Gazprom Neft says it has completed testing of new-generation seabed seismic stations (so-called “Flounder” stations) for offshore exploration in the Sea of Okhotsk — a project originally initiated in 2019. Development of this Russian-developed seismic-exploration equipment is being undertaken with the involvement of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, which has allocated more than RUB500 to projects of this kind.
These “Flounder” seabed stations have been designed and launched by research and development agency Aviation and Marine Electronics NPP, with the first batch having successfully completed laboratory testing. Marine Arctic Geological Expedition (JSC MAGE) and ROSGEO (Rosgeologica JSC) are scheduled to test the devices under real-word conditions at offshore license blocks belonging to Gazprom Neft later this year. The previous model of these seabed stations — the CRAB — successfully proved its capabilities during seismic exploration works at the Ayashsky license block in the Sea of Okhotsk in 2019.
The new seabed station is cylindrical in shape, significantly improving its ergonomics and making it easy to see even in poor visibility under challenging weather conditions. The stations contain new hydrophones and geophones, a compass and a built-in acoustic module — all of which improves quality in data collection and processing, making it possible to obtain a more precise seismic map from work locations.
The next generation of seabed stations will be equipped with a mechanism allowing them to be lowered to the seabed and lifted back to the vessel automatically rather than manually. This mechanism, which is expected to be developed by 2022, will make technicians’ work much easier, as well as increasing speed in undertaking offshore seismic surveys.
Mikhail Ivanov, Deputy Minister for Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, comments: “The need to develop standalone seabed seismic stations was recognised during work by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation’s Scientific and Technical Committee for Developing Oil and Gas Equipment. When we started implementing this project there were no domestic producers anywhere in the country, and offshore geological exploration had to be done using foreign equipment. These stations’ workability and performance was confirmed during field tests in 2019, and by 2019–2020 MAGE JSC had around 3,000 ready for use on Gazprom Neft license blocks.”
Russia’s Ministry of Industry and Trade financed the development and resource-testing of advanced sea-bed seismic stations throughout 2019. Battery modules in these stations can be replaced quickly, allowing uninterrupted operation, and are equipped with hydrophones with “in-field” replacement capability, and improved quartz clocks and compasses.