Schlumberger announced today the launch of the Western Spirit, the seventh Q-Marine* vessel to join the WesternGeco fleet. The vessel will begin work immediately with a high-specification 4D survey in the North Sea for the integrated oil and gas company, Statoil.

Equipped with DSC* Dynamic Spread Control­the new WesternGeco automated vessel, source and streamer steering technology­the Western Spirit provides superior repeatability for improved time-lapse studies for reservoir monitoring and increased accuracy for sophisticated Q*-enabled over/under and rich/wide azimuth surveys that help characterize complex sub-surface environments.

“Industry recognition of the fundamentally superior measurements achieved by Q-Technology* services has created increased demand for advanced geophysical applications over the life of the field. The Western Spirit is the first of three new Q-Marine vessels that will join our fleet over the next two years,” said Dalton Boutte, president, WesternGeco.