ION taps Shearwater for UK North Sea 3D seismic

Shearwater GeoServices has announced a new 3D seismic acquisition award for ION Geophysical’s UK Mid North Sea High (“MNSH”) program.

The MNSH is one of the last remaining underexplored regions on the UK Continental Shelf and a recent well confirmed one of the first new plays in recent years.

The vessel Amazon Warrior will spend approximately one-and-a-half months acquiring the initial phase of the MNSH 3D survey in Q3 2020.

The deal also provides Shearwater a commercial interest and revenue sharing mechanism.

This survey is part of ION‘s larger program for acquisition in 2020-2021.

The agreement also establishes a framework for the use of Shearwater’s vessels for ION 3D multiclient projects with conditional links to potential upcoming projects.

Chris Usher, ION’s president and chief executive officer, said:

“Shearwater’s modern acquisition technology platform, coupled with our proven imaging capabilities, will assure a high-quality product for our customers as they seek the best data to inform decision-making in this attractive new play.

“Building on our 3D multi-client reimaging success, finding top tier acquisition partners like Shearwater to support our asset light entry into the larger 3D multi-client new acquisition market will be critical to executing our strategy.”

Irene Waage Basili, the CEO of Shearwater GeoServices, said:

“This new cooperative agreement with ION, and MNSH 3D project, forms the basis for a new customer for Shearwater with the potential for further projects in the future.

“The Amazon Warrior is recognized by our clients as one of the leading acquisition platforms in the marine geophysical industry and will ensure ION achieves excellent 3D data quality.”