Norway's Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA (EMGS) has a contract with North Energy ASA worth US$1.7 million (NOK 10 million) to provide 3D EM data acquisition in the North Sea.
The survey was to begin in early May, using the BOA Thalassa. The 80m x 20m research/survey vessel, built in 2008, has the capacity to carry 200 receivers, enabling it to acquire large and complex 3D controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM) surveys.
The CSEM survey uses a dipole source that is towed just above the seafloor to transmit a time-varying electromagnetic field into the earth. EMGS says full-azimuth 3D EM data has become the standard for marine CSEM surveying, and offers major benefits over 2D methods.