Shearwater GeoServices is preparing for another major offshore seismic campaign in Guyana, with its latest three-year ocean bottom node (OBN) contract reportedly tied to ExxonMobil’s operations in the Stabroek Block.
The Norwegian geoscience company announced on September 28 that it had secured a significant three-year OBN seismic acquisition contract offshore South America with an unnamed major oil and gas company. Shearwater did not identify the client or location in its announcement, but energy publication Upstream reported that the campaign is linked to ExxonMobil and is headed for the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana.
The work is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026 and continue through 2027, with two Shearwater vessels involved.
The company said the SW Tasman will carry out the acquisition using its Pearl node technology, while the SW Gallien will provide the seismic source operations.
A second firm scope under the agreement is expected to begin in late 2028 and run for approximately 10 months. The contract also provides a framework for the potential award of additional projects during the three-year period.
For Guyana, the reported campaign adds another layer to the increasingly intensive subsurface work being undertaken as ExxonMobil and its Stabroek Block partners continue expanding production and developing new offshore projects.
OBN seismic uses receivers, or nodes, placed on the seabed to record seismic signals generated by a source vessel. The resulting data can provide detailed information about the subsurface and help companies improve their understanding of reservoirs and geological structures.
Shearwater has already established a track record working for ExxonMobil in Guyana.
In 2025, the company was awarded a large deepwater 4D OBN reservoir surveillance programme by ExxonMobil Guyana. The six-month programme was designed to monitor changes in the subsurface associated with production and reservoir behaviour.
In June 2026, Shearwater also announced a separate two-month Distributed Acoustic Sensing, or DAS, seismic programme in the Stabroek Block for ExxonMobil Guyana. That work involved source-only seismic acquisition in support of a baseline reservoir-surveillance survey over the Yellowtail development area.
The latest OBN campaign would therefore represent another significant deployment of Shearwater's seabed seismic technology in Guyana as activity in the Stabroek Block continues to expand.
Shearwater Chief Executive Officer Irene Waage Basili said the latest contract marks a milestone for the company's OBN platform, which combines its internally developed Pearl technology with the Tasman vessel design.
The company did not disclose the financial value of the contract or the precise survey area.
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