Conquering Challenging Environments

ION specializes in helping oil & gas companies and seismic contractors acquire the highest quality images in some of the world's most challenging E&P environments. Whether you are seeking to acquire frontier data in the icy Beaufort Sea, or running a high-channel count survey in the harsh deserts of the Middle East, we have the technologies and expertise to help acquire the data you need to make informed exploration and development decisions.

Arctic
Shallow/Obstructed Marine
Transition Zone
Desert

Arctic

Arctic Exploration Case Study

Extending the Acquisition Season. Watch the video and learn.

Understanding the potential of a highly attractive but challenging region.

While the Arctic contains an estimated 25% of the world's undiscovered hydrocarbon resources, the region presents unique and formidable imaging challenges. Harsh weather conditions provide operators with a narrow weather window for acquisition operations and, even then, ice can wreak havoc with in-water equipment and introduce unwanted noise into the seismic data.

With our field-proven Arctic technologies, ION is uniquely positioned to help E&P companies find hydrocarbons in the Arctic.

Unique acquisition technologies — ION is the only company with the ability to acquire seismic data under ice, enabling us to acquire data in areas previously considered off limits and to more than double the traditional seismic shooting season.
Special processing techniques — Our GX Technology (GXT) group has developed specialized techniques to attenuate ice-related noise.
Proven Arctic experience — Using these proprietary acquisition and processing tools and techniques, ION has amassed over 50,000 km of depth-imaged seismic data in the Arctic, making our Arctic data library (ArcticSPAN) the largest in the world.

Shallow/Obstructed Marine

While much emphasis has been placed on deepwater exploration, the majority of offshore fields currently in development are in less than 500 meters of water. Acquiring seismic data in shallow water can be hindered by obstructions, including field infrastructure and natural barriers, such as islands, shoals, sand bars and coral reefs. In addition, high vessel traffic, shipping lanes, and offshore loading facilities contribute to the complexity of data aquisition in shallow water. These problems are compounded in multi-vessel operations.

ION has a full suite of technologies and services to deliver high-quality seismic images in shallow marine environments, safely and efficiently.

Survey design and acquisition technologies – designed to mitigate HSE risk and environmental footprint
Integrated acquisition systems – for ocean bottom cable (OBC), towed streamer, transition zone, or land acquisition, or a combination
Integrated command and control system – to provide survey-wide visibility, especially useful in obstructed, multi-vessel operations
Advanced processing techniques – including techniques to eliminate multiples and for processing wide azimuth data

Transition Zone

Integrated land and transition zone (TZ) surveys are complicated, requiring a thorough understanding of the environment, an experienced crew, and specialized equipment, including a mix of land and marine acquisition systems and sources that can withstand the harsh water conditions. In addition, crews are often faced with permitting issues, short acquisition windows and considerable HSE risks, making TZ acquisition particularly daunting.

Together with our partner INOVA, ION offers the equipment and expertise needed to safely and efficiently acquire high-quality seismic images in the most challenging TZ environments.

Seamless project management – ION's GeoVentures team is highly experienced in managing TZ surveys, from survey design and planning, to managing data acquisition, processing and interpretation.
Best contractor for each job – As ION does not own seismic vessels or manage seismic crews, we enjoy the flexibility of choosing the right third-party seismic contractor for each job.
Leading acquisition technologies – Including INOVA's TZ and land acquisition equipment, our VSO seabed system and Gator command and control system, and Sensor marsh geophones

Desert

The desert, with its near-surface velocity variation and complicated surface conditions, makes imaging difficult. Sand dunes pose additional challenges for sensors, with poor coupling and signal quality. And maintaining efficient, reliable operations in extreme temperatures can be difficult.

ION offers a range of innovative field acquisition technologies and services designed to sustain field productivity and enhance image quality in desert settings.

Survey design software and services – We offer using industry-leading MESA software.
Field-proven acquisition systems – Partnering with INOVA, ION has access to the leading cable-based and cableless acquisition systems, sources and full-wave digital sensors and Sensor geophones that facilitate higher channel counts and more dense sampling.
Full-wave imaging - As a leader in full-wave imaging, we can deliver more accurate subsurface images.