Sercel announced that its recently launched downhole seismic array tool, GeoWave® II, broke temperature records during field trials.

Specially designed for deployment in high-pressure wells with high temperatures of up to 400°F/205°C, GeoWave II has proven its capability for continuous data acquisition in a deep hot well at 362°F/183.5°C.

During field trials in northeastern France, the 16-level GeoWave II system was deployed in a 5,000-meter deep well in the presence of a major international service company. GeoWave II recorded multiple VSP shots with repeatable VSP data, both in open and cased holes, as well as high-frequency microseismic events at different sampling rates, including 0.25 ms.

This performance represents the world's first borehole seismic survey to be acquired with a digital tool over a long duration in temperatures of above 347°F/175°C. The GeoWave II's successful deployment follows on from a positive market response to the tool's innovative features and unique specifications, enabling it to push back the boundaries of borehole seismic beyond its historical limits in terms of temperature, array length and flexibility of deployment.

​Pascal Rouiller, Sercel CEO, said: "This record-breaking performance confirms the ability of GeoWave II to conduct safe and efficient Vertical Seismic Profile and hydraulic fracture monitoring surveys in the most hostile well environments. We are confident that GeoWave II clearly addresses the increasingly challenging downhole environments faced by our customers."

About Sercel

As a worldwide leader in the seismic acquisition industry for over 50 years, Sercel continues to design, manufacture and support a full range of high-tech integrated equipment for hydrocarbon exploration in land, transition zone, ocean-bottom cable, marine, and down-hole environments.

From its headquarters in Nantes, France, as well as its other 22 locations around the globe, Sercel is positioned to satisfy the industries' needs for seismic acquisition equipment. Whatever the field conditions, whether at sea, in open country, in the mountains, in the jungle or in the desert, Sercel engineers and technicians apply the skills they have acquired through long-standing R&D work and experience in the field to constantly push back the limits of seismic acquisition.