April 1983 - Maritime Reporter and Engineering News

Racal Forms New Energy Resources Group

The formation of an energy resources group, bringing together its specialist precise positioning and offshore companies within Racal Electronics Pic, Berkshire, U.K., was announced recently. The group will consolidate Racal's worldwide activities in this field and provide the coordinated effort required to stimulate further growth. It will be headed by Racal Energy Resources Limited, one of several new companies resulting from the reorganization.

The Racal Energy Resources Group will be divided into four key activities: Racal Survey Limited will provide surface and underwater precise positioning services; Racal Geophysics Limited will concentrate on high resolution geophysical studies and seismic reconnaissance; Racal Positioning Systems Limited will continue the development and manufacture of a wide range of precise positioning products and systems; and the Racal Expert Systems Divisions will further the development of new computer techniques for interpreting complex data generated during oilfield studies.

Among the plans for the new energy group is the entry into North Sea service this month of Aqua-Fix '4, an underwater positioning system that operates in long, short and ultra-short baseline modes and features "intelligent" transponders with a fast digital telemetry link to the surface.

A major upgrading of the range of geophysical services offered by the group will also be introduced. These include the addition, in 1984, of a highly advanced survey vessel with 96- channel digital data acquisition capability to its existing fleet; a fully equipped geophysical and hydrographic data processing center in Great Yarmouth, England ; and a research program — the first of its type in the world — which applies "artificial intelligence" computer techniques to seismic interpretation. Precise positioning service chains in the North Sea and elsewhere using Racal's highly advanced 2 Mhz Hyper-Fix system also are planned.

The board of directors of Racal Energy Resources Limited is composed of David C. Elsbury, chairman; J. (Lain) M.Thomson, managing; John E. Lucken; David Daw; Kindel McNeill; George E. Latta, and W. (Bill) St. J.

White.

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