Geomatics

IOGP releases version 1.1 of geophysical position data exchange formats

The International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP) has released version 1.1 of its P1 and P2 geophysical position data exchange formats.

Originally released in 2012 to replace the UKOOA P1/90 and P2/94 formats, the revised versions incorporate industry feedback from the first release and provide greater flexibility – without changing the fundamental format structure. For example, the format now enables the recording of land and OBC formats and additional peripheral sensor or QC data.

The OGP P1/11 v1.1, OGP P2/11 v1.1 formats are available here and here, (also here).

The formats incorporate learnings from the first two years of implementation and include enhancements requested by the industry, such as: handling channel grouping; ‘virtual’ position objects such as mid-points; global pre-plot attributes; event-based attributes; receiver and source relation records.

IOGP is revising the original user guide. It is expected to be published during Q3 2015.

History of the formats

Since the early 1990s, ‘P’ formats (P1/90 and P2/94) have been used to record marine seismic position data collected in the field. Originally developed by UKOOA, they were widely adopted by the industry worldwide.

In 2006, IOGP’s Geomatics Committee took ownership of the formats.

In 2009, following industry consultation, the Geomatics Committee formed the P1/P2 Revision Task Force to address the issue of the formats becoming obsolete due to advances in acquisition and processing technologies, as well as the increasing use of a number of non-standard variations and ‘add-ons’.

Since October 2009, the Task Force has completed extensive work to bring the formats fully up-to-date and to adopt common and current acquisition practices.

Version 1.0 of the formats, released in 2012, featured a “Common Header” across all IOGP ‘P’ formats. This includes a rigorous definition of Coordinate Reference Systems, as well as metadata applicable to each format, supporting the fundamental objective of ensuring the geodetic integrity of position data.

It also featured enhanced functionality, in line with advances in seismic data acquisition techniques, allowing greater flexibility in dealing with current survey configurations. An extensible format allows accommodation of future innovations and requirements, as well as for storage and exchange of position data from other non-seismic surveys.

Unlike the original formats, introduced as a standard positioning record for marine seismic data acquisition, the P1/11 format revision incorporates land seismic operations. With the addition of full relational records (receiver and source), the latest version (P1/11 V1.1) incorporates all forms of seismic acquisition (2D, 3D, 4D, multi-component) in all environments. It is the only industry data exchange format for positioning data that can be used on any survey in any situation.

In addition to replacing the former UKOOA formats, the P1/11 format also replaces the ageing SEG-P1 format.

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