CCUS
Canada
Case study
A case study demonstrating how STRYDE's nodal seismic systems enabled an ultra-high-density seismic survey to be acquired for a CCUS application. This project was conducted in partnership with STRYDE, Explor, and Carbon Management Canada at a CCUS research site in Canada, where the smallest and lightest source and receiver equipment in the industry were used to achieve a trace density of 257 million traces/km2.
STRYDE, Explor and Carbon Management Canada (CMC)
To acquire an ultra-high-density (UHD) seismic survey at a CCUS injection site
The CCUS Containment and Monitoring Institute Research site in Canada
1 km2 survey
Grassland
CCUS application
To acquire an ultra-high-density (UHD) seismic survey at a CCUS injection site in the most efficient and affordable way possible, using the latest receiver and source technologies available on the market
Our collaboration with STRYDE and CMC is changing the game for subsurface imaging in support of CCUS, and we are proud to have broken a world record for trace density.
We are delighted with the performance of how STRYDE's nimble nodes worked seamlessly together with our next-generation PinPoint® system, which weighs less than 2 kilograms and can fit in your pocket. The agility and cost-efficiency of these systems are driving a step-change in imaging the subsurface and sets a new benchmark for what can be achieved for CCUS.
President, Explor
3D UHD seismic survey
9,872 STRYDE Nodes™
By foot
1C configuration on a 7.5x7.5m carpet grid, and an additional cross spread consisting of 2 lines with STRYDE deployed in 3C configuration at 3.75m receiver spacing
A combination of Explor PinPoint® sources and Vibroseis sources
By acquiring all source points into an all-live receiver spread, a total of 257.4 million traces were acquired into this 1 km2 survey (using vibroseis and Pinpoint® sources combined), setting a new global record for seismic trace density
We deployed 19,872 STRYDE Nodes™, navigator tablets, initiation devices, backpacks, nests, magazine strips, and the nodal operating software system to Alberta, Canada.
Explor field deployment personnel then planted the STRYDE Nodes™ aided by the navigator tablets that held the survey layout plan. The vibroseis source technology, and Explor’s miniature Pinpoint® seismic source technology, were deployed and initiated. Active source operations ceased prior to commencement of the planned CO2 injection, and the full spread of 19,872 STRYDE Nodes™ continued recording with no active source for 5 more days. This passive data acquisition was aimed at exploring the potential use of seismic interferometry in monitoring CO2 injection. Using the navigator tablets to locate STRYDE Nodes™, the field operations team retrieved the devices in record time. STRYDE Nodes™ were then loaded into the nests for charging and data harvesting using STRYDE’s Nimble system. The data was directly extracted onto Amazon Web Services (AWS) Snowball Edge, a 100 TB edge appliance. The data was then cloud transferred to STRYDE’s Centre of High-Performance Computing (CHPC) facilities in less than 4 days
Using two of the most compact and agile receiver and source systems available in the market, this survey produced one of the densest seismic datasets ever acquired on land and delivered high-resolution subsurface insights required to locate and monitor CCUS injection using low cost, miniaturised equipment.
257.4 million traces were acquired in this 1 km2 survey, resulting in 78 terabytes (TB) of ultra-high-density 3D seismic data.
The seismic receiver systems provided by STRYDE and Explor unlocked significant cost savings when compared to competitor systems and reduced the project timeline significantly
Low-cost, miniaturised nodal and source technology proved that high-density seismic can be acquired efficiently and effectively, enabling this solution to be accessible and affordable to markets like CCUS, with lower cost margins
The raw 3D UHD seismic data harvested from the nodal system was navigation-merged at the output, meaning all source and receiver information was already populated in the seismic headers, enabling further efficiencies to be unlocked during processing
This powerful combination of tools allows the acquisition of very high density data where fast track processing delivers superior products at a very early stage in processing. Early products starting from brute stacks, through early denoise, and raw migrations tend to deliver superior images to conventional sparse surveys and often reveal geological features that might have required several stages in processing to be seen with sparser data
The seismic technology used in this survey displayed extremely high levels of reliability, with no failures experienced during the entire duration of the active and passive survey.
The fast-track capability enabled by STRYDE’s systems unlocked the ability for stakeholders to make more informed decisions very shortly after the end of a seismic survey, while the seismic volume and its attributes keep improving as the production sequence progresses
The datasets acquired in this project will be shared with academic institutions at no cost to help drive a better understanding of the benefits of seismic data in supporting CCUS projects. It will also be available to license for companies considering seismic acquisition for CCUS
The Nodes and source technologies miniature size and lightweight traits allows for transportation by foot, eliminating the need for line clearing and minimising land disruption
The unique characteristics of the Nimble nodal system™ and Pinpoint® source technology reduces the number of people and vehicles required in the field, in turn, reduced the acquisition project’s exposure to risk
This is yet another example of the incredible nimbleness, versatility, and flexibility of the STRYDE system at enabling surveys designs that were unimaginable a few years ago, even for oil and gas applications. The STRYDE system has clearly freed surveys from the traditional receiver constraints allowing new innovative sources technologies to demonstrate their ability to push this nimbleness even further. This survey demonstrates that ultra-high-density seismic is no longer an exclusive product of the oil and gas industry but has now become accessible to more modest industries that will benefit immensely from it.
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