Patent Application
20210293984
This invention relates to seismic source vessels, and more particularly to the design of seismic source systems using modular containers, such as ISO certified containers.
Marine seismic data acquisition and processing generates a profile (image) of a geophysical structure under the seafloor. Reflection seismology is a method of geophysical exploration to determine the properties of the Earth's subsurface, which is especially helpful in determining an accurate location of oil and gas reservoirs or any targeted features. Marine reflection seismology is based on using a controlled source of energy (typically acoustic energy) that sends the energy through seawater and subsurface geologic formations. The transmitted acoustic energy propagates downwardly through the subsurface as acoustic waves, also referred to as seismic waves or signals. By measuring the time it takes for the reflections or refractions to come back to seismic receivers (also known as seismic data recorders or nodes), it is possible to evaluate the depth of features causing such reflections. These features may be associated with subterranean hydrocarbon deposits or other geological structures of interest.
In general, either ocean bottom cables (OBC) or ocean bottom nodes (OBN) are placed on the seabed. For OBC systems, a cable is placed on the seabed by a surface vessel and may include a large number of seismic sensors, typically connected every 25 or 50 meters into the cable. The cable provides support to the sensors, and acts as a transmission medium for power to the sensors and data received from the sensors. One such commercial system is offered by Sercel under the name SeaRay®. Regarding OBN systems, and as compared to seismic streamers and OBC systems, OBN systems have nodes that are discrete, autonomous units (no direct connection to other nodes or to the marine vessel) where data is stored and recorded during a seismic survey. Each such node may have one or more seismic sensors, a data recording unit, a reference clock for time synchronization, and a power source. One such OBN system is offered by the Applicant under the name MANTA®. For OBN systems, seismic data recorders are placed directly on the ocean bottom by a variety of mechanisms, including by the use of one or more of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs), by dropping or diving from a surface or subsurface vessel, or by attaching autonomous nodes to a cable that is deployed behind a marine vessel.
If the nodes are autonomous seismic nodes on the seabed, a general seismic deployment and survey operation generally requires one or more surface vessels that deploy and/or retrieve autonomous seismic nodes from the ocean bottom (e.g., the supply vessel). See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 9,090,319, incorporated herein by reference. The supply vessel may have a node deployment and retrieval system, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,459,366, incorporated herein by reference. In one embodiment, the supply vessel may utilize a fully containerized deployment system, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,784,873, incorporated herein by reference. This fully containerized deployment system is distinct from any separately utilized seismic source system on a separate seismic source vessel.
As described above, a standalone vessel (e.g., a separate marine vessel from the seismic node supply vessel) is conventionally used as a seismic source vessel for sending acoustic energy into the ocean to be detected by the seismic nodes. As is known in the art, air guns are typically used as acoustic sources. These air guns are arranged in arrays and are towed and/or deployed behind the seismic source vessel a certain distance beneath the water surface (such as between 6 to 10 meters beneath the surface). A single source vessel may deploy four to six or more source sub-arrays, with each array comprising a gun float and a series of air guns connected together by a gun string and/or umbilical cable. In some embodiments, the air guns are suspended beneath the gun float by steel chain, wires, ropes, or other suitable mechanisms. The entire source array is lowered to the water from the back of a marine vessel by a series of hoisting wires, slings, winches, and the like. A seismic source array system is typically composed of approximately 20 to 50 airguns, which may be located at different horizontal and vertical positions and have different volumes. Such seismic arrays are known and described in the prior art, such as explained more fully in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,721,180 and 7,929,378, each incorporated herein by reference.
