Shell, HP to develop seismic sensor system for oil and gas exploration

Royal Dutch Shell (Shell) and Hewlett-Packard (HP) will collaborate to develop a next-generation wireless sensing system to acquire extremely high-resolution seismic data on land to find and measure underground reservoirs of oil and gas.

The oil and gas industry requires high-quality seismic data to accurately assess exploration prospects for commercial viability and to effectively monitor producing reservoirs.

The Hague, Netherlands-based Shell and the Palo-Alto-based HP said in a joint release that by delivering a much higher channel count and a broader sensor frequency range than are currently available, the new system promises to vastly improve the quality of seismic data and cheaper to operate than existing systems.

For seismic analysis, HP's Enterprise Services division is aiming to develop wireless accelerometer sensors, akin to the controllers used in the Nintendo Wii, but a thousand times more accurate from its recent breakthrough in high-performance sensing technology based on microelectromechanical devices, originally developed for HP print heads.

Both companies will use their knowledge and experience to produce a groundbreaking solution to sense, collect and store geophysical data, which will then be integrated with Shell's computing and seismic imaging system.

''These advances in technology to discover energy resources could transform the ability to pinpoint abundant new oil and gas reserves,'' said Joe Eazor, senior vice president and general manager, HP Enterprise Services. ''HP is uniquely positioned to offer Shell a complete sensor system that delivers innovation to address key technical seismic challenges.''