Equinor Wind US has awarded a contract for geophysical survey services to MMT US.
The contract covers high resolution geophysical, benthic surveys and shallow subsurface surveys for the planning and engineering of Equinor’s lease area offshore New England. The project will be performed utilising the Stril Explorer vessel, which is equipped with the innovative high-speed Surveyor Interceptor SROV, with survey operations expected to commence in late summer 2020 and are expected to run continuously throughout to Q2 2021.
The SROV Surveyor Interceptor has been developed by MMT and Reach Subsea with the aim of revolutionizing geophysical surveys. For this project, the use of the SROV on board the Stril Explorer will significantly increase the operational window, cut operation time, and reduce the impact on the surrounding wildlife by reducing the noise in the water column.
This method will also allow all surveys to be conducted from a single vessel rather than the standard two-vessel deployment. Since its introduction in 2015, the Surveyor Interceptor has gradually gained a proven track record for Equinor and other clients by providing improved survey data quality at a higher speed than any other survey platform.
To achieve all the offshore wind data requirements, the Surveyor Interceptor will be developed further to include even more sensors through the continuous research and development efforts by MMT and Reach.