Shearwater Geoservices has secured a three-year ocean bottom node (OBN) seismic acquisition contract from an undisclosed oil and gas company for work offshore South America, according to industry reports.
The contract includes firm scopes in the first and third years, together with a framework allowing additional projects to be awarded during the three-year period. Operations are scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026.
SW Tasman will conduct the OBN work using Shearwater’s Pearl node technology, while SW Gallien will provide seismic source operations. Both vessels are expected to remain on the campaign through 2027. A further firm scope is scheduled to begin in late 2028 and continue for approximately ten months.
In its second-quarter and first-half 2026 results, Shearwater Geoservices said it had further optimised its Pearl node platform by deploying electric ROVs on SW Tasman. The company reported a backlog of $401 million as of mid-August and fleet utilisation of 76% across 7.7 active vessels, including one OBN crew.
On 8 September 2026, Shearwater Geoservices announced a separate seven-week North Sea OBN survey using SW Tasman with Pearl nodes and SW Gallien as the source vessel. The company said the project would mark the first commercial deployment of the newly installed electric ROV systems on SW Tasman.
The customer and the specific offshore area covered by the new South America contract have not been disclosed.
