2010 R&D 100 Winner
Oil companies require plenty of data in their assessment of the viability of potential offshore drilling sites. This is a costly process that requires devices such as electromagnetic receivers that sit on the ocean floor and collect data during offshore drilling site assessment studies.
The QMax EM3 Receiver (QMax) from Quasar Geophysical Technologies and Scripps Institution of Oceanography, both of San Diego, Calif., was designed to eliminate some of the problems experienced with previous receivers used for this relatively new application.
QuasarGeo’s electric field sensing technology is based on capacitive coupling to the electric potentials in the ocean. Such coupling does not require an ionic exchange between the sensors and the surrounding water. This removes the need for failure-prone Ag/AgCl electrodes, which corrode, must be stored in water, and can cause spurious signals unless used in conjunction with 15-foot arms that separate the sensors from the electronics.
The QMax electrodes are treated to be unreactive to water, and they can be stored in dry conditions and in sunlight. In addition, QuasarGeo’s electrodes eliminate the need for the arm attachments, and offer a true 3-axis measurement system that provides extra deepwater data.
Technology
Electromagnetic receive for oil and gas applications
Developers
Quasar Geophysical Technologies
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Development Team
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| Front row (l-r): David Jabson, Nikolay Rusakov, Eric Duff, Andrew Hibbs, George Eiskamp, James Choi, Lowell Burnett, David Millsap Back row: Kai Chang, Yongming Zhang, Adam Agundes, Gayle Guy, Jose Flores, and Irah Quezon, Quasar Geophysical Technologies |
QMax EM3 Receiver Development Team:
Adam Agundes, Quasar Geophysical Technologies
Lowell Burnett, Quasar Geophysical Technologies
Kai Chang, Quasar Geophysical Technologies
James Choi, Quasar Geophysical Technologies
Steven Constable, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Eric Duff, Quasar Geophysical Technologies
George Eiskamp, Quasar Geophysical Technologies
Jose Flores, Quasar Geophysical Technologies
Gayle Guy. Quasar Geophysical Technologies
Andrew Hibbs, Quasar Geophysical Technologies
David Jabson, Quasar Geophysical Technologies
David Millsap, Quasar Geophysical Technologies
Irah Quezon, Quasar Geophysical Technologies
Nikolay Rusakov, Quasar Geophysical Technologies
Yongming Zhang, Quasar Geophysical Technologies
