GEOPHYSICAL
& GEOTECH
SURVEY
SERVICES.
From topographical surveys on land to deepwater soil investigation at 2,000m+ — NIQ provides end-to-end geophysical and geotechnical survey data to inform every engineering decision in the design and construction of onshore and offshore oil and gas infrastructure. Where scope demands specialist capability, we deploy foreign technical partners with world-class equipment and deepwater expertise.
POOR SUBSURFACE DATA COSTS
MORE THAN GOOD SURVEY DATA EVER WILL.
Every offshore platform, pipeline route, and subsea structure is built on a foundation of geophysical and geotechnical data. Inadequate site characterisation at the front end is one of the most common causes of construction cost overruns in offshore oil and gas. Foundation design failures, undetected seabed hazards, uncharted obstructions, and incorrectly assessed bearing capacity all trace back to survey scope that was insufficient, executed too late, or interpreted without engineering integration. NIQ delivers maximum data with minimum time and disturbance on site.
Seismic, sub-bottom profiling, side-scan sonar, and magnetometry to map the near-surface geology, detect buried hazards, and characterise the seabed — from shallow coastal to deepwater blocks.
Precision land and near-shore surveys using total station, GNSS/GPS, and LiDAR for pipeline route corridors, platform pad design, DTM production, and regulatory compliance.
Multibeam and single-beam echo-sounder surveys for precise water depth mapping, seabed morphology characterisation, pipeline corridor assessment, and free-span identification.
Current profiling, wave measurement, tide gauging, and environmental data collection for structural design inputs, marine spread planning, and installation window analysis.
FIVE DISCIPLINES.
ALL FULLY SUPPORTED.
From concept to as-built, NIQ supports every survey discipline required to characterise an offshore or onshore site — using non-invasive, high-volume data capture methods that maximise information while minimising site impact and schedule.
Sub-bottom profiling, side-scan sonar, multibeam echo-sounder, and high-resolution seismic reflection surveys to identify buried hazards, shallow gas, seabed features, and geological structure for foundation studies and pipeline route assessments. Data processed to international survey standards (IHO S-44, IMCA) with full QC documentation. Applied from shallow coastal waters through to deepwater development blocks.
Precision land survey using total station instruments, GNSS/GPS control networks, and terrestrial LiDAR for digital terrain models (DTMs), pipeline route corridors, platform site preparation, right-of-way mapping, and as-built capture. Deliverables formatted to client GIS specifications and applicable national geodetic standards. Supports both greenfield site selection and brownfield tie-in determination.
Multibeam and single-beam echo-sounder surveys for seabed mapping, pipeline pre-lay corridor assessment, platform site surveys, free-span identification, and post-installation as-built verification. Integrated with sub-bottom data for complete seabed characterisation. Delivers high-resolution Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) of the seabed to support pipeline stability, free-span management, and structure siting.
Deployment of wave buoys, ADCP current profilers, tide gauges, and environmental monitoring systems to characterise the marine environment for structural design, mooring analysis, marine spread planning, and installation window determination. Data reduction, statistical analysis, and extreme value analysis to 1-year, 10-year, and 100-year return periods — formatted directly as FEED and detailed design inputs.
Seabed and sub-seabed soil investigation including seabed sampling, vibrocoring, gravity coring, and cone penetration testing (CPT/PCPT) for foundation design. Laboratory testing of recovered samples for soil classification, shear strength, compressibility, and consolidation parameters. Reports formatted to BS EN ISO 22475 and ASTM standards, providing direct design inputs for jacket piles, subsea structures, and pipeline on-bottom stability.
Full deepwater site characterisation capability via our specialist foreign technical partners — combining AUV geophysical survey, ROV-deployed seabed sampling, deepwater CPT, and T-bar / ball penetrometer testing at water depths beyond 500m. Specifically scoped for deepwater pipeline routes, subsea structures, SCR touch-down zones, manifold and PLET foundations, and suction caisson or drag anchor assessment for FPSOs and floating structures.
THE SEABED DOESN'T GET EASIER
WITH DEPTH.
Deepwater soil-structure interaction is one of the most technically demanding challenges in offshore engineering — and one of the most consequential. Foundation failures at 1,500m are not corrected by a dive team. They require engineering excellence from the first day of site investigation. NIQ meets this challenge through its specialist foreign technical partner network.
Deepwater Challenges We Address
At water depths beyond 500m, conventional geotechnical methods become impractical. The deepwater environment introduces challenges that require specialist equipment and engineers who have worked specifically in this domain.
- Very soft, high-plasticity deepwater clays with low undrained shear strength — requiring specialist low-force in-situ testing calibrated for deepwater conditions
- SCR (Steel Catenary Riser) touch-down point characterisation — where cyclic loading creates a seabed trench that critically affects SCR fatigue life
- Subsea foundation bearing capacity for manifolds, PLETs, PLEMs, and ILTs on soft deepwater soils where conventional spread footings will not perform
- Suction caisson and drag anchor assessment for FPSOs, semi-submersibles, and TLPs — installation resistance and holding capacity design inputs
- Submarine landslide and slope stability assessment near deepwater infrastructure — geophysical and geotechnical characterisation of unstable slopes
- Deepwater pipeline route geohazard identification — shallow gas, pockmarks, carbonate crusts, boulders, and seabed irregularities affecting pipeline stability
Deepwater Survey Methods
Our specialist partner network provides deepwater-rated survey systems and experienced personnel for the full range of deepwater site investigation requirements.
- AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) surveys — high-resolution multibeam bathymetry, side-scan sonar, and sub-bottom profiling at full deepwater depth without vessel offset limitations
- Deepwater CPT systems — seabed-deployed and downhole CPT tools rated to 2,000m+ for continuous soil strength profiling
- ROV-deployed geotechnical sampling — remotely operated push corers, percussion corers, and grab samplers for disturbed and undisturbed soil recovery
- T-bar and ball penetrometer testing — in-situ undrained shear strength measurement in very soft deepwater clays where standard CPT correlation is unreliable
- Full-flow penetrometer testing — cyclic and monotonic testing for SCR touch-down zone characterisation and pipe-soil interaction model development
- Suction caisson installation resistance analysis — geotechnical design inputs for anchor and foundation installation in deepwater soft sediments
- Geohazard assessment and slope stability — integrated geophysical and geotechnical interpretation for quantitative slope stability analysis and infrastructure siting recommendations
WORLD-CLASS EXPERTISE.
ONE CONTRACTING RELATIONSHIP.
Specialist Technical Partnerships for Advanced & Challenging Scopes
NIQ maintains strategic technical partnerships with leading specialist geotechnical and geophysical survey companies internationally. Where a scope demands capabilities beyond standard survey methods — deepwater soil investigation, complex soil-structure interaction analysis, suction caisson design inputs, frontier geological environments, or particularly challenging seabed conditions — NIQ deploys these partnerships to bring world-class technical capacity to your project.
Our foreign technical partners are selected for their deepwater-rated equipment fleets, certified personnel, track records on IOC-standard projects, and their ability to work seamlessly within NIQ's project management and QA systems. The result is a combined offering that extends NIQ's reach into frontier environments without the client needing to manage multiple contracting relationships or coordinate between competing survey firms. NIQ remains the single point of accountability — from scope definition to final deliverable.
DATA THAT DRIVES
ENGINEERING DECISIONS.
Every survey campaign delivers a formal technical report and processed dataset formatted for direct use by the engineering design team across geotechnical, structural, pipeline, and marine engineering disciplines.
PRECISION INSTRUMENTS.
MAXIMUM DATA.
NIQ deploys non-invasive, high-volume data capture instruments across all survey disciplines — maximising information density while minimising time on site and site disturbance. Deepwater capability is extended through our specialist partner network.
| Method / Instrument | Discipline | Application |
|---|---|---|
| Multibeam Echo Sounder (MBES) | Bathymetry | High-density seabed mapping, pipeline corridor profiling, platform site surveys, free-span identification |
| Sub-bottom Profiler (SBP) | Geophysical | Shallow geological stratigraphy, buried object detection, sediment layer mapping to 30–50m sub-seabed |
| Side-scan Sonar (SSS) | Geophysical | Seabed texture mapping, obstruction detection, pipeline route clearance, archaeological screening |
| ADCP Current Profiler | Metaocean | Water column current velocity and direction profiling for structural design and marine spread planning |
| Wave Buoy / Wave Radar | Metaocean | Directional wave spectra for extreme value statistics and installation window analysis |
| GNSS / Total Station / LiDAR | Topographical | Land survey control, pipeline route surveys, platform site topography, DTM production, as-built capture |
| Cone Penetrometer (CPT / PCPT) | Geotechnical | Continuous in-situ soil strength profiling — shallow water in-house; deepwater via partner systems |
| Vibrocorer / Gravity Corer | Geotechnical | Undisturbed and disturbed soil sample recovery for laboratory testing and soil classification |
| AUV Survey System | Deepwater — Partner | Deepwater MBES, side-scan sonar, and sub-bottom profiling at full deepwater depth without vessel offset limitations |
| ROV Geotechnical Tools | Deepwater — Partner | ROV-deployed push corers, percussion corers, grab samplers, and T-bar / ball penetrometers at 2,000m+ |
| Deepwater CPT System | Deepwater — Partner | Seabed-deployed CPT at full deepwater depth for continuous soil strength profiling and foundation design |
FROM SCOPE TO DESIGN INPUT.
Every survey campaign follows a structured project process from initial scoping through to formal report delivery — with real-time QC and full traceability to the agreed acceptance criteria.
Define survey requirements, vessel and equipment selection, mobilisation plan, HSE documentation, and regulatory permits.
Equipment deployment, sensor calibration, patch tests, and vessel integration. Sound velocity profiling for water column characterisation.
Field survey operations with real-time QC monitoring. Coverage verified against agreed acceptance criteria before demobilisation.
Data processing, cleaning, and geophysical/geotechnical interpretation. Laboratory testing. Supplementary acquisition if required.
Formal deliverable issue: GIR, geophysical report, bathymetric charts, metaocean data, and all digital datasets in agreed client formats.
NIQ's survey services integrate directly with our Process Engineering and Flow Assurance disciplines — providing a single technical partner from site characterisation through to full facilities design and production system integrity.
YOUR SURVEY SCOPE
STARTS HERE.
From a single pipeline corridor bathymetric survey to a full deepwater site investigation for a new field development — NIQ scopes, mobilises, and delivers. Where your scope demands specialist deepwater or challenging soil-structure capability, our foreign technical partners are deployed as an integrated team under NIQ project management.