Name

SAND Geophysics Ltd

Legal name

SAND Geophysics Ltd

Website

https://sandgeophysics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marine Geophysical Survey Services

NAICS

Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (54136), Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (541360)

SIC

Oil & Gas Field Exploration Services (1382), Oil & Gas Field Services, Nec (1389)

akta.pro primary industry

Seismic & Geoscience Services (Acquisition, Processing, Interpretation) (EUALABAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mineral Exploration & Geoscience Services (Geology, Geophysics, Geochemistry, Resource Modeling) (IMAKAKAA), Marine Sensors, Instrumentation & IoT (Condition Monitoring) (IMAJAJAI)

Keywords

• Marine geophysical surveys
• Seismic data processing
• Unexploded ordnance detection
• Seabed ground modelling
• Offshore wind surveying

Headquarters

HQ city

Southampton

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Survey Services: Field survey services including marine geophysical surveys, UXO detection, ultra-high-resolution seismic surveys, sidescan sonar, magnetometer surveys, hydrographic surveys, and engineering surveys. Revenue is earned through project-based contracts delivered globally.
2. Data Processing & Interpretation Services: Processing and interpretation of magnetometer, multibeam echosounder, seismic, and sidescan sonar data. Delivered using industry standard and bespoke in-house software, supplied in standard formats.
3. Consultancy Services: Specialist consultancy services including data integration, data review, survey design and specification, tender review, technical support and advice, and training. Covers offshore renewables, port and harbour developments, and UXO pre-construction projects.
4. Ground Modelling Services: Advanced processing to deliver detailed subsurface ground models, including data reprocessing, geotechnical integration, seismic inversion, attribute analysis, interval velocities, Q-factor quantification, and qualitative interpretation.
5. Personnel/Staffing Services: Provision of experienced geophysicists and freelance personnel for offshore acquisition, processing, interpretation and reporting. Includes both full-time roles and freelance/contract staffing for shallow high-resolution seismic acquisition and processing, magnetometer acquisition and processing, hydrographic surveying, and small vessel mobilisations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

SAND Geophysics Ltd provides shallow, high-resolution marine geophysical survey, data processing, ground modelling, unexploded ordnance (UXO) detection, and specialist consultancy services for offshore infrastructure projects. The company delivers tailored survey solutions using a full suite of geophysical sensors (multi-channel ultra-high-resolution seismic, sidescan sonar, magnetometer, MBES) combined with proprietary processing software (QSI and QSI-3D) and the 3D Chirp sub-bottom profiling system. Services support offshore wind farms, subsea cables, port and harbour developments, environmental monitoring, and coastal resource management globally.

