Shell Oil Comapny

Yoram Shoham

Anthony M Zibilich, Jr

A marine seismic cable section with stress members and internal wiring located within the cable section in a manner which reduces internal bending stresses upon the cable section when wound upon a storage reel. Stress members are at least near a horizontal plane passing through and at approximately equal distances from the center line of the cable section. Internal wiring is located in a vertical crisscrossing pattern down the length of the cable section. In one important embodiment, the cable section contains an elastomeric filler material to retain and support stress members, internal wiring and other internal components at their desired location and to prevent damage to internal wiring and components due to external stress when the cable section is wound on a cable reel. Stress relief sections are also provided to further reduce bending stress within the seismic cable section in other embodiments. Additionally embodiments to the cable section provide for adapting the cable section to a bottom cable which is laid on and couples with the sea floor to detect all three vectorial components of particle motion resulting from p- and s-waves and to detect p-waves with a hydrophone. Other embodiments provide for sealing and termination methods which are compatible with use of elastomer as a filler material for connecting detectors disposed within the cable section to internal wiring.

Growing community of inventors

Houston, TX, United States of America

Yoram Shoham