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Rapid Autonomous Marine 4D (RAM4D) – an unmanned, time-lapse offshore seismic acquisition system
- Publisher: European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers
- Source: Conference Proceedings, 80th EAGE Conference & Exhibition 2018 Workshop Programme, Jun 2018, cp-556-00061
- ISBN: 978-94-6282-257-3
Abstract
Shell has been developing a novel geophysical source vessel system, called Rapid Autonomous Marine 4D (RAM4D), to enable frequent and cost-effective 4D surveillance at offshore fields. RAM4D is envisioned as a low-cost, low-footprint unmanned and autonomous vessel deploying a small source (typical <500 in3) shooting into permanent or semipermanent receiver technologies such as Ocean Bottom Cables (OBC) or Distributed Acoustic Sensing Vertical Seismic Profiles (DAS VSP). These receiver technologies are good candidates for surveillance with RAM4D to reduce acquisition costs (OPEX) and due to their high quality 4D data. Shell has completed two field trials during 2017 in a Louisiana lake, and plans an offshore trial to explore the robustness of the system in typical field conditions. RAM4D has been developed openly with the expectation that technology uptake will occur quickest and most efficiently if our work is communicated externally and developed non-exclusively.