Methodologies for Evaluating the Risks and Cost Efficiency Associated with Wide Acquisition Geometries

This paper presents a method for a better evaluation of the risks and of the cost efficiency associated with Acquisition geometries used in 3D marine seismic data acquisition, with a particular focus on wide and very wide Acquisition geometries.

The method originates from the concept of Safe towing capacity (L’Arvor and Choquer (2016)). The Safe towing capacity for a given vessel and a given Streamer configuration is determined based on an evaluation of a vessel’s deck arrangement and propulsion plant architecture versus the hydrodynamic forces induced by the seismic equipment towed at sea. The relationship between Safe towing capacity and maximum productivity is further modeled taking into account critical drivers such as minimum turn radius achievable or total deployment and recovery time.

A thorough data acquisition costing model is then developed in order to output a reference cost per square kilometer of data for a given vessel towing a given Acquisition geometry on a given survey. A case study illustrating the limitations of wide and very wide Acquisition geometries in terms of cost efficiency is then discussed.