September-2011: The Reflect Aries has acquired a complex shallow water 3D survey offshore Trinidad for Niko Resources. The objective was to get as much data coverage as close to the shore as possible.
The initial problem was the non-linear shape of the coastline and then there was the high fishing activity, strong currents and numerous fixed obstructions. A curved shooting arrangement was designed which enabled the best coverage possible whilst maintaining efficiency. Data was acquired in water depths down to just 8 metres and the survey was completed with 9.5% technical down-time.
Careful planning of turns around obstructions and shallow hazards.
"On behalf of Niko let me thank you and the crew for a job very well done in getting through this survey without incident , providing good coverage , and from what we can see on the brute stacks , excellent data quality . Given the various complexities of the area it was a highly challenging survey , and the crew is to be commended on what must be a satisfying effort all round .
I like to quantify crew performance by using technical downtime measured over a first to last shot point duration , and expressing this as a percentage of that duration backing out environmental/prospect related standby . This then allows crew performance to be compared moving from one prospect to another, mostly without bias . On this measure technical downtime came in at 9%, highly commendable, though as always with any seismic operation, room for improvement . "