Oil and gas
The STRYDE Nimble System™
Zimbabwe
Case study
Polaris Natural Resources
Invictus Energy
Oil and gas
Frontier Basin in Zimbabwe (Cabora Bassa)
This case study demonstrates how STRYDE's nodal seismic system was used by seismic contractor, Polaris Natural Resources to survey the subsurface (CB23 2D) to reveal multiple amplitude-supported prospects for Invictus Energy's eastern exploration licence areas in Zimbabwe.
Lightly vegetated, flat savanna land
A 2D seismic survey with swath shooting, by shooting 1 line and recording 2, to create pseudo seismic lines between receiver lines. Shot 38,400 shot points on 31 lines.
By foot
Seismic vibrators (Vibroseis)
2ms
38,400 seismic traces per kilometre
"STRYDE’s Nodes™ have been instrumental in our quest to helping end energy poverty in Zimbabwe with Invictus Energy. Not only did their systems enable us to do our work more efficiently, but the unique characteristics of the nodes themselves, as well as the support systems also helped us to minimise risk and our environmental footprint in the area – making sure we minimised disruption for the local communities both during and after this highly critical seismic acquisition"
CEO, Polaris Natural Resources
Due to the survey location being classified as an environmentally sensitive area, the team needed to complete an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) before the survey could be approved. This meant that the survey had to comply with stringent environmental footprint management conditions.
As this was a frontier, unexplored basin, the Upstream Exploration and Production company required a solution that was low cost, without compromising the quality of the output dataset.
The survey size spanned over 800KM, which meant large volumes of seismic equipment were required to complete the survey effectively, in a remote location, in a complex terrain causing logistical challenges.
The window of opportunity for shooting the survey was weather dependent, resulting in the survey having to be shot within a tight timeframe.
STRYDE’s Nimble System™ was deployed to Polaris in Zimbabwe and consisted of 9,540 STRYDE Nodes™, 4 Nests and server units, the STRYDE nodal operating system (STRYDE’s charge, harvest, and node management system), backpacks, planting devices and nodal holders (magazine strips and trays), navigator tablets, initialisation devices™, and field support personnel
“Newly mapped amplitude-supported prospects in the Dande Formation that have been revealed through the CB23 Seismic Survey we acquired last year are very exciting.
The fact we see the seismic amplitude response across the Musuma, Mopane and Mururo prospects in the south-east of our exploration licence area is extremely encouraging, and could ultimately be part of a single, large hydrocarbon accumulation.
The Dande Formation targets are relatively shallow (sub-1,200m) and can be tested with a simple low-cost vertical well. The Company continues to evaluate the CB23 survey data and these exciting new prospects alongside others in the portfolio, including the untested Basin Margin play, to mature them to drill-ready for an upcoming exploration drilling campaign.”
Read more here.
The seismic system provided by STRYDE unlocked significant cost savings related to the number of people required, equipment needed, logistics, vehicles, and project time when compared to competitor nodal systems
Utilising the world’s smallest and lightest nodes, the team were able to carry 90 nodes per person by foot, resulting in being able to deploy and retrieve thousands of nodes per day and shoot the survey in a much more efficient manner, which reduced the project timeline significantly
Continuously recording nodes allowed multiple receiver lines to be generated from a single shot line, resulting in acquisition of high-resolution and increased density 2D lines and deep structure data that provided the insights required to make informed drilling decisions and to help plan future surveys
STRYDE’s Nimble system™ (9,540 nodes, navigator tablets, initiation devices, backpacks, the nodal operating software, and containers) were delivered on-site within 5 days of the contract agreement, assuring that the project started on-time
The nodes' miniature size and lightweight traits allows for up to 90 nodes to be transported and handled by one person on foot, minimising the need for line clearing and land disruption
The unique characteristics of the Nimble nodal system™ reduces the number of people and vehicles required to deploy and retrieve the nodes on site, in turn, reducing the acquisition contractor’s exposure to risk
STRYDE’s Nimble system™ is ideally suited to these kinds of remote 2D operations. The speed at which locally hired teams could learn how to operate the system allowed Polaris to deliver a very efficient project that has delivered some fantastic imaging results for their client.
Learn more →
Learn more →
Learn more →