Existing seismic source vessels typically use large, specially made equipment, machines, and modules/containers that take a long time to install on a standard vessel or must have their own dedicated seismic source vessels. The installation of such equipment may take weeks or months to install properly and may require a dedicated and/or specifically designed vessel to operate such equipment. Such a vessel is difficult to find, expensive to rent and/or to buy, and may require significant lead-time to purchase, lease, and/or build. In some instances, the vessels are purposely re-built to integrate the seismic source system into the structure of the vessel. When the vessel is not in use and/or is between jobs, rather than removing the deployment equipment and re-installing when the next seismic survey is to be performed, the equipment is typically left on the vessel, and the operator is forced to pay the daily rental rates of the vessel. If a dedicated vessel is used, it takes significant time and money to transport that dedicated vessel to an intended survey destination around the world. Such systems are costly, time consuming, and ineffective.
One problem with existing seismic source systems is transporting the system to the intended survey site and/or port to equip a standard vessel with the seismic source system. Transportation is a highly regulated industry, and existing seismic source systems are not capable of being easily transported. In some instances, the seismic source system (or portions thereof) are so cumbersome to transport that the intended source vessel is moved from one location in the world to a storage or fabrication facility to have the seismic source system installed at the storage facility, and then to transit the source vessel to the intended destination site of the survey. This is a costly and time-consuming process. Non-standardized shipping methods increase the cost and time to mobilize the seismic source system.
A container ship is a standard type of cargo ship that carries all of its payload in a container, commonly called shipping containers. A container ship is the predominant method of commercial freight sea transport and carries most seagoing non-bulk cargo around the world. Containerization (e.g., the shipping of goods via standard containers in a standard shipping container) significantly reduces shipping time and costs, and much like the airline industry, has a set schedule of times, destinations, and routes for ports and routes all around the world. However, the transportation industry has regulated container ships and sea transportation, and only ISO certified containers may be used on a container ship. The ISO regulations require that the ISO certified container meets certain size, strength, and durability requirements. Further, an ISO container has a maximum weight limitation. This standardization allows rapid movement, placement, and fastening of containers to the container ships. Not all containers are shipping containers, and not all shipping containers are ISO certified containers. While non-ISO certified containers may be able to transport via air, truck, or train, typically only ISO certified containers are capable of being transported via a container ship.
What is needed is a seismic source system that may be stored, transported, and operated in a cost effective and time sensitive manner. A system is needed that can fully transport, store, and operate most or all of such a system in one or more CSC (“International Convention for Safe Containers”) approved ISO containers that can be transported via standard shipping routes and mobilized on a suitable vessel using conventional installation techniques. A system is needed that can be easily and quickly installed and/or mobilized on any number of readily available marine vessels. A seismic source system is needed that is fully modular.
Systems and methods for operating a modular and/or containerized seismic source array system from a marine vessel and installation of same on any vessel of opportunity. The modular seismic source array system may be transported, stored, and operated in a plurality of shipping containers, each of which may be CSC approved ISO containers. The containers are attached to the marine vessel by a grid attachment frame installed on the back deck of the vessel, such that a wide variety of layouts and configurations of the seismic source system is possible depending on the survey requirements and marine vessel. The containers may be placed longitudinally and transversely on the grid attachment frame and may be multiple levels high. A detachable and/or removable slipway may be utilized on the rear end of the marine vessel to facilitate deployment and retrieval of the source arrays. The slipway may be transported to and from the vessel via a container, whether on top of a container or within the container. The slipway may be removably attached to the transom section of the vessel by a wide variety of mechanisms. The modular source system can be combined with an ocean bottom node storage or node deployment or node recovery system on the same vessel by utilizing same or similar container footprints. For example, the modular source system may be substantially located on a first level while the node storage, deployment, or recovery system may be substantially located on a second level on top of the first level, or vice versa. In other embodiments, the containerized system may further comprise an ocean bottom node storage system located within a second plurality of shipping containers located at least partially on top of the first group of the plurality of shipping containers. Further, the system may include an ocean bottom node deployment or recovery system located within a third plurality of shipping containers located at least partially on top of the first group of the plurality of shipping containers.
