ExxonMobil is introducing cutting-edge technology to enhance oil production. The company has announced the deployment of its latest high-performance computing (HPC) system, Discovery 6. This will accelerate seismic imaging and improve resource recovery at all its operations, including the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana.
In a March 15 release, Exxon said that Discovery 6, developed in partnership with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and NVIDIA, will be installed in the first half of 2025. The supercomputer will feature the “HPE Cray Supercomputing EX4000 system with 4,032 NVIDIA Grace Hopper Superchips and HPE Slingshot interconnect.” The system will also employ 100% direct liquid cooling, enhancing energy efficiency.
Exxon said it has been at the forefront of seismic imaging since pioneering 3D seismic technology nearly 50 years ago. The company continues to lead industry innovation with the integration of 4D seismic imaging and elastic Full Wavefield Inversion (eFWI) technology.
According to the oil major, the deployment of 4D seismic technology and high-performance computing will revolutionize resource recovery. “By combining Discovery 6 and eFWI, we target to reduce 4D seismic processing time from months to weeks, resulting in better near real-time visualization, enhanced reservoir management and well placement, and increased resource recovery with less capital.” Exxon said this would enable a further $1 billion potential value capture to its first six FPSOs in the Stabroek Block.
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Exxon has so far added three oil developments offshore Guyana, which are producing over 600,000 barrels per day (b/d). It has a line of sight to add four more projects, which could end up producing 1.5 million b/d by 2029.
Exxon said the eFWI technology will rapidly generate images revealing detailed rock and fluid properties, enabling more precise hydrocarbon identification. The introduction of 4D eFWI will further optimize development and production by adding time-lapse imaging to seismic analysis.
Discovery 6 will offer four times the computational performance of its predecessor, Discovery 5, which ranked 16th on the TOP500 list of the world’s fastest supercomputers in November 2022. Exxon emphasized that this investment in HPC capacity is crucial for executing advanced seismic processing technologies at scale across its global operations.
Exxon’s operations in the Stabroek Block are shared with partners Hess (30%) and CNOOC (25%).
