McGregor GeoScience – Mapping Ocean Frontiers

McGregor GeoScience Limited provides a variety of seafloor and seabed mapping services to the oil and gas, marine transportation/infrastructure, telecommunications, minerals exploration and related industries, as well as to a number of research institutions worldwide. The origins of McGregor GeoScience Limited on the east coast of Canada can be traced back to 1973. During this period the company has witnessed many changes and advancements in the technologies and methodologies used in the seabed mapping industry.

In March of 2007 McGregor came under new ownership that is committed to the revitalization of McGregor, and to re-establish it as a leader in the provision of marine geoscience and hydrographic services on the east coast of Canada. McGregor has embarked on an aggressive recruiting program to build a team of experts with a wide breadth of knowledge and experience in the industry. Acquisition of a number of leading edge software and hardware technologies has provided these experts with the tools required to meet our client’s needs for integrated, multi-discipline marine survey deliverables.

Most recently McGregor has acquired both shallow and deepwater multibeam systems and processing suites; high resolution dual frequency side scan sonars; chirp and pinger subbottom profiler systems, a 96 channel, solid streamer, 2D seismic acquisition and recording system with full 2D in-house processing; deepwater camera and environmental sampling equipment, and a number of industry standard processing, interpretation and presentation packages.

Through common ownership, McGregor GeoScience Limited has exclusive access to two dedicated survey vessels with ice strengthened hulls that allow the company to undertake a variety of multi-discipline survey activities in both southern and northern latitudes. The headquarters of McGregor GeoScience has recently located within the city limits of Halifax with over 20,000Sq. Ft. of modern office, laboratory, warehouse and yard lay down space. Vessel operations are conducted from office, dock and yard space in Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia.

Currently McGregor is conducting a series of regional environmental impact assessment surveys, and multiple wellsite geo-hazard investigations for clientele offshore Greenland. The project has involved the collection and on-site processing/interpretation of multibeam with backscatter, subbottom profiles and side scan sonar for intelligent sample location design as well as the collection and analysis of seabed soils and benthic samples, water samples, water profiles, camera and video recording and metocean current studies for development of the environmental impact baseline study. High resolution seismic is being collected at 8-9 proposed drilling locations to identify any shallow gas or faulting geohazards prior to drilling. Due to the remoteness of the work, most data is being processed and interpreted onboard the survey vessels to ensure adequate data density, and quality is attained prior to departing the survey areas.

Going forward McGregor GeoScience Limited will maintain growth levels through ongoing personnel recruitment and technology acquisition, as well as through the establishment of strategic partnerships with firms that provide complimentary services. In addition McGregor has developed affiliations with research facilities and institutions to further enhance our capabilities as a technology leader and innovator. Geographically McGregor GeoScience will expand its operating base through other markets in the region, with specific plans to re-establish an operating base in Newfoundland and Labrador. McGregor is currently seeking to develop a complimentary relationship with an established service provider in the Newfoundland and Labrador market with a view to providing clients in the market with a viable choice for one stop shopping in the offshore environmental and geoscience market.