Business news for the week of 9 November 2009 News section front
Past news briefs
Seismic crew survey reports Ion Geophysical zeroes in on China
9 November 2009—Ion Geophysical has partnered with the largest seismic land crew provider in the world in a joint venture that will slash debt and widen an existing sales pipeline for the Houston-based seismic company. Under the terms of the deal, China-based BGP, a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation, will swap US$175 million in cash and up to $40 million in bridge financing in exchange for 51% of the joint venture and a 16.7% interest in Ion. Once the deal closes in early 2010, publicly traded Ion will refinance to reduce long-term debt and receive an expanded replacement revolving line of credit. All told, Ion expects to have more than $100 million in liquidity after closing. The new company, which has yet to be named, will align Ion’s land equipment business with BGP’s seismic operations. Ion brings most of its land imaging systems to the table while BGP—which became a liability-limited company in 2002 after merging with six other Chinese geophysical companies—contributes land seismic equipment assets. Both companies are leaving their respective geophone businesses out of the deal. Together, they plan to sell products and field support to all land seismic contractors, not just BGP. OYO Geospace announces contract for sale of 8000-channel land nodal seismic data acquisition system to Dawson Geophysical
10 November 2009—OYO Geospace announced it received an order from Dawson Geophysical Company for US$6.1 million of geophysical equipment, including 8000 channels of the geospace seismic recorder (GSR), the company’s land nodal seismic data acquisition system. This is the company’s first order for a four-channel configured GSR land nodal system. Delivery of the GSR system and related equipment is expected to occur in the company’s 2010 fiscal year. Stingray awarded “life of field seismic” feasibility studies
10 November 2009—Stingray Geophysical Limited has been contracted by BP to conduct two life of field seismic (LoFS) feasibility studies. The studies will identify the requirements for an integrated approach to LoFS or permanent reservoir monitoring (PRM) on the Clair and Schiehallion fields, operated by BP in the United Kingdom North Sea. The first study will focus on the challenges of installing LoFS solutions on the Clair Field. The second study will evaluate the impediments and risks associated with cost-effective LoFS solutions for the Schiehallion Field on the Atlantic margin. The field is produced through subsea completions and an FPSO, resulting in an obstructed and changing seabed environment, which presents new challenges for the installation of PRM systems New PowerLog 3.1 petrophysics software now available from Fugro-Jason
10 November 2009—Fugro-Jason announced the general availability of PowerLog 3.1, the latest version of its petrophysical interpretation software, enhancing numerous capabilities and adding two new interactive modules. PowerLog is utilized for Windows-based petrophysical analysis, dedicated to log data editing, conditioning, analysis and presentation. The LSSA module provides a graphical view of isotropic and anisotropic thinly laminated sand-shale sequences. Built for use with Baker's 3DEX(tm) multicomponent induction tool, LSSA partitions formations into sand and shale beds using the Thomas-Stieber model. Using Vsh, porosity, and resistivity plots with overlays, petrophysicists can graphically adjust interpretation parameters for easy visual feedback and QC of analysis results. | 
