OREANDA-NEWS. «Green seismic» technology, which leads to lower tree felling in seismic prospecting operations, is being prepared for roll-out across Gazprom Neft assets. Since the main risks in labour protection when undertaking seismic operations relates to the degree of preparation in seismic profiling, minimising felling volumes makes for better workplace safety.

«Green seismic» can, thanks to the use of modern technological and organisational solutions, significantly reduce man-made impacts on the environment and reduce the level of workplace injuries. The economic impact of using this new seismic surveying technique is expected to be in the order of RUB250 million per year.

Seismic prospecting is one of the main ways of investigating subsoil structure. Carrying it out often demands felling to make a clearing for transport to get through to deliver essential equipment, and to allow the laying of data recording systems. Traditionally, this has meant creating wide, four-metre sections to allow heavy all-terrain vehicles to get through, while works undertaken using «Green Seismic» technologies optimise the technical process by allowing specialist recording systems to be placed in narrow clearings, or by doing away with additional felling altogether - something that has been made possible thanks to the use of cordless receiving equipment, which can be installed using light equipment and technology.

This equipment was used for the first time by Gazprom Neft three years ago, at assets aboard (on the company’s «Middle East» project in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq) and, hereafter, used at fields operated by Gazpromneft-Noyabrskneftegaz, Gazpromneft-Khantos, Gazpromneft-Vostok, and Slavneft-Megionneftegaz.