Could you start by telling us about CGG’s business, and your role within it?
CGG is a global technology and HPC leader that provides data, products, services and solutions in Earth science, data science, sensing and monitoring. My role is within its Earth Data division where we work with energy companies to acquire seismic data surveys that provide information on the Earth’s subsurface. Our seismic imaging experts will then process the seismic data we acquire and generate an image of the subsurface which can inform our clients on the environmental and economic impact of their drilling and development decisions. Typically, multi-client businesses like ours will acquire very large survey areas of interest to multiple clients as our services offer them a cost-effective way of exploring high-potential locations. One example of this is CGG’s latest acquisition in the Norwegian Northern Viking Graben (NVG) region which is creating a dual-azimuth dataset, helping our clients identify new opportunities near their existing assets and infrastructure. My role specifically is to manage those seismic acquisition projects from concept and permitting through to delivering the data to our clients. I’m based in CGG’s UK Crawley office, and I mainly look after our opportunities in the eastern hemisphere.
What was your experience of MultSeis before you approached us in 2021?
CGG has a long history in geophysical exploration and up until 2020 we had our own acquisition division which utilised our own survey tracking and monitoring software. After we exited the acquisition business in 2020 we needed a new solution for tracking and logging our surveys and MultiSeis was the obvious choice for us to satisfy that requirement.
So what was it in 2021 that made you approach us?
During our first multi-client projects with our acquisition partner, Shearwater GeoServices, in 2020 we were given guest access to their MultiSeis Global Manager portal which was an invaluable tool for us to track those projects during the transition phase. It soon became clear that we would need our own MultiSeis account and server to log our own reports and build a database of our global operations going forward.
How does day-to-day usage of MultiSeis look for you now?
On a daily basis we rely on the Global Manager portal to get a good overview of survey production and events. In addition to this, we have very detailed daily reports generated by our reps which add a wealth of understanding to how things are going in the field. If we need to investigate an event or period more thoroughly then having access to the database via the Project Manager software allows us to easily access the finer details quickly.
Before adopting the Global Manager, you had this project data as pdf reports from the client reps. Does it make a big difference to have access to the underlying data through a browser?
The Global Manager portal allows us to easily visualise and track how the survey production is progressing. For example, I frequently refer back to the graphs generated on Global Manager when querying everything from production km 2 to technical downtime segments to fuel consumption. I often use it when presenting to management on survey progress, as I can easily break down the distribution of time spent on the survey which can inform us more accurately the next time we come to acquiring data in that area.
So do you have advice for other people thinking of adopting MultiSeis?
It’s certainly preferable to look into adopting it during the off season and allow enough time to fully grasp the functionality it offers. I would recommend having specific written guidance for client representatives on how MultiSeis projects should be set up and utilised, as this has been useful for us during the numerous projects we have used it on so far.