In one embodiment, disclosed is a containerized seismic source system that comprises a plurality of shipping containers located on a back deck of a marine vessel and a seismic source handling system located within a first group of the plurality of shipping containers. The seismic source handling system is configured to deploy and retrieve a plurality of seismic source arrays from the back deck of the marine vessel to a body of water, such as across each of the first group of the plurality of shipping containers. In one embodiment, each of the first group of the plurality of containers is arranged transverse on the back deck of the marine vessel, and the source arrays pass through and/or travel through a side of each of the transversely placed containers. Each of the first group of the plurality of containers may comprise open sides or removable sidewalls, which may be arranged to allow the source array lines to pass through the containers. In one embodiment, a plurality of source handling rails may be located in each of the first group of the plurality of containers and configured to transport the source array lines through the containers. In one embodiment, all of the shipping containers are arranged transversely on the back deck of the vessel. In another embodiment, substantially all of the containers are arranged transversely on the back deck of the vessel and one or more are arranged longitudinally, such as the compressor containers.
The present disclosure may also include a detachable slipway coupled to a back portion of the marine vessel, such as by a plurality of slipway interfaces separately installed to the marine vessel. The slipway may also be coupled to the transom portion of the vessel by a plurality of ISO connections, which may be installed on a plurality of support members separately welded or installed on the rear portion of the vessel. The slipway may be configured to be transported to and from the marine vessel via a shipping container.
The plurality of shipping containers may be fastened to the back deck of the marine vessel by a container grid attachment frame, wherein the frame comprises at least a plurality of longitudinal bars, and in some embodiments a plurality of horizontal bars coupled to the longitudinal bars. The plurality of shipping containers may comprise a plurality of CSC approved ISO containers. In some embodiments, all or substantially all of the containers are CSC approved ISO containers. The plurality of shipping containers may comprise a lower plurality of shipping containers and an upper plurality of shipping containers located on one or more of the lower plurality of shipping containers. In one embodiment, at least one of the plurality of shipping containers comprises an umbilical winch system, in which may be located a plurality of double winch systems. For transportation purposes, at least one of the plurality of double winch systems is removable from the container during transportation of the container to and from the vessel. In one embodiment, the plurality of shipping containers comprises a systems hub container that is configured to couple all electrical and fluid connections from the marine vessel to the containerized source system.
In one embodiment, disclosed is a containerized seismic source system that comprises a seismic source handling system located within a first plurality of shipping containers located on a back deck of a marine vessel, an ocean bottom node storage system located within a second plurality of shipping containers located on the back deck of the marine vessel, and an ocean bottom node deployment or recovery system located within a third plurality of shipping containers located on the back deck of the marine vessel. The seismic source handling system may be configured to deploy and retrieve a plurality of seismic source arrays from the back deck of the marine vessel to a body of water, the node storage system may be configured to store a plurality of ocean bottom autonomous nodes on the marine vessel for deployment purposes, and the node deployment or recovery system may be configured to deploy and/or retrieve a plurality of autonomous seismic nodes from the vessel to the ocean floor, via one or more deployment lines, subsea baskets, or ROVs. In one embodiment, the ocean bottom node storage system is located at least partially on top of the seismic source handling system, and the ocean bottom node deployment or recovery system may be located at least partially on top of the seismic source handling system or ocean bottom node storage system.
In one embodiment, disclosed is a method of deploying a seismic source array from a marine vessel, comprising deploying a plurality of seismic source arrays off a back deck of a marine vessel from a plurality of shipping containers and deploying each of the plurality of seismic source arrays through each of the plurality of shipping containers. The plurality of shipping containers may be transversely positioned on the marine vessel, such that each of the seismic source array lines pass through each of the plurality of shipping containers.
In one embodiment, disclosed is a method of installing a modular seismic source array system onto a marine vessel, comprising attaching a grid attachment frame to a back deck of the marine vessel, coupling a plurality of containers to the grid attachment frame, and coupling a detachable slipway to a rear portion of the marine vessel. In one embodiment, the slipway is installed to the rear portion of the vessel by a plurality of ISO connections (such as standardized twistlock connections) and/or support structures that are separately welded to the transom of the vessel. In one embodiment, a seismic source handling system is located within at least some of the plurality of containers and is configured to deploy and retrieve a plurality of seismic source arrays from the back deck of the marine vessel to a body of water.
