Digital Ocean Exploration – Digital-Ocean – is defining the extension of the High Performance Computer (HPC) cluster or scalable Cloud Platform HPC Enterprise infrastructure to the offshore.
This is faster, better, cheaper, smarter and environmentally safer subocean exploration by the ultra-wideband transfer of subocean datasets from scientific research vessels to HPC.
Technology and policy development continues.
This is the need for speed – more sensors, better sensors, more streamers, better streamers & longer streamers – perhaps multiple vessels – generating increasingly larger time-sensitive subsea datasets when transferred faster to E&P HPC allow more detailed analytics sooner with reduced costs and significantly improved workflow.
More detailed results – more subocean data with highly improved imaging algorithms allow greatly enhanced reservoir simulations for safer and environmentally improved E&P.
From 2005 through 2015 – and trending beyond – about 30% of global oil production is from the offshore according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Digital-Ocean is developing new technologies and driving new deregulatory policy for highly measurable improvements in subocean modeling.
The EIA further states ‘the total world oil production in 2019 averaged 80,622,000 barrels per day.’ Highly detailed subocean models are essential.
By the more efficient use of ultra-wideband geostationary satellite capacity coupled with cutting edge digital satellite industry engineering & technologies a number of multiphase and ongoing Research & Development (R&D) programs are underway. By better, faster digital subocean connectivity to HPC for the offshore energy world – and the oceanographic exploration world – a new era of ocean and subocean exploration with the high-speed satellite data transfer a revolutionary ocean exploration strategy continues to be defined.
As offshore exploration geographically expands to deeper water, offshore subocean data files get larger combined with the rapid evolution in petascale compute in the E&P industry the need for new technologies to support more effective exploration solutions Digital-Ocean is today working to reduce offshore exploration costs, enhance exploration performance and improve efficiency by the reduced ‘turnaround’ time in 3D &4D programs. Improvements require measurements.
Digital-Ocean has designed and continues to design & develop new shipboard terminals – Digital-Ocean Sea-Nodes – when installed on an ocean going vessels are enabled to transfer increasingly large subsea datasets to HPC on schedule.
By this approach and with these Digital-Ocean developed technologies and tools E&P companies and seismic vessel operators are enabled to digitally transport gigabytes (GB) or even terabytes (TB) of exploration datasets directly uplinked from vessels to a scalable Cloud Platform for ‘optional’ storage, compute, optional Artificial Intelligence (AI) implementation to further enhance algorithms and/or Machine Learning (ML) resulting ultimately in improved workflows thus faster, better analytics in reduced time for less cost.
Highly focused on increased data transmission speeds by the satellite industry intro of new ultra-wideband RF modems calculations offering 2.23 Gbps or ~1 TB/hr. from operating vessel to HPC may be achieved.
Initially within high-speed satellite data transfer protocols new protocols are in evaluation with IBM Aspera to significantly lower the transmission overhead in satellite data transfer allowing more efficient utilization of satellite transmission capacity – bandwidth. An increased transmission speed through a fixed amount of bandwidth is the focus.
- IBM’s FASP technologies for increased satellite data transport speeds.
- IBM Aspers – https://www.ibm.com/cloud/high-speed-data-transfer
- IBM Aspera – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3rcNn2u-LI
- IBM Aspera – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-JXcheynz8
By the increase of ‘bits per hertz’ and ‘bits per pixel’ Cloud based analytics are improved.
Digital Ocean Exploration uses no compression in data transport.
Digital-Ocean’s R&D continues working to develop scheduled or planned high speed digital satellite connectivity uplinked from a Digital-Ocean Sea-Node ruggedized maritime terminal ranging from sub-meter to 2.4m.
Evaluations continue allowing subsea Remote Operated Vehicles (“ROVs”) equipped with single or multiple HD underwater cameras linked by fiber tether to surface platforms or vessels to uplink in ocean broadband offering parallel HD digital video feeds to terrestrial facilities in Academic Oceanography.
Digital-Ocean would welcome an opportunity to work with and support industry partners with these new digital offshore exploration technologies.