Posts tagged ‘Linux’
ffA Releases Latest 3D Seismic Analysis Software
Foster Findlay Associates Ltd. (ffA) released the latest advanced 3D seismic analysis and volume interpretation applications, SVI Pro and SEA 3D Pro 2010, on Windows and Linux platforms. This release synchronizes the capabilities of the two applications, allowing users to work with the same tools on both their interpretation workstation and their mobile workstations. Support for Windows XP and Vista (32-bit and 64-bit), and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 & 5 (64-bit) and full project compatibility between SVI Pro and SEA 3D Pro makes deployment and use of the software both flexible and straightforward.
Software enhancements include addition of “one-click” geology-driven workflows that allow preconfigured processing workflows to be built rapidly based on interpretation goals, along with workflows for noise reduction, channel and fault delineation as well as improved well log loading and visualization capabilities. This is the first Linux release to provide rapid seismic attribute computation using GPU-accelerated volume processing with Nvidia CUDA and includes compatibility with Halliburton’s GeoProbe R5000 release.
Agnes Campan, ffA Sales and Marketing Director said: “Our first release of the new decade gives customers the extra flexibility that they need to carry out their 3D seismic analysis work in whichever PC-based environment they are using, whether it is their interpretation workstation, technical laptop or the visualization room. ffA is committed to providing world-leading 3D seismic analysis capabilities within applications that tightly integrate with our users’ interpretation workflows and their organization’s data management practices and policies. This is an exciting time for us, and during 2010 our users will see many key additions to our software.”
Geotrace Accelerates Oil and Gas Discovery with Isilon IQ
NAS vendor Isilon® Systems announced that Geotrace, a reservoir services provider, has deployed Isilon IQ to power a robust suite of seismic data processing and analysis applications used to accelerate worldwide oil and gas discovery. Using Isilon scale-out NAS, featuring its OneFS® operating system, Geotrace has created a single global namespace for both its Unix and Linux-based cluster compute environments, streamlining seismic data access to reduce data processing times from weeks to days. With Isilon, Geotrace can complete more projects in less time and with greater accuracy, all while requiring less than one full-time worker to manage the system.
“Our seismic data processing and analysis operations serve oil and gas leaders around the world, meaning our workflow is both mission-critical and very time-sensitive,” said Matt Gaskamp, data center operations manager, Geotrace. “We don’t have time to manage multiple storage systems and perform the ongoing data migration necessary with traditional storage. With Isilon, all of our data is in one, immediately accessible location, allowing our engineers to work collaboratively around the clock and get more done, faster, with less cost.”
Prior to using Isilon IQ, Geotrace employed separate traditional storage systems to support the two primary components of its workflow: seismic data processing and analysis. When Geotrace moved to a data center model leveraging both Unix and Linux-based cluster compute environments each running hundreds of servers to process and analyze data simultaneously, these traditional systems were incapable of providing the single global namespace or linear scaling of performance and capacity necessary to power Geotrace’s workflow effectively.
By turning to Isilon, Geotrace unified both its massive compute clusters onto a single, high-performance, highly scalable, shared pool of storage, enabling engineers to access data seamlessly between clusters at all stages of the workflow without having to migrate data back and forth, increasing productivity and accelerating time to results. With Isilon IQ, Geotrace eliminated the costly and time-consuming manual data migrations and lengthy scaling delays common when using traditional HPC storage alongside traditional SAN or NAS.
“Traditional storage systems lack the performance, scalability and ease of use to effectively power seismic processing and analysis, forcing today’s most innovative oil and gas companies to deploy disparate, disconnected systems or find a better alternative,” said Sam Grocott, senior director of product management, Isilon Systems. “Geotrace is one of many leading-edge companies that have found an improved approach by deploying scale-out NAS. With Isilon, Geotrace unified its workflow and increased operational efficiency, demonstrating that with Isilon IQ, innovative organizations can do more – better – with less.”
ffA Updates Stratigraphic Analysis Software for Linux
Foster Findlay Associates Ltd. (ffA), purveyor of 3D seismic analysis software and services, is releasing SEA 3D Pro 2009.1, the latest version of its desktop 3D seismic analysis and volume interpretation software on the Linux platform. The new version offers Linux users an extended range of interactive analysis capabilities, including the recently released GPU-enabled Interactive Seismic Facies Classification module, extensions to the company’s frequency decomposition, multi-attribute color and opacity blending and iso-proportional slicing functionality.
In addition to these innovative 3D image analysis capabilities, SEA 3D Pro also incorporates an interactive link with Landmark’s GeoProbe 3D Volume Interpretation software, providing GeoProbe users with a powerful range of stratigraphic and structural analysis workflows directly integrated within their current 3D interpretation platform.
Agnes Campan, ffA’s Sales and Marketing Director, said: “The new analysis capabilities available through SEA 3D Pro 2009 provide a significant step forward in what can be achieved in analyzing and understanding even the most challenging stratigraphic and structural environments while significantly increasing the productivity and accuracy of the G&G interpretation cycle. ffA recognizes that many of our clients are deploying Linux as their preferred platform for geotechnical applications, and ffA is committed to provide a fully synchronized product suite offering across Linux and Windows platforms in 2009.”
Bull, ffA Team Up to Deliver 3D Seismic Software
Separately, ffA announced it has entered into a partnership with Bull SAS, a European IT company, to deliver GPU-enabled 3D seismic analysis software to the oil and gas community on Bull high-performance computing (HPC) systems.
Seismic interpreters are facing a growing amount of data to interpret. Through use of ffA’s HPC software, a data-driven approach to 3D seismic interpretation can provide the step change in productivity required for geoscientists to fully exploit their data and deliver more accurate interpretations of the subsurface, improved understanding of uncertainty and better quantification of risk.
Jonathan Henderson, ffA’s Managing Director, commented: “The partnership with Bull is an important component in ffA’s development strategy, which is delivering innovative tools that will be at the heart of next-generation seismic interpretation systems. Working with other industry-leading companies such as Bull allows ffA to effectively realize its vision through leveraging the rapid advances that are taking place in complementary technologies.”
“We are excited to be working with Bull, who brings a strong innovative approach to their systems design, which incorporates computational power and scalability with advanced interactive visualization features. Our development program is directly addressing the challenges of extracting meaningful information from seismic data at increasing volumes and levels of complexity. These challenges can be significantly advanced by using automated HPC techniques in real or near real time,” Henderson said.
The two companies will work together to promote the use of interactive methods for 3D seismic analysis using HPC technology, particularly the use of GPU accelerators. These are fitted into Bull server nodes, from the entry-level tower chassis systems with GPU and graphics cards, suitable for seismic interpretation workgroups, to very large hybrid clusters located in data centers, which Bull is already delivering to government and energy customers. ffA’s domain expertise and involvement with a large number of major oil and gas companies combined with Bull’s expertise in hybrid systems will provide a fast track for innovation and improved turnaround times within 3D interpretation and modeling workflows.
“We are very pleased to announce this partnership with ffA, which is an important milestone in our efforts to gain further traction within the upstream oil and gas industry,” said Guy Gueritz, Business Development Director for Oil & Gas at Bull. “Our involvement with oil companies’ R&D groups for accelerated seismic imaging is complemented by ffA’s automated interpretation and modeling tools, which plug into established 3D interpretation and modeling workflows and make use of more scalable and powerful technologies, which are built into our extreme computing systems. These outperform the traditional commodity platforms currently in use within the oil industry and will deliver significant productivity advantages to those who adopt them.”
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