Ocean and Environmental Management Group

Seabed and Sub-Seabed Mapping

OEMG-Global undertakes seabed and sub seabed mapping for scientific bodies, oil and gas and well as civil construction. We will work with your company and use your equipment, or we can utilise strong relationships with hire companies around the world to arrange the most cost effective and practical solution possible.

A G880 Magnetometer being streamed.

Equipment
Seabed and sub-seabed mapping equipment we regularly use includes:

Geometrics magnetometers;
Marine Magnetics seaSPY;
C-MAX Side Scan Sonar systems;
Edgetech Side Scan Sonars;
GeoAcoustics GeoPulse and GeoChirp sub-bottom profiling systems;
Innomar SES range of parametric echosounder / sub-bottom profilers; and
Single beam echosounders.

Installing a GPS repeater on the mast of the Burj al Arab in Dubai.

Ancillary equipment
Equipment we use to support our projects includes:

IXSEA Octans gyro and motion sensor;
TSS motion sensors;
S G Brown (Meridian) Gyrocompass; and
Flux gate compasses.

GPS Systems
Uncorrected GPS systems will generally provide an accuracy of 10m to 15m when positions are taken on the fly. Several methods are available to augment (correct) the raw GPS signal allowing centimetric accuracies to be achieved. The cost of these corrections can range from no charge, to hundreds of dollars per day. We can advise on the use of the following systems:

Veripos Satellite Based Augmentation (SBAS) GPS systems;
C-Nav SBAS GPS Systems;
Hemisphere, Trimble and Sokkia GPS systems utilising SBAS, differential beacons (where available) or base stations; and
Garmin systems.

A relief drawing of the seabed.

Acquisition Software
We utilise Hypack acquisition and processing software in addition to proprietary software and GIS packages. Bathymetric surveys can be done to comply with IHO Order 1 standards where required.

Hardware Installation.
In most cases we are able to undertake equipment installation onto your vessel or vessels of opportunity. In rare cases where this is not the case we can bring in specialist engineers to assist.

Seabed and Sub-Seabed Mapping projects

Projects undertaken by OEMG staff include

2D High Resolution Seismic survey Kazakhstan - Party Chief
This project was a pre-drill hazard survey utilising the Sercel Seal system. Approximately 900kms of survey was undertaken in 10 days.

South Pars Phase II (Iran) for Total Fina Elf - Project Manager
This was a site survey and pre-lay survey for this phase of the South Pars field development. This job included collecting over 1000km of Multibeam, Boomer and Pinger, Side Scan and Maggy Data with both near shore and off shore operations. An environmental Team also collected over 150 environmental samples and some 50 drop (piston) cores.

Site inspection for a Rig Move for Wintershall and Anadarko (Qatar) - Project Management
This project involved two 1km by 1km geophysical and environmental site surveys for a rig placement. The job included collecting Multibeam, Boomer and Pinger, Side Scan and Maggy Data as well as underwater video and stills and grab samples for the environmental assay. A 30m Marine Bore Hole was drilled on each site. The Survey was conducted from the vessel MV Zaker Fugro and the drilling from the vessel MV Zaker Star.

Pre-Lay inspection for pipes from Farozon field to Karg Is, Iran for PEDCO - Project Manager
This project was a route and landing survey for a pipeline installation. This job included collecting over 1000km of Multibeam, Boomer and Pinger, Side Scan and Maggy Data with both near shore and off shore operations and three 20m marine bore holes. The Survey was conducted from the DP vessel Ekteshaf and Drilling from the Vessel MV Zaker Star.

Pre dredge Survey for Sadiat Is development and the Salala Port Expansion ADTA (UAE) and Sala Port Authority - Project Manager
This project involved a multibeam, single beam and pinger survey of the pre-dredge areas around the construction sites.

New Doha International Airport for Bectel Overseas Corp - Project Manager, Senior Surveyor
This project was a seismic and clearance survey for dredging operations, which would include the dredging of some 50 million cubic meters of high quality fill. The job included the supervision of 2 survey teams and a vibrocoring team. Over 1000km of single beam survey and some 200km of seismic and magnetometer survey was completed.

Pearl of the Gulf (Doha Qatar) - Project Manager
This project involved the supervision of 2 drilling teams working 24 hours. The project included some 30 marine boreholes in water depths of 20cm to 4m.

North West Gas Project Libya for B6 - Senior Surveyor
This was a pipeline drag and route survey, which included Side Scan Sonar, Pinger, Single beam and Magnetometer surveys. Responsibilities included project management, vessel fit out, equipment installation, data management, demobilisation and reporting.

Palm Island II Sand Borrow - Party Chief
This job was for the location of significant sand bodies in the vicinity of the development. The job required collecting over 400km of single beam and pinger data. Responsibilities included project management, team management, equipment instillation, data collection and reporting.

Kasab Oman - Party Chief
This project was a rig placement survey to meet operational and insurance requirements. The client required a geophysical survey of the proposed rig location including, Side Scan, Sub Bottom profiling (Pinger and Boomer), and Single Beam, all run simultaneously and well as water column profiling. Responsibilities included, project management, survey design, data management and collection, budget tracking etc.

Globe Island Pre-Tender Survey - Party Chief
This job required the collection of over 7000km of bathymetric data involving multiple boats utilising both single and multibeam surveying and an extensive tidal study to ensure data integrity. Responsibilities included the mobilisation of the vessels, instillation of the onshore and offshore tide gauges, team management, data management and reporting. Land Survey of Al Nakheel development. Project Manager. This project involved the land survey and drilling of the development area. Responsibilities included project management, team management, client liaison, GIS, RTK Surveying, data management and reporting.

Bathymetric, Geophysical & Geotechnical Survey of Aden Harbour, Yemen - Party Chief
Survey of Aden harbour (Yemen) including magnetometer surveys (Pulse Induction and Caesium), Hydrographic & land survey as well as geotechnical drilling. Responsibilities included project management, team management, client relations, mobilisation, instillation, surveying, GIS, budget tracking and reporting.

Featured Technology

Sub-Bottom Profilers

Sub-bottom profiler trace from a GeoAcoustics Geopulse operating at 3.5KHz.

Choosing the system that will meet the objectives of the survey can be difficult as many of the systems overlap in their capabilities and/or are complimentary to each other. Often two or more systems are used in parallel, however on smaller jobs, employing multiple systems can be prohibitively expensive. This section is designed to explain the common technologies available and their pros and cons read more ».

Featured Project

Rig Placement Site Survey

Smuggling boats heading out from Kassab to Iran across the straights of Homuz at dusk.

This project was a rig placement survey off Kassab in Oman, to meet operational and insurance requirements. The client required a geophysical survey of the proposed rig location including, Side Scan, Sub Bottom profiling (Pinger and Boomer), and Single Beam, all run simultaneously. Water column profiling was also undertaken.