OilVoice - Stingray Geophysical Completes “Listening with Light” Stage-gate Development Project

Stingray Geophysical Completes “Listening with Light” Stage-gate Development Project

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Stingray Geophysical Limited announces the completion of the 30-month “Listening with Light®” stage-gate development project to commercialise its unique fibreoptic sensing technology for Permanent Seismic Reservoir Monitoring. With the support of funding by the Technology Strategy Board and carried out jointly with manufacturing partner, Atlas Elektronik UK Limited, the qualification test programme culminated in the successful demonstration of Stingray’s Fosar® system to oil companies in offshore Norway sea trials at the end of 2008.

The Fosar system attained all of the technology development programme’s objectives in terms of setting the system design, delivering high fidelity sensor performance comparable with other conventional seismic systems and demonstrating to oil companies on a representative sized system the specific benefits to be derived from highly repeatable, time-lapse or 4D seismic data. Such benefits include the optimisation of hydrocarbon recovery schemes through well placement and the identification of untapped reserves.

Commenting on the successful project completion, Annette Cutler, Monitoring Officer for the Technology Strategy Board, said: “The TSB process worked well for all parties. In addition to the formation of an excellent working relationship between Stingray and Atlas, the project was well run by Stingray with safety in-built in the work ethic. Their exceptional team has been highly professional throughout and, with a ground-breaking technology that is quicker, smarter and cheaper than its current competitors, I believe that Stingray should be able to develop as a first class technology provider to the oil industry.”

Stingray’s Fosar system consists of a passive, fully fibre-optic array of Optical Sensor Units (OSU’s) connected by armoured fibre-optic cable. Requiring minimal lightweight connections to surface recording equipment, the compact interrogation unit receives and decodes the returning signals to provide full-wave seismic imaging data for detailed reservoir characterisation and monitoring. Fosar’s highly scalable, flexible architecture and substantial sensor count per fibre facilitate safe and easy deployment of large seabed sensor arrays and, with a 20 year design life for harsh subsea environments, the inherent reliability and robustness of fibre-optic systems cannot be matched by electrical alternatives.

Recognising the “Listening with Light” project’s contribution to the commercial realisation of the Fosar system, CEO Martin Bett said: “The TSB funding has been vital, enabling us to leverage further industry investment and stretch our R&D budget to meet the requirements of developing such advanced technology to address the needs of oil and gas companies. In particular, oil companies have been able to witness first-hand how the inclusion of Fosar in their reservoir management strategies would enable increased production, greater reserves and lower operating costs and risk.”

Bob Waters, Managing Director of Atlas Elektronik UK Limited, agrees. “From our perspective, being involved in advancing this technology has helped us to enhance our skills base and manufacturing facility. We can now can build scalable sensor systems that consistently meet the specification and test criteria, reinforcing our position as an internationally recognised expert in this area as part of the Stingray team.”