Business news for the week of 31 August 2009

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Seismic crew survey reports

TGS signs letter of intent for 3D vessel
1 September 2009—TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company announced that it has signed a conditional letter of intent with Polarcus Limited to utilize their first released vessel, the 12-streamer Polarcus Nadia. The charter will begin in December 2009 and will last for approximately three months with options for TGS to extend the charter in two 6-month increments under fixed commercial terms.

The vessel design incorporates many new features ranging from the distinctive ULSTEIN X-BOW hull to the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system. The double hull design also incorporates a range of advanced safety features including a DP 2 dynamic positioning system.

CGGVeritas expands Aberdeen Center
1 September 2009—CGGVeritas announced the expansion of its open processing and imaging center in Aberdeen, UK. The center has been upgraded comprehensively to facilitate and support the significant advances in the seismic imaging technology and services it provides. Technology expansions within the center include a significant investment in enhanced compute power and data throughput resources. Also, the center has a new purpose-built client data-room, complete with an industry-leading graphics computation center that provides advanced viewing of large 3D seismic volumes. It offers a full range of processing services, including 3D and 4D processing of both towed-streamer and OBC data sets.

CGGVeritas announces inauguration of Saudi Arabia Technology Center
11 August 2009—CGGVeritas announced that ARGAS, one of its joint ventures with TAQA in the Middle East, has opened a Technology Center in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia. The new facility is an open center designed to serve the oil and gas community in the Kingdom with a suite of state-of-the-art capabilities and resources.

This center offers a focal point for both local oil and gas players and researchers from the Earth Sciences Department of the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals to benefit from, cooperation with R&D experts to address specific geophysical challenges, high-end processing and imaging technologies, including a visualization center, and access to training from CGGVeritas University.

EMGS awarded 3D EM survey by TOTAL E&P NORGE
28 August 2009—Electromagnetic Geoservices was awarded a contract by TOTAL E&P NORGE to provide 3D EM data acquisition and processing services in relation to the Frigg Field in the North Sea. The survey will be conducted in September using the purpose-built 3D EM vessel BOA Thalassa. Frigg was the world's largest and deepest offshore gas field when it was discovered in 1971. Field production ended in October 2004, and the decommissioning activity is expected to be finalized soon. The license is operated by TOTAL. The objective of the EM work program is to develop a better understanding of the reservoir as of today. The Clearplay Evaluate 3D EM data will be acquired in an area of 100 km² and in water depths of approximately 100 m using densely sampled, wide-azimuth 3D EM grids.