PGS to Equip its Offshore Survey Vessels with Nexans’ Lead-in Cables

Nexans, a worldwide leading expert in the cable industry, has been awarded a 3 million euro turnkey contract to supply lead-in cable systems for the advanced GeoStreamer seismic array technology that Petroleum Geo-Services​ (PGS) is deploying on its fleet of offshore survey vessels.

The contract provides an important market reference for Nexans as it makes a key strategic move, from its well established position as a supplier of seismic and oceanographic cables, to delivering a complete service for lead-in cable systems, including fairings and terminations.

To deliver the total order of 35 systems for the GeoStreamer deployment, Nexans’ specialized seismic cable manufacturing facility in Rognan, Norway has joined forces with MøreNot AS for the fairing installation and Siemens Subsea Products (formerly Bennex AS) for terminations.

Lead-in cables play a vital role in the survey process

PGS acquires, processes, markets and sells high quality seismic data worldwide. Oil and gas companies use this data to explore for hydrocarbon accumulations, to develop new oil and gas fields, and to manage their producing fields.

During the survey process, the vessels typically tow between 8 and 18 cables that are up to 8 km long, in an array that may be over 1 kilometer in width. The cables, each of which has a lead-in, are packed with sensitive electronic listening and recording devices.

The lead-in cables, usually around 1.1 kilometer in length and containing various electrical and fiber optic internal cores protected by 3 layers of steel wire armouring, play a vital role in transferring the seismic signals from the recording devices in the array to the processing and analysis equipment onboard the vessel. The reliability of the lead-in cable is crucial as it reduces unwanted noise and protects against potential corruption of the data. Bad data is unacceptable, and means parts of the acquisition have to be repeated, which could delay the survey, or even result in operational losses.

“Nexans is already well established as a leading supplier of marine seismic cables. However, there is a considerable change in the market as many customers are now calling for complete, coordinated turnkey solutions. That is why we have developed our new strategic approach to increase our market share by operating as an effective ‘one-stop-shop’ for lead-in cable systems”, says Ragnar Vogt, Marketing and Sales Director, Nexans Telecom Division. “This order for PGS is an important breakthrough that provides a key reference for Nexans in this sector. The next step is to continue to use a combination of our in-house expertise and trusted external partners to further develop Nexans’ total service philosophy for marine seismic operators.”

The lead-in cables for the PGS fleet are scheduled for delivery by February 2012.

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Source:Nexans ,September 22, 2011; Image:PGS