The Marine Vibrator JIP and Ongoing Marine Vibroseis Development

For over three decades the desire to better control the output of marine seismic sources and concerns over the environmental impact of impulsive sources have driven the development of alternative source designs. Previous advances in Marine Vibrator designs for both geophysical and military use coupled with the significantly increased efficiencies in land vibrator operations as well as more effective shallow water operation, have led to a resurgence of interest in the use of marine vibrators. The Marine Vibrator Joint Industry Project (MV JIP), sponsored by ExxonMobil, Shell, and Total, was started in 2011 and has supported the development of three separate Marine Vibrator technologies. This presentation analyses the advantages of the marine vibroseis technology, discusses the status of the prototypes being developed by the MV JIP and briefly reviews prototype developments by other companies.