Power systems company Rolls-Royce has won a £20 million order from Chinese conglomerate Sinopec for a seismic vessel to help search for new oil and gas reserves.

The company will design and equip a seismic research vessel which will survey the seabed.

Cato Fjeldstad, Rolls-Royce, Sales Manager - Special Purpose Vessels, said: ''Rolls-Royce has decades of experience in designing specialist vessels to meet the needs of the oil and gas industry and continues to develop industry leading technology. Our expertise enables our customers to meet their objectives safely and efficiently, while operating in some of the most challenging environments on earth.''

The vessel, a UT 830 CD, will be able to operate worldwide. During missions, the vessel will tow up to 14 cables, or 'streamers', each 10 kilometres long. Seismic waves are sent deep into the seabed and the reflected waves are detected by hydrophones spread along the streamers.

This data is then used to provide a 3D profile of geological features, including the location of oil and gas, often thousands of meters below sea level.

Shanghai Shipyard Co will build the vessel for Shanghai Offshore Petroleum Geophysical Corporation, which is part of the Sinopec organisation, with delivery scheduled for 2013.