Utsira Nord and Sørlige Nordsjø II
Case History
Three years after the opening of the Norwegian continental shelf for offshore wind, the Utsira Nord and Sørlige Nordsjø II offshore wind project areas were opened to competitive bidding from potential developers in 2023.
In anticipation of these areas being confirmed, in 2022, GeoProvider initiated high resolution broadband reprocessing of both 2D and 3D legacy data, covering the proposed areas.
Project Description
The Utsira Nord project focused on high resolution post stack reimaging of conventional 2D exploration seismic data. The Sørlige Nordsjø II project included high resolution reprocessing of both conventional 2D and Broadseis 3D seismic data to deliver high quality near surface imaging of the seabed and structures beneath.
The aim of these projects was to gain greater understanding of the seabed and subsurface risks enabling offshore wind developers to make well informed, evidence based planning decisions and to submit successful lease applications
GeoProvider’s bespoke repurposing workflow was applied using a 2 millisecond sample rate and included proprietary methods for broadband processing and bandwidth optimization. Dense spatial interpolation was also applied to improve image resolution.
Outcomes
The first example shown here is taken from the Sorlige Nordsjo II project.
As a result of resolution focused reprocessing, ease and certainty of interpretation has been significantly improved. These improvements have aided identification of key structural features such as surfaces and faults and acoustic features such as pipe gas chimneys and acoustic blanking.
On completion of the Sorlige Nodsjo II re-imaging our geophysical and geohazards team carried out interpretation of the reprocessed legacy data. The repurposed data revealed early insights into the seabed and subsurface features and risks relevant to planning and installation of proposed wind turbine foundations or anchor points
The second example shown here is taken from the Utsira Nord project and compares a South-East to North West seismic section before (left) and after (right) reimaging by our geophysical processing team.
In the Utsira Nord area a post-stack broadband workflow was applied to optimize the frequency content, enhance image resolution and to improve the signal to noise of the images, delivering greater overall clarity. The resulting seismic sections provide high resolution shallow imaging suitable for assessing near surface hazards.
GeoProvider’s offshore wind team have continued to analyse both areas, delivering UXO and site characterization studies, risk assessments and work program strategy reports for both the Sorlige Nordsjo II and Utsira Nord. The team are now combining the results of our early work with interpretation of newly acquired site-survey data, released in November 2023.
Get in touch with us to find out more about the available data, analysis and reports.