For geophysicists and other E&P professionals, time is money, and their ability to generate revenue is only as good as their ability to complete projects efficiently and effectively. Technology in the form of innovative E&P software applications has streamlined the upstream process, giving geophysicists the ability to process and render massive amounts of seismic data for a complete, accurate visual interpretation of the zone.

While these applications provide gains in productivity, they are only as fast as the workstations that run them. Powerful desktop workstations enable them to do this with ease, yet increasingly geophysicists have sought to perform workflows in the field using mobile workstations, minimizing the need to send seismic data back to the office for processing.

This creates a challenge for the user since available mobile workstation hardware has lagged behind its desktop counterpart in being able to efficiently perform upstream workflows and interpret seismic data in the field. But this is changing. New mobile technology has emerged to provide capabilities to geophysicists that are comparable to desktop workstations, giving them the ability to perform important workflows in the field.

Application landscape
E&P professionals seeking to perform seismic interpretation have a variety of options when it comes to available software applications, all of which offer their own unique advantages.

First is Schlumberger’s Petrel, the most widely used application in the E&P marketplace. This platform leverages applied science to help geophysicists make more informed decisions with a clear understanding of both opportunities and risks. The application integrates work processes with available data to enable the capture and preservation of knowledge as well as a shared vision of the subsurface. The application provides deep science across the spectrum from prestack processing to advanced reservoir modeling, assisted history matching and more. Automated, repeatable workflows to capture best practices across the organization are supported.

Another popular E&P software application is Paradigm, now in its 15th iteration. The platform, billed as the “high-definition platform of excellence,” enables geophysicists to identify the most productive zones (i.e., the most fractured, biggest net pay areas) and re-rank and requalify these according to user-specified criteria. The platform provides processing and imaging, interpretation, modeling, formation evaluation, and data connectivity and management for a complete solution.

Yet another application gaining broad adoption is Insight Earth, acquired by CGG in 2014. The solution, comprised of six distinct applications, is touted by the company as having the ability to define prospects quickly through precise interpretation of 3-D surfaces, including faults, horizons, canyons and salt bodies; leverage existing interpretation investments and improve performance across the entire workflow; and provide speed and accuracy, saving “months of time” when compared to traditional systems.

This is just scratching the surface of the current landscape for E&P software applications. There are many others, each holding unique advantages in their ability to help geophysicists interpret seismic data and improve their ability to accurately identify productive zones. What each of these applications has in common, however, is that they require powerful hardware systems to perform at maximum efficiency. Though this capability has previously been limited to desktop workstations, E&P professionals
are increasingly seeking the ability to perform these same workflows in the field using mobile technology.

Pushing the limits
These emerging software applications have raised the bar for both accuracy and effi ciency of seismic interpretation, but they all require signifi cant computing horsepower to process massive amounts of seismic data—up to 1 terabyte or more—quickly and render models effectively. Until now, only the most powerful desktop workstations have been capable of providing the CPU, GPU, memory and other critical capabilities required by these applications to run effectively.

This has kept geophysicists chained to their desks to get the information they need to make accurate surveys and drill effectively. This can take days to accomplish as data are sent back to the offi ce for processing and images are returned to the fi eld to get an accurate idea of the subsurface, limiting the ability of geophysicists to deliver projects on time.

Recent developments in mobile workstation technologies have provided E&P professionals with demonstrable performance gains and have begun to run applications at comparable, if not quite the same, speeds as their desktop counterparts. This provides an attractive complement for E&P professionals seeking to perform seismic analysis in the fi eld as well as in the office.

In August 2015 Lenovo launched the ThinkPad P Series, a new lineup of mobile workstations that provide signifi cant improvements over previous mobile workstations in compute power, graphical processing, memory and other key areas. Available in ThinkPad P50 and P70 models, these mobile workstations provide improvement over previously available mobile technology and are certified for resource-intensive applications.

Three key areas where the Lenovo ThinkPad P Series offers improvements over prior mobile workstations are:

CPU: The systems are the first mobile workstations to feature the Intel Xeon processor, the fastest CPU ever featured in a mobile workstation. The Xeon processor also is featured in some of the fastest desktop workstations in the marketplace, offering fast clock speeds and enhanced reliability.

Memory and GPU: For the most graphics-intensive applications, like those used by geophysicists, the systems are packed with memory and graphical processing power. Both systems feature NVIDIA Quadro GPU technology for graphics capabilities as well as up to 64 GB of DDR4 error-correcting code memory and the ability to handle up to four storage devices and up to 1 terabyte of solid-state drive storage. Finally, the ThinkPad P70 comes with two Intel Thunderbolt ports for fast memory access. All told, these machines offer horsepower capable of handling the toughest E&P workfl ows and applications, approaching their desktop counterparts for performance and reliability.

Display: Though not directly impacting performance, display remains a critical aspect of seismic visualization since applications must render and separate colors to gain an accurate and precise view of the subsurface. The ThinkPad P Series machines offer 4K ultrahigh-defi nition resolution for a crystal clear image, and both systems feature X-Rite Pantone color calibration, enabling E&P professionals to calibrate their display for accurate colors throughout the life of the system.

In addition to these key components, the machines are designed for optimal reliability with a brand new FLEX performance cooling system featuring dual-fan design and allowing uptime as dictated by the needs of the user. Additionally, the systems are mil-spec tested for maximum durability for use by E&P professionals in the field. Finally, the ThinkPad P50 and P70 are ISV-certified for critical E&P applications, assuring geophysicists that their investment in the new technology will handle any workfl ow they can perform.

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