Statoil Unveils Supercomputer

Scandinavia's biggest computer for mapping seismic images is fully operational following its first phase of installation two years ago.

Statoil's new computer located in Stavanger, Norway comprises of 256 interconnected servers with 1,024 processors and can execute 12,000 billion calculations (12 teraflops) a second and fills 17 racks, each 2m tall.

The company says challenges in exploration have been the main driver for acquiring a computer with such processing power. It can raise the quality of information in the search for oil and gas, making the computer important for the next generation of exploration work.

The machine is already providing seismic images of prospects in the Gulf of Mexico where mapping beneath salt layers presents huge challenges due to its demanding geological structure.