Seismic services player Shearwater GeoServices has decided to bring the tenth vessel into active operation for the 2019 northern hemisphere summer season on the back of strong backlog as marine seismic acquisition market gains traction.

According to Shearwater's statement on Tuesday, this extensive fleet is brought into operation on the back of solid backlog and provides marine seismic acquisition services spanning towed and seabed activities in response to rising demand for geophysical services from E&P- and multi-client companies.

High customer activity and successful integration of the marine seismic acquisition assets and operations of Schlumberger, which Shearwater bought in November 2018, over the past six months provides Shearwater a 33-month vessel backlog as of late May with projects for customers such as Equinor, Shell, Aker BP, and TGS.

For comparison, at the same time last year, the company had three vessels in operations and a backlog of 14 months. Measured by revenue, the backlog has increased four-fold year-on-year without compromising on project margins.

“It has been a very busy six months. We have already activated six vessels from cold-stack and have one more underway in response to a growing demand for our high-end assets, operational capabilities, and leading solutions,” said Irene Waage Basili, the CEO of Shearwater GeoServices.

Contracts awarded to date in 2019, include 3D and 4D projects for Shell and Equinor ranging from offshore Australia to the Barents Sea, Ocean Bottom Seismic (OBS) projects for Aker BP and Equinor in the North Sea, as well as a major exploration survey in Brazil by TGS.

Shearwater has also been awarded a high-density multi-azimuth 3D seismic acquisition contract over the SNE field offshore Senegal by Woodside.

The company added that the backlog for processing and imaging services had also grown significantly due to the strengthened market position, which had also led to new customers for the Reveal software business.

Irene Waage Basili added: “It is a strategic priority for Shearwater to have critical mass and scalability to ensure efficient and competitive operations. It also allows us to attract and retain the best people in the industry, to continue to invest in technology development and to be a long-term partner to all our customers.”