Viridien Partners with NVIDIA to Advance HPC for Seismic Imaging Workflows

Key Takeaways

• Viridien integrates NVIDIA tensor cores for faster imaging.
• Mixed-precision computing cuts seismic processing time.
• Partnership targets reduced exploration risk and lower costs.
• Cloud‑enabled HPC expands access for global energy firms.
• Viridien employs 3,200 staff, listed on Euronext Paris.

Summary

Viridien announced a partnership with NVIDIA to accelerate its seismic imaging workflows using NVIDIA's high‑performance computing platforms. The collaboration will optimize Viridien’s algorithms for GPU accelerators, including tensor cores and mixed‑precision techniques, aiming to boost imaging speed, accuracy, and efficiency. By combining Viridien’s subsurface expertise with NVIDIA’s AI‑enabled hardware, the joint effort targets reduced exploration risk and lower compute costs for energy clients worldwide. The initiative builds on Viridien’s managed HPC services and its recent rebranding from CGG.

Pulse Analysis

The oil and gas sector has long relied on high‑performance computing to turn raw seismic data into actionable subsurface images. Traditional CPU clusters, while reliable, often struggle with the petabytes of wavefield simulations required for modern 3‑D and 4‑D surveys. Over the past decade, graphics processing units have emerged as the preferred accelerator because their massive parallelism aligns with the finite‑difference and migration algorithms at the heart of seismic imaging. As a result, firms that adopt GPU‑optimized workflows can achieve order‑of‑magnitude speedups and lower energy consumption.

Viridien’s new collaboration with NVIDIA brings that GPU advantage directly to its proprietary imaging stack. By refactoring core algorithms to exploit tensor cores and mixed‑precision arithmetic, the joint effort promises faster convergence on high‑resolution models while preserving numerical stability. The integration also leverages NVIDIA’s HPC software suite, including CUDA libraries and the DGX cloud platform, enabling Viridien’s clients to run workloads on both on‑premise clusters and scalable cloud resources. Early tests on the Laconia Phase I 12 Hz dataset show measurable reductions in compute time and storage overhead.

The partnership has immediate commercial relevance. Faster, more accurate images lower the probability of dry‑hole drilling, directly improving project economics for upstream operators. Moreover, the cloud‑first approach reduces capital expenditure, allowing smaller exploration firms to access world‑class compute without massive upfront investment. As the energy transition pushes companies toward lower‑carbon basins and unconventional resources, the ability to iterate quickly on seismic scenarios becomes a competitive differentiator. Viridien’s alignment with NVIDIA positions both companies at the forefront of next‑generation geoscience HPC.