Paul Courtenay and Martin Widmaier head up our acquisition projects and survey design teams. They explain how we have designed our teams, tools, processes and culture to deliver outstanding reliability.
Ramform has come to symbolize reliable delivery, time after time.
First comes thorough understanding of the geophysical and operational challenges. Then we tailor our powerful technology toolbox to customer targets. Add the unique PGS culture, evolved by dedicated professionals, and processes designed to cope with known and unexpected hazards. The result is safe, reliable delivery, time after time.
Survey success starts in design. Planning a marine seismic survey helps to predict costs, data quality, and emissions. The interplay between the earth, the acquisition geometry, the environmental and operating conditions, and the processing and imaging workflow, all contribute to the success of the project and the final seismic results.
The PGS survey design group is a small, agile, and competent team that's embedded within our integrated organization. They work with geologists, imaging experts, operations, and an R&D organization that brings all the new technology and smart ideas to the table.
Carine leads one of two regional teams supporting Eastern Hemisphere clients and projects. Her group includes principal geophysicists Alex Goertz and Ashish Misra, and senior geophysicists Tashi Tshering and Okwudili Orji.
Derek gives advice on geophysical solutions for Western Hemisphere clients and projects, interacting with experts worldwide to design optimal solutions for north and south America.
The most important step is to understand our customer's geophysical objectives. We also have to understand the area we will be operating in, and locational complexities like shallow water or installations. This may play into the environmental challenges, and of course there is a budget and set timescale for turnaround. Our survey design process aims to find the optimal solution, the sweet spot.
With the energy transition has come an increased demand for high or ultra-high resolution 3D seismic. Targets are often shallower. PGS combines wide-tow multi-sources with high-density streamer spreads to enable cost-effective acquisition of 3D seismic data with good coverage of the nearest offsets and dense spatial sampling.
Our operations engineers review client and PGS survey designs to be confident they will work in the real world.
While regulations and permitting are an element in all project planning processes, there is more that must be mapped and managed to get ready for real-world realities. To enable reliable delivery of the project, location risks must be understood and mitigated, including in-sea hazards, the remoteness of the survey area, weather, and security considerations.
Logistics are an essential element in the plan, to provide smooth supply routes for crew, provisioning and support services. Client procedures may prescribe additional requirements that must be complied with before a survey can begin.
Halvor leads a 10-man team of highly experienced operations experts that act as a lynchpin between operations and vessel management, sales, business development, HSE, and sourcing.
Culture is the most important factor of safety performance. The way we do things is built upon years of experience, from events and how people respond to them, the way the organization deals with those events. Building the culture is a huge investment, which requires sticking to priorities, maintaining values and sometimes sacrificing short-term gains.
A safety culture will always support the best possible decision making, whether those decisions are on the back deck, in the work boat, or on the bridge. We need the right decisions for the right reasons, as we work in an environment where everybody contributes to their own safety.
Onboard maritime and seismic crew work and play as one team, with one culture. Trust and effective communication on the back deck is fostered by interaction in social areas: eating, playing and exercising. Unrivalled stability means crews sleep well and make better decisions. A healthy workforce and a safety culture are built meticulously, from the back deck to the bridge.
We're convinced that better rested experts make better decisions.
PGS keeps a relentless focus on health, safety and environment.
There will always be hazards that cannot be removed from the offshore environment. But we believe all incidents can be avoided or managed. The first step is correctly mapping and mitigating risks. The second is evolving a robust process for emergency response, including regular training - top down and bottom up - to ensure our responses become intuitive.
PGS' emergency response process allows us to deal with almost any kind of event, considering technical, maritime, and security risks. As real incidents rarely occur, our crews practice in a specially built simulator, often together with partners and client teams. Our emergency response training involves the 1st, 2nd and 3rd lines: in multiple locations, from the bridge to the boardroom, and includes media and next-of-kin support teams. We have been rated 'best-in-class' across the maritime and offshore industries.
Roger leads our Health, Safety, Security and Environment team. He and his team of specialists have varied backgrounds, including maritime captain, seismic party chief, military security expert, environmental consultant, and global medical advisor.
Our reputation is not about exceptional performance, it is about reliable performance at a very high level – no matter what we face. That does not happen by chance. It requires careful design, thoughtful preparation, and a lot of practice.
"PGS sets the benchmark for reliable performance at a very high level, no matter where we are and what we face. That does not happen by chance – it requires careful design, thoughtful preparation, and a lot of practice," says Rob Adams EVP Operations. If you have a project you would like to discuss with our acquisition experts, get in touch!"
