Sercel, Fotech Solutions Partner to Deliver Next Generation of Advanced Downhole Technology

Sercel has announced that it has entered into a partnership with UK-headquartered Fotech Solutions to jointly develop future borehole seismic and distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) monitoring technology.

Two experts join forces to revolutionize market

Within the partnership, Fotech Solutions will contribute DAS measurement solutions and Sercel will contribute downhole seismic tools & software for subsurface seismic operations. This combination of expertise will lead to revolutionary new technology developments for both the borehole seismic exploration and microseismic monitoring markets.

Sercel’s contribution

Sercel is the market leader in seismic acquisition equipment. The company’s full range of downhole seismic tools provide the best-performing hardware and sensor sensitivity in the well survey sector and enable the delivery of incomparably high data quality. In addition, Sercel offers a variety of complementary tools for source management, as well as real-time and remote data quality control.

Pascal Rouiller, Sercel CEO, said: “We are delighted to enter into this partnership with Fotech Solutions. Fotech’s fiber optic technology will enable Sercel’s downhole seismic equipment to extend the boundaries of well exploration and therefore lead to a better understanding of the subsurface. This is a significant step forward for the oil & gas industry.”

Fotech Solutions’ contribution

Fotech Solutions is a renowned supplier of DAS solutions for the oil & gas, pipeline and security markets. Its fiber optic monitoring technology allows high-sensitivity true-phase measurement over the length of the optical fiber, thereby providing full well coverage.

Chris Shannon, Fotech Solutions CEO, said: “Benefiting from the expertise and worldwide reputation of Sercel’s seismic acquisition technology offers Fotech a great opportunity to demonstrate all the benefits that our fiber optic monitoring technology can bring to the market. The borehole seismic industry will soon be able to take advantage of this partnership between two key players that will break productivity and imaging records.”

Fotech’s DAS technology also enables 4D borehole seismic surveys to be conducted during production, or in limiting circumstances such as when a conventional system cannot be economically deployed.

Groundbreaking benefits

The use of DAS technology combined with Sercel’s downhole seismic tools will enable the borehole seismic industry to significantly reduce operational costs, acquire more data more easily and overcome current temperature limits.