The following drawings form part of the present specification and are included to further demonstrate certain aspects of the present invention. The invention may be better understood by reference to one or more of these drawings in combination with the detailed description of specific embodiments presented herein.
Various features and advantageous details are explained more fully with reference to the nonlimiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well known starting materials, processing techniques, components, and equipment are omitted so as not to unnecessarily obscure the invention in detail. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and the specific examples, while indicating embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, and not by way of limitation. Various substitutions, modifications, additions, and/or rearrangements within the spirit and/or scope of the underlying inventive concept will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure. The following detailed description does not limit the invention.
Reference throughout the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the subject matter disclosed. Thus, the appearance of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout the specification is not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.
As mentioned above, the disclosed seismic source system utilizes standard sized shipping containers to house all of the necessary components of the seismic source system for storage, transportation, and use on the back deck of a marine vessel. In one embodiment, the shipping containers are CSC approved ISO containers so that the seismic source system (or parts thereof) can be entirely transported anywhere around the world on standard container ships. In one embodiment, the disclosed seismic source system is fully modular, in that the system is built out of units that can be interchanged and combined in different ways to give alternative layouts, with each module having a specific purpose. In some cases, less or more modules may be needed for a different seismic source configuration.
The disclosed system is safer and saves significant money and time for each seismic survey operation as opposed to conventional seismic source systems. For example, there is no need to separately install any of the devices or equipment of the seismic source system directly to the vessel. Instead, only the containers must be fastened and/or secured to the vessel, and more particularly, a fastening system may be mounted to any vessel of opportunity upon which the containers may then be mounted. For ISO approved containers, the fastening process is standardized and may take only a few days to install the system to a vessel as opposed to weeks or months of installation time for a typical seismic source system. As another example, because ISO certified containers may be utilized, the containers can be transported via any standard shipping route, such as air, road, train, or sea, to a destination harbor and mobilized on a suitable marine vessel. In one embodiment, the marine vessel may be any vessel of opportunity. Further, such a system can be transported to any remote destination in the world in a matter of a few days, in contrast to a conventional system that may take weeks or months to ship to a remote destination. The ability to transport the entire system in a fast and efficient manner provides numerous advantages, such as being safer to transport and install, decreasing the lead time needed to find and engage a suitable transportation vessel as well as a marine deployment/source vessel (which often may take months in advance with current deployment systems), and being significantly more cost effective to transport (both in time and money) than conventional seismic source systems. A fully containerized and/or modular source system may also protect operators from being exposed to harsh weather conditions (thereby increasing their safety) and facilitates operation systems and surveys in harsher conditions than previously possible. A containerized system allows crews and equipment to be efficiently managed and shared without substantial cost, including combining crews and equipment to meet the demands of extremely large seismic surveys.
In one embodiment, the contents of each container may be modified for the particular task of the container. The containers may be transferred to the deck of a vessel via a crane or other lifting device and then secured to the deck and coupled to each other through various fastening mechanisms. The containers may be positioned side to side, end to end, and even on top of each other (up to 3 or 4 or more levels high) on the deck depending on the specific layout of the containers, needs of the survey, and requirements of the vessel. The system setup may vary from job to job and from vessel to vessel, in both layout and number of containers utilized. One embodiment of the seismic source system uses standard sized CSC approved ISO containers in a plurality of configurations. Standard sized containers are typically 20 or 40 feet long and 8 feet wide, and may be 8 feet, 6 inches tall for standard height containers to 9 feet, 6 inches tall for high-cube containers. Each container preferably has a floor, roof, and one or more sidewalls, with various portions removed to facilitate the operational task within each container as needed, or to allow service personnel access to the container. In one embodiment (such as for the source handling system), multiple sidewalls of the containers may be removed. A container may include additional frame supports to the floor and/or sides, but would be CSC approved ISO containers.
