Shearwater Geoservices Holding, the world’s leading marine seismic acquisition company, and Mondaic AG, a provider of proprietary software and services for high-resolution 3D imaging, have entered a strategic collaboration for development and use of full waveform inversion solutions to enhance high-resolution subsurface imaging and optimize seismic acquisition surveys.   

As part of the agreement, Shearwater has acquired exclusive and perpetual rights for the use and further development for subsurface applications of Mondaic’s wavefield simulation and inversion codes. Furthermore, Shearwater has acquired an equity stake in Mondaic. Full waveform inversion is a key seismic data processing technology that improves visualisation of subsurface structures, enhances reservoir understanding and helps planning and execution of more efficient surveys.

Simon Telfer, SVP Software, Processing and Imaging of Shearwater:
“This is an important partnership, embodying Shearwater’s dedication to creating and implementing cutting-edge technology and software to the benefit of our clients. Holding a leading position as a processing and imaging service provider and further expand the capabilities of our proprietary processing and imaging software Reveal are central components of Shearwater's strategy.”

Michael Afanasiev, Christian Boehm and Lion Krischer - Co-Founders and Directors of Mondaic: 
“We are thrilled to welcome Shearwater as a strategic investor. This partnership will advance Mondaic’s technology across all scales and industries, and it is a significant driver to accelerate our growth,” said the Co-Founders and Directors of Mondaic Michael Afanasiev, Christian Boehm and Lion Krischer. “Shearwater is unique in its vision and application of emerging technologies to the energy transition, and we are extremely excited to work with them and our other partners in this regard.”

An integral part of the seismic processing value chain

Full waveform inversion is an integral part of the seismic processing value chain for subsurface exploration, characterization and monitoring due to its ability to estimate high-resolution subsurface property models in areas of complex geology with limited human user intervention. The technology is also expected to play a strategic role for characterization and monitoring of subsurface carbon storage sites and in site surveys for wind farms.

Both companies are committed to collaborate on the development and use of full waveform inversion going forward. Mondaic will be furthering the application of the jointly developed codes for ultrasonic non-destructive testing, material characterization, medical imaging, and other non-subsurface applications. During 2024, Shearwater’s acoustic finite differences full waveform inversion will be gradually replaced by Mondaic’s elastic spectral elements code that can model subsurface wavefield and waveforms to the highest level of precision.

Sergio Grion, Chief Geophysicist - Processing Technology of Shearwater:
“Due to its unlimited modelling capabilities, this technology offers a higher level of inversion precision than conventional approaches. It is not only computationally efficient but also scalable, catering to a wide range of needs and complexities.”

KeyFacts Energy Industry Directory: Shearwater