Business news for the week of 3 June 2009 News section front
Past news briefs
Seismic crew survey reports SMT extends technical support in Spanish for Latin American market
26 May 2009—SMT announced that it now provides primary technical support for its flagship product, KINGDOM, in Spanish for the company’s Latin American customer base. Customers in Trinidad, Tobago, and Brazil will continue to receive support in English and/or Portuguese. SMT’s strategic partner, Geoinfo SRL, provides the Spanish-language support on behalf of SMT. Along with the addition of Spanish support, SMT provides its global customers technical support in six languages: English, French, Russian, Chinese, Arabic, and Spanish. The company’s geoscientific support staff is trained to help clients with all SMT software applications available and provides assistance to customers with any problem that may be incurred while using SMT products and services. Technical support is available through phone, email, or fax. Spectrum and ASB reprocess Australian seismic survey
28 May 2009—Spectrum and Australian Seismic Brokers (ASB) are currently reprocessing 15,800 km of 2D data from the Northwest Shelf of Australia. The survey extends from the Exmouth Plateau to the Northern Browse Basin and incorporates scores of key well ties. Specialist reprocessing conducted jointly by Spectrum and ASB will provide a data set to assist oil and gas exploration companies in determining the region’s structural framework. The current data-processing sequence is focused on accurate and detailed velocity analysis and preserving amplitudes for subsequent amplitude variation with offset information, as well as providing structural and stratigraphic imaging. The survey was originally recorded in the 1980s and 1990s by the Australian Geological Survey Organization as a regional crustal study. Because deep imaging was required, the seismic data were recorded to 16 s using a 5000-m streamer. The new data set will be completed by September and will comprise prestack time migration stacks, gathers, angle stacks, velocities, and navigation data. The first reprocessed lines available will be those related to the upcoming acreage release by the Australian Government in the Exmouth and Southern Browse areas, to be announced at the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association Conference & Exhibition. Sample lines will be made available at APPEA 31 May–3 June 2009 and AAPG in Denver 7–10 June 2009. Weatherford agrees to acquire TNK-BP Oil Field Services
29 May 2009—TNK-BP and Weatherford International announced that Weatherford has agreed to acquire TNK-BP’s Oil Field Services enterprises in exchange for 24.3 million shares of Weatherford common stock and other consideration. The transaction remains subject to approval from Russia’s Federal Anti-monopoly Service. TNK-BP’s OFS business currently provides drilling, sidetracking, well intervention and workover, cementation, and required support services in Russia. It comprises six operating companies owning and operating more than 75 drilling rigs, 180 workover units, 150 cementation and pumping units, and over 10 operating bases in critical reservoir plays including two central bases in Western Siberia and the Volga-Urals region. OFS revenues exceeded US$650 million in 2008. OFS benefits from TNK-BP’s considerable investment in productivity over the last five years, upgrading rigs and infrastructure, extensively training personnel, and developing business systems and processes. Weatherford’s long-term commitment and the company’s local management and staff will accelerate the introduction of new technology and ensure continued productivity. Total awards CGGVeritas 4D inversion project
3 June 2009—CGGVeritas has been awarded a major seismic reservoir characterization project by Total E&P Angola and their partners. The award is for the inversion of 4D seismic data covering the Dalia, Rosa, Girassol, and Jasmine fields offshore Angola. Hampson-Russell Software & Services, a CGGVeritas company, will undertake the inversion work, drawing on the local expertise of the CGGVeritas Luanda processing and imaging center. The project will use the Hampson-Russell proprietary global 4D elastic inversion product, StratiSI 4D. Spectraseis wins Swiss Economic Award 2009
3 June 2009—Spectraseis has been announced as the winner of the Swiss Economic Award 2009 in the high-tech/biotech category. Now in its 11th year, the Swiss Economic Award recognizes outstanding economic achievements and showcases innovative thinking among the business leadership of Switzerland. Over 200 companies considered. The award denotes Spectraseis’ growth and development since being established in 2003. Today, the company has 40 employees; offices in Zurich, Abu Dhabi, and Houston; and leads a large research program focused on low frequency geophysical data analysis. Spectraseis partners with some of the world’s largest E&P companies and has carried out surveys in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, South America, and the United States. PGS sells Geo Atlantic to GC Rieber Shipping
3 June 2009—Petroleum Geo-Services announced that its subsidiary, Arrow Seimic Invest I, has entered into an agreement to sell the seismic vessel Geo Atlantic to GC Rieber Shipping for US$58 million. The sale is a part of the previously announced plans for asset sales, which are targeting proceeds of $200 million in 2009. The asset sale will result in an accounting loss in Q2 2009, estimated at approximately US$45–50 million. The proceeds will be used to repay debt, primarily the Arrow facilities, which were established to finance Geo Atlantic and Arrow’s two first new builds in Spain. | 
