Repsol is to deploy its ‘Kaleidoscope’ technology, originally developed at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (OITJ December 2006), in Houston for use by its Gulf of Mexico interpretation team. The Kaleidoscope project applies IBM’s Cell Broadband Engine-based computing to solve the numerically intensive process of reverse-time migration (RTM). A tenfold speedup over ‘conventional’ technology is claimed.
Repsol’s head of geophysics, Francisco Ortigosa, said, ‘We are pleased to launch Kaleidoscope’s exploration operations in the Gulf of Mexico and Brazil as the project proves the success of the collaborative approach to research we have pursued for the past two years. The combination of the IBM PowerXCell 8i processor-powered supercomputer and RTM imaging puts Kaleidoscope at the cutting edge of exploration technology.’
The Kaleidoscope machine is to be replicated at CyrusOne’s Houston data center. The CyrusOne facility is said to be one of the few data centers in the region with the capability of accommodating Repsol’s installation which requires some 750 watts per square foot of electrical power. Repsol’s RTM algorithm was a joint development between Repsol, the BSC and FusionGeo. FusionGeo was formed this month by the merger of Fusion Geophysical and 3DGeo.
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