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New to Alaska: PGS starts seismic surveys on the North Slope this winter
Alan Bailey PNA Contributing Writer
As part of an expansion to its North American operations, PGS Onshore Inc. will be starting seismic surveys on the North Slope this winter.
PGS will be supporting Anadarko’s exploration program in the Brooks Range foothills. “We’ll be conducting two-dimensional and three-dimensional seismic surveys between the Colville and Canning Rivers,” Larry Watt, PGS area manager Alaska, told PNA in early December.
The Anadarko project will involve two crews — one for the two dimensional survey and one for the three dimensional survey. Both crews will consist initially of about 50 people, but the three dimensional survey crew will eventually expand to 75 people.
Although PGS is new to Alaska, the company has staff with Alaska experience and will hire as many Alaskans as possible. “We have a lot of people who have worked here before,” Watt said.
People the challenge However, Watt is worried about finding sufficient staff to fully man the crews. The total number of seismic crews operating on the North Slope is increasing from two or three to six this year, he said.
PGS will use some new technology for its North Slope operations. “We’re developing a new rubber track that we’re going to try on four of our vibrators [instead of tundra tires],” Watt said. “If it’s successful it’ll be more environmentally friendly.”
The PGS seismic crews will also use a new, lightweight recording system. Watt explained that a quarter mile span of the new recording equipment and geophones only weighs 90 pounds. The new system requires relatively small and light transportation gear, thus increasing efficiency and minimizing the impact on the tundra.
PGS Onshore is based in Houston and is the U.S. subsidiary of Petroleum Geo-Services, an international seismic survey company based in Norway. PGS Onshore has recently opened offices in Anchorage and Prudhoe Bay. A firm based in Fairbanks will do expediting for the North Slope operations.
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