buy from an independent source rather than from one of their largest and most direct competitors.
Our FireFly guys had a Whisper Suite of their own, with customers filling the seats to learn of the pending release of Version 2.0 of the system and our next field trial in July. In addition to the Lunch & Learns and Whisper Suites, ION personnel also presented in the booth theater and in various technical sessions on topics ranging from RTM to exploration in the Arctic to next-generation Vibroseis methods.
With Rome behind us, no missing ION personnel, and a trade show booth that managed not to burn down (by week’s end, you could get even-money odds that it would), it’s time to look ahead to the next big industry conference. It’s SEG. It’s Las Vegas. And what could go wrong there!
