By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Feb. 15 -- Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Hewlett-Packard Development Co. LP plan to develop a wireless sensing system to acquire extremely high-resolution seismic data on land.
The new system promises to vastly improve the quality of land seismic data by delivering a much higher channel count and a broader sensor frequency range than are currently available, the companies said.
One key to the system is an digital fluidic microelectromechanical systems accelerometer that is up to 1,000 times more sensitive than high-volume products currently available, HP said. The accelerometer, which measures vibration, shock, or change in velocity, is considered a breakthrough in nanosensing research.
Sensors based on this technology can achieve noise density performance in the sub-100 nano-g per square root Hz range, HP said.
Shell and HP will use their complementary knowledge and experience to produce a groundbreaking solution to sense, collect, and store geophysical data. The system is designed to integrate seamlessly with Shell’s high-performance computing and seismic imaging environment and to be deployed safely and more cost-effectively than current systems, they said.
Gerald Schotman, Shell executive vice-president, innovation/research and development, said, “We think this will represent a leap forward in seismic data quality that will provide Shell with a competitive advantage in exploring difficult oil and gas reservoirs, such as subsalt plays in the Middle East or unconventional gas in North America. “As a result of this exciting collaboration, we expect to fully realize the potential of Shell’s processing and imaging technology on land.”