No other commercial system utilizes such an integrated, modular, and containerized approach for a seismic source system as disclosed herein. Such a fully containerized system requires significant design considerations of all aspects of the seismic source system. Each separate aspect/component of the system depends upon and is integrated with the other aspects/components of the system. For example, the modular design itself affects how the source arrays are deployed and retrieved from the back deck of a vessel, and how they may be stored, serviced, and handled on the vessel. A fully modular and/or containerized system requires a comprehensive and integrated seismic source system that is specifically configured to be transported, stored, and operated out of a plurality of standardized shipping containers. In some embodiments, the modular source system can be combined with a node deployment or recovery operation/system on the same vessel by utilizing same or similar container footprints such that a node deployment or retrieval or storage system may be located on a substantially first level and a seismic source system may be located on a substantially second or third level, or vice versa.
In one embodiment, disclosed is a modular source system used for ocean bottom seismic data acquisition seismic surveys. The modular source system may be installed on board a platform supply vessel, such as any vessel of opportunity. In one embodiment, most, all, or substantially all of the system is transported in ISO sized containers to the vessel and operated within such containers on the vessel.
In one embodiment, the individual components/containers of the modular source system 200 may be coupled together and/or interface with the marine vessel 101 through a single system hub container 211, where any necessary fuel piping, lube oil piping, oily water piping, sea water piping, and electrical cables may be connected. The equipment installed in system hub container 211 may dispatch fluids and electricity to the relevant containers and equipment on the vessel. The system hub container is designed to connect the different energies (electricity, fuel, sea water, etc.) from the platform supply vessel (e.g., marine vessel 101) to the modular source system. The use of a single container for all mechanical interconnectivity between the marine vessel and the modular source system significantly increases the installation and removal of the modular source system to a marine vessel, which increases the overall efficiency and decreases the installation/deployment cost. In one embodiment, container 211 may be arranged in a plurality of functional sections: one area of the container (e.g., starboard side) may be used for electronic equipment, one area of the container (e.g., in the middle) may be used for a control room or other supervision system, and one area of the container (e.g., port side) may be used for a fuel distribution and sea water pump system. Container 211 may be located at various positions within the modular source system 200.
In one embodiment, modular source system 200 may comprise a plurality of compressor containers 231 (such as three) which holds a plurality of (such as three) diesel compressors and relevant exhausts and vents. The compressors are designed and/or configured for the particular size and operation of the source arrays and corresponding guns of the source array system. A larger number (or size) of array guns requires more, larger, and/or stronger compressors and associated containers. The compressor containers may be standardized 40-foot-high-cube (or similar) containers or specially designed oversized containers. For example, in one embodiment, each of the compressor containers may be specially designed (e.g., not a ISO standard container) and weigh more than 25 tons and requires specific transportation to the vessel 101.
In one embodiment, modular source system 200 may comprise a high-pressure air and hydraulic power unit (HPA/HPU) container 213. This may be part of and/or coupled to the source handling system. The HPA/HPU container 213 may host the hydraulic power unit for all source handling actuators and the high-pressure air management system (air panel and relief valves) for source system 200. In one embodiment, container 213 may also contain a centralized marine air conditioning unit, which may be configured with a sea water condenser, compressor, evaporator, and chilled water storage tank and be coupled to each container where air conditioning is needed. Container 213 may be located at various positions within the modular source system 200.
