November 13, 2013

Seismic Vessels in Freeport

PGS is starting a big multi-client seismic acquisition in the Gulf of Mexico, and is outfitting and provisioning several of the vessels involved in Freeport, TX

I had the pleasure of visiting the port and getting on two of the boats, the PGS Apollo:
 

and the Ramform Valiant (below).

Freeport is about 65 miles from Houston, and I drove down this morning before I came to work. I arrived in Freeport about 8:30, and met up with a couple of the PGS folks there.

We boarded the Apollo first. This is the bridge:
 

The Captain of the Apollo was there while we were on the bridge. I can tell you that he LOVES that boat! He could not say enough good things about it. He made it clear that he would be happy if he never commanded another vessel other than this one. He liked the way it handled, the layout of the control panels, the double rudder, and everything else about it.

It is nice to hear someone who really loves their job.

Here is the business end of the vessel - these are GeoStreamer™ cables - a PGS innovation and a real differentiator in the the quality of our data. Both this boat and the Valiant are outfitted with these new and innovative cables.



You have to look are to see in this photo, but these are called "birds". They have little fins that keep the cables steady at a programmed depth.
 

And here are the reels where the cables are stored:


They were in the process of loading some new cables on one of the boats:
 

Seismic data is really measuring sound waves. So you may well ask "What is the source of the noise?"

The answer is air-guns. Here is a pair of airguns, which are towed behind the vessel as well:
 

This is the control center for the Apollo. Navigation on the left, data quality control on the right:
 

This is the logo for the Apollo. I think it is a great logo!
 

The Apollo is not a Ramform, but as you can see below, the Valiant is:
 

Here I am about to get on board:
 

The back deck of the Valiant. It has all of the reels in a row, as the back deck is so wide. (The Apollo has the reels staggered)
 

Looking the other direction:
 

A FRB (Fast Rescue Bessel)
 

That is the bridge of the Valiant.
 

A swimming pool. No kidding - it is filled with salt water, and refreshed every other day.
 

The bridge. That is me in the Captain's chair. Steady as she goes!
 

And then, on the drive to my office, I was able to see Big Steve! An enormous statue of Stephen F. Austin in Angleton. Nice!
 

It was a morning well spent, and I need to say thanks to the PGS folks who put this together for me.

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