Schlumberger Chooses IBM RS/6000 SP for Seismic Imaging Centers
HOUSTON, Texas (November 17, 1999) – Following an exhaustive review of the world’s most advanced computing technology, Schlumberger has selected the IBM RS/6000 SP for its major seismic depth imaging centers in Houston, Texas and Gatwick, UK.
The Houston center has installed a 40-node RS/6000 SP, delivering more than 64 gigaflops (64 billion floating-point operations per second) and has plans to add an additional 16 nodes in the future. If listed in the current Top 500 Supercomputer List as compiled by Jack Dongarra (http://www.top500.org), the Houston system would rank in the top one-third. The Gatwick center has installed a 16-node RS/6000 SP, with a processing output of more than 25 gigaflops. Each system employs more than two terabytes of IBM SSA RAID disk.
Seismic depth imaging addresses the complex problems in geological analysis encountered in the search for oil and natural gas. It requires extremely powerful computers that are able to handle floating-point-intensive algorithms and terabytes of data.
“We’ve made significant improvements in imaging seismic sections in areas of complicated geology by using a combination of rapid tomographic velocity and pure processing capacity,” said Paul Farmer, manager of the Schlumberger depth imaging group in Houston. “After an initially slow uptake, the industry now recognizes the value depth imaging brings to efforts to reduce finding costs. We are delighted to be working with IBM to deliver these leading-edge products in a cost-efficient manner.”
“The RS/6000 SP supports many of the world’s most demanding applications with its balanced performance and exceptional scalability,” said Michael Henesey, director, worldwide sales and marketing, IBM RS/6000 Scientific and Technical Computing. “Having the latest IBM computing technology at Schlumberger, a recognized leader in geophysical services and technology, strengthens a key IBM relationship. In addition, working closely with leading technical personnel at Schlumberger helps support IBM’s research and development efforts for the industry’s leading high-performance computing platform.”
Source: IBM