In one embodiment, modular source system 200 may comprise one or more umbilical winch containers 241. This may be part of and/or coupled to the source handling system. In one embodiment, container 241 may be located adjacent to the plurality of containers forming source handling system 221. One such container is shown in more detail in
As shown in
In one embodiment, one or more of winch system 310, 320, 300 may be removable/detachable from the winch system container. This is important because standardized containers have maximum weight requirements for transportation (such as 25 tons each), and having three winch systems in a single container may exceed the maximum weight limits for transportation (but not operation). Thus, one or more of the winch systems needs to be easily removed for transportation purposes from container 241 and placed in another container during transportation. In one embodiment, each winch may be mounted on a stand frame that is easily removed and/or detached from (and likewise attached to) the container, such as by a forklift. In one embodiment, the winch container is built on a 40-foot high-cube container frame with opened longitudinal sides and configurable in two different modes. In one embodiment, one of the winches always remains in the container (such as middle winch system 320) and the other two winches (such as winch systems 310 and 330) may be removed for storage and/or transportation purposes, which reduces the weight of the container below any maximum weight limits for transportation purposes. For example, in a first “use” mode, all of the double winch systems may be fastened in the container with appropriate brace chutes and mesh panels for safety. In a second “transport” mode, two of the double winches may be removed (such as winch systems 310 and 330) and stored in other containers for shipping. The container may be designed to withstand any brake force of the installed winches.
Referring now back to
One embodiment of source handling system 400, which may be substantially similar to source handling system 221, is shown in more detail in
As is known in the art, a seismic source array may comprise a plurality of seismic sub-arrays and are often called gun arrays because they “shoot” seismic signals into a body of water. In one embodiment, each seismic source array comprises a gun float, a plurality of guns, and cable/string/rope between the air guns. For example, as shown in
In one embodiment as the source array travels through the plurality of containers 401-411, each gun cluster hangs down from the float (by a hanger, rope, chain, etc.) and travels on the container floors (and between the adjacent containers) by a plurality of rollers located on the gun cluster and/or cluster bar. The float may be connected to a trolley with rollers that moves along the gun rails 421-426. Thus, movement of the float along the gun rails helps move the connected gun clusters through the containers. In one embodiment, as the containers 401-411 are assembled on the back deck of the vessel and/or prior to operation of the source arrays, a container joint interface (not shown) is installed between each of the adjacent containers that makes the interface between the containers substantially flush and allows and/or facilitates travel of the gun cluster rollers between the different containers.
In one embodiment, some or all of the sides of these containers 401-411 are removed to allow the source arrays to freely travel between the different containers. In one embodiment, the entire side is removed and/or is substantially opened during assembly of the containerized system on the back deck of the vessel. For example, each of the containers may have open sides and is configurable in two different modes. For example, in a first “use” mode, all of the sides of the containers are removed or dismantled to create one large hangar or open section, such that all of the containers are substantially or essentially open on the longitudinal sides of the containers. In a second “transport” mode, the sides of the containers may be closed to safely store and ship all of the system's components. In another embodiment, only a hole or entry point exists in the container wall for each source array to pass through the wall.
In one embodiment, source handling system 400 may be equipped with gun rails and handling winches to deploy and recover the seismic source arrays. In one embodiment, container 401 may comprise various handling equipment to facilitate movement of the source arrays from the source handling system 400 to slipway 251. In one embodiment, container 401 comprises spread rope winch 441 and three auxiliary winches 431, 433, 435. As is known in the art, spread rope winch 441 is configured to store, deploy, and recover a separation control rope (not shown) that is coupled to each of the seismic source arrays and is used to decrease and/or increase the spread of the source arrays in the water. The auxiliary winches are configured to help pull out the source arrays off the vessel or from the water into the vessel. A plurality of pulleys or similar driving devices may be added to the aft area of the source handling containers to lift the source array if necessary during retrieval or deployment. Once these source array systems are deployed in the water, generally the position of the source array systems are controlled by the connected umbilical cables and umbilical winches.