Product overview

SAND Geophysics Ltd is a marine geophysical survey and consultancy company offering a comprehensive portfolio of services supported by proprietary technologies. The core offering combines field survey services (using sensors including MBES, SSS, SBP, magnetometer, and 3D Chirp) with data processing, interpretation, and ground modelling capabilities. The company's proprietary technology portfolio centres on the QSI and QSI-3D software suites for quantitative seismic imaging and inversion, complemented by the 3D Chirp sub-bottom profiling system. Services span seabed detection, unexploded ordnance analysis, ultra-high-resolution seismic surveys, cable route and depth of burial assessments, and environmental monitoring, all delivered by specialist teams combining latest technology with extensive expertise.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Survey Services Marine geophysical survey services delivering tailored survey solutions using a full suite of geophysical sensors including multi-channel ultra-high-resolution seismic surveys, with expert teams handling acquisition, processing, and interpretation. For offshore infrastructure developers, port authorities, and engineering firms.
• Consultancy Services Specialist consultancy services across offshore renewables, port and harbour developments, and unexploded ordnance for pre-construction projects, including data integration, data review, survey design, tender review, technical support, and training.
• Data Processing & Interpretation Tailored data processing and re-processing services for magnetometer, MBES, seismic, and sidescan sonar datasets, maximising value and quality of geophysical data using industry standard software and bespoke in-house solutions.
• Ground Modelling Advanced processing of geophysical data to deliver detailed subsurface ground models including data reprocessing, geotechnical integration, seismic inversion, attribute analysis, interval velocities, Q-factor quantification, and qualitative interpretation.
• Research & Development Innovation-focused R&D services developing novel solutions for complex and challenging marine near-surface problems, with ties to UK universities including University of Southampton and Imperial College London.
• UXO & Debris Detection Unexploded ordnance and debris detection surveys for offshore and nearshore projects, providing clearance surveys, movement monitoring, and ALARP certification support using TVG, SSS, MBES, and 3D-Chirp technologies.
• Cable Route Landing Survey Cable route surveys combining land and marine data for shallow and deepwater operations, providing detailed bathymetric mapping, subsurface geological imaging, UXO identification, and infrastructure location.
• Depth of Burial Survey Surveys for monitoring and assessing burial depth of subsea cables, pipelines, and buried objects such as debris and UXO using SBP, 3D chirp, SUHRS, and MUHRS technologies.
• Hydrographic Survey Hydrographic surveys to IHO standards establishing water depths, determining seabed and sub-seabed stratigraphy, and hydrographic charting.
• Environmental Survey Services Geophysical and GIS support for environmental surveys including drone-based vegetation mapping, GIS charting, benthic survey planning, and spatial analysis.
• 3D Chirp Surface-towed sub-bottom profiling system capable of producing 3D seismic volumes of the upper tens of meters of sediment with 3D decimetre horizontal resolution and centimetric vertical resolution. Applications include marine archaeology, pre-construction analysis, depth of burial assessment, UXO detection, and high-resolution stratigraphy.
• Quantitative Seismic Inversion (QSI) Proprietary seismic processing and inversion algorithms tuned for high-frequency, marine near-surface seismic reflection data. QSI suite handles 2D data and includes bespoke imaging algorithms for maximising penetration and resolution, seismic inversion, attribute analysis, interval velocities, and Q-factor quantification.
• Personnel/Staffing Services Provision of experienced geophysicists and freelance personnel for offshore acquisition, processing, interpretation and reporting. Includes both full-time roles and freelance/contract staffing for shallow high-resolution seismic acquisition and processing, magnetometer acquisition and processing, hydrographic surveying, and small vessel mobilisations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3D Chirp provides 3D decimetre horizontal resolution and centimetric vertical resolution for the upper tens of metres of sediment
• +2 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of SouthamptoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAND has strong ties with the University of Southampton at the corporate level, supporting master's courses and PhD level projects through the supply of data, mentoring, and real-world problem definition. Dr Mark Vardy is affiliated with the university and has supervised 5 PhD students.
• Imperial College LondoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAND has strong ties with Imperial College London at the corporate level, supporting research projects and academic collaboration in marine geophysics and near-surface seismic imaging.
• Achilles NetworkminorOthersSAND Geophysics is a member of the Achilles Network, a pre-qualification and supplier management service used by major engineering and construction companies to verify supplier credentials and capabilities.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Gardline Limited: UK-based marine survey company delivering geophysical, geotechnical, hydrographic, and environmental surveys for offshore energy and infrastructure. Closely comparable in service mix, geographic focus, and target offshore wind / oil & gas customer base, with similar small-to-mid scale.
• Bibby HydroMap: UK-based specialist in shallow water hydrographic, geophysical, and environmental surveying. Directly comparable in delivering high-resolution near-shore marine surveys, with overlap in target customers (ports, harbours, offshore wind developers) and operating geography.
• N-Sea Group: Subsea services provider delivering survey, IRM, and UXO clearance to offshore wind, oil & gas, and telecom cable clients. Directly comparable in UXO detection, cable route survey, and offshore infrastructure services, with similar scale and tender-based go-to-market.
• Reach Subsea: Norwegian subsea services contractor offering survey, inspection, and light construction for offshore wind, oil & gas, and subsea cable clients. Comparable in delivering marine geophysical and UXO survey services in European offshore wind markets.
• Horizon Geosciences: Middle East-based offshore geophysical, geotechnical, and environmental survey contractor with growing European presence. Comparable in offering high-resolution marine surveys, UXO detection, and subsea cable / pipeline route surveys for energy and infrastructure clients.
• EGS International: Specialist offshore geophysical and geotechnical site investigation contractor serving offshore wind, oil & gas, and cable projects. Highly comparable in service portfolio (UXO, cable route, geophysical survey) and customer segments, with overlapping presence in the European offshore wind market.
• MMT Group (DeepOcean subsidiary): Marine survey and subsea services provider delivering geophysical, hydrographic, and UXO surveys for offshore wind, oil & gas, and interconnectors. Highly comparable service mix and offshore wind customer focus, with larger vessel capacity.

Broad incumbents

• Fugro: Global leader in marine geotechnical and geophysical site characterisation, providing survey, soil investigation, and consultancy for offshore wind, oil & gas, and infrastructure. Highly comparable to SAND Geophysics across all service lines, but at vastly greater scale and with a broader portfolio including vessel operations and asset integrity.
• PGS (Petroleum Geo-Services): Global geophysical company providing seismic acquisition, processing, and multi-client data libraries. Comparable in seismic processing expertise but operates at much larger scale and primarily in oil & gas exploration, with limited overlap in SAND's shallow near-surface and offshore wind niche.

Regional players

• Wessex Archaeology: UK-based heritage and archaeological services firm with a marine geophysics team delivering seabed mapping, UXO assessment, and archaeological surveys. Comparable in high-resolution marine survey methodology, but with a different primary vertical (heritage/archaeology) versus SAND's offshore infrastructure focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCnUcRMjWlBOls2ZAAM5WDvQ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sand-geophysics
• Instagraminstagram.com/sandgeophysicsltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SAND Geophysics Ltd