As mentioned above, six source arrays 491-496 may extend through substantially all of the containers 401-411. In one embodiment, handling “gun” rails 421-426 are configured to handle the source arrays as they pass from the umbilical winches to the slipway. The gun rails are also illustrated in
Referring now back to
Referring now back to
In operation, the various winches of the source system may be remote-controlled with a portable radio emitter. In one embodiment, source handling system 221 is equipped with seven auxiliary winches as noted above: three pulling winches 313, 323, 333 in the umbilical winch container 241, three handling winches 431, 433, 435 in source handling container 401, and one spread rope winch 441 in source handling container 401. The pulling winches may be used to pull the source float during retrieval operations or to control the exit of the float during deployment operations. The handling winches may be used to help pull out the source arrays off the vessel or otherwise control or handle the source arrays during deployment or retrieval from the vessel. Further, a plurality of pulleys or similar driving devices may be added to the aft area of the source handling containers to lift the source array if necessary during retrieval. The spread rope winch 441 may be located in the middle of the aft source handling container and be used to store, deploy, and recover a separation control rope attached in the center of the spread rope, which is used to control the degree of separation of the different source array lines as is known in the art. A removable pulley may be located underneath at deck level to lower the traction point of the spread rope.
In one embodiment, the modules/containers of the portable source seismic system 200 are installed on a steel or wooden deck frame with standard shipping container fasteners, such as twist-locks. The frame is intended to spread the cargo load on the deck and may be fabricated with H-beams and secured on the back deck of the vessel 101 by pairs of gussets welded on the cross-members of the vessel's deck or using available sea fastening parts.
For example,
All of the methods disclosed and claimed herein can be made and executed without undue experimentation in light of the present disclosure. While the apparatus and methods of this invention have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that variations may be applied to the methods and in the steps or in the sequence of steps of the method described herein without departing from the concept, spirit and scope of the invention. In addition, modifications may be made to the disclosed apparatus and components may be eliminated or substituted for the components described herein where the same or similar results would be achieved. All such similar substitutes and modifications apparent to those skilled in the art are deemed to be within the spirit, scope, and concept of the invention.
Many other variations in the seismic source system are within the scope of the invention. For example, all of the containers may be standard sized shipping containers or just substantially all of the containers (but for the compressor containers). In another embodiment, any type of source arrays may be utilized with the disclosed modularized source system. In still other embodiments, multiple modular systems (e.g., a seismic source system, a node storage system, a node deployment system, a node retrieval system) may be interconnected and positioned on the back deck of a marine vessel in a plurality of containers. In still other embodiments, the disclosed seismic system may be used with a wide variety of nodes, such as seismic streamers, ocean bottom nodes, nodes deployed in the sea between the seabed and the ocean surface, and nodes deployed near the ocean surface, as well as nodes deployed via cable, ROV, or autonomous vehicles. It is emphasized that the foregoing embodiments are only examples of the very many different structural and material configurations that are possible within the scope of the present invention.
Although the invention(s) is/are described herein with reference to specific embodiments, various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention(s), as presently set forth in the claims below. Accordingly, the specification and figures are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention(s). Any benefits, advantages, or solutions to problems that are described herein with regard to specific embodiments are not intended to be construed as a critical, required, or essential feature or element of any or all the claims.
Unless stated otherwise, terms such as “first” and “second” are used to arbitrarily distinguish between the elements such terms describe. Thus, these terms are not necessarily intended to indicate temporal or other prioritization of such elements. The terms “coupled” or “operably coupled” are defined as connected, although not necessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically. The terms “a” and “an” are defined as one or more unless stated otherwise. The terms “comprise” (and any form of comprise, such as “comprises” and “comprising”), “have” (and any form of have, such as “has” and “having”), “include” (and any form of include, such as “includes” and “including”) and “contain” (and any form of contain, such as “contains” and “containing”) are open-ended linking verbs. As a result, a system, device, or apparatus that “comprises,” “has,” “includes” or “contains” one or more elements possesses those one or more elements but is not limited to possessing only those one or more elements. Similarly, a method or process that “comprises,” “has,” “includes” or “contains” one or more operations possesses those one or more operations but is not limited to possessing only those one or more operations.
This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application No. 62/419,619, filed on Nov. 9, 2016, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2017/060459 | 11/7/2017 | WO | 00 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62419619 | Nov 2016 | US |
