OSLO, Norway, May 5, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Petroleum Geo-Services ASA ('PGS' or the 'Company') has been awarded by Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. a contract to undertake the largest High Density 4D (HD4D) marine seismic survey campaign ever in the industry, based on a tendered contract value of US$251 million.
President & CEO Jon Erik Reinhardsen in PGS states in a comment, "This contract is an important strategic milestone to PGS, as we are providing the most sophisticated technology in the business, with the newest vessel in the industry, in the area where the worlds most significant recent discovery is made."
The award is comprised of a "Firm Program" of five surveys, totaling 4,945 square kilometers and an "Alternative Program" of up to an additional 120 days of data acquisition. The Campos, Santos and Espirito Santo Basin surveys are scheduled to begin in October 2008, using PGS' latest state-of-the-art vessel, the Ramform Sovereign, which was christened in Alesund, Norway on March 12, 2008. The current estimated contract value to PGS is US$180-200 million.
High Density Time Lapsed surveys are used for reservoir management as they require optimal seismic quality in terms of resolution and repeatability. PGS' Ramform technology is tailored for these requirements due to the size and density of its streamer spreads. The Ramform Sovereign will provide Petrobras with the largest, most efficient spreads available to the industry -- 18 streamers x 6,000m streamer length x 50m streamer separation or 14 streamers x 8,000m x 50m, depending on Petrobras' subsurface imaging requirements for each survey area.
According to Mike Edwards, PGS' Marine VP South America, "PGS continues to show its long term commitment to Brazil by offering its most recent ultra-high capacity vessel for this exciting, long term Petrobras campaign. The Ramform Sovereign will reduce the data acquisition time required by standard configurations. This will decrease Petrobras' commercial exposure and enable them to begin interpreting the final product much, much sooner than previously expected."
"PGS has shown tremendous commitment to Brazil. By offering the latest Ramform technology PGS and Petrobras will be able to take yet another step in our ongoing technological cooperation. The Ramform Sovereign is a superb choice from business and technical perspectives as she is the most advanced seismic vessel available in the industry today," quoted Mario Carminatti, head of Petrobras' Exploration Department.
Petroleum Geo-Services is a focused geophysical company providing a broad range of seismic and reservoir services, including acquisition, processing, interpretation, and field evaluation. The company also possesses the world's most extensive multi-client data library. PGS operates on a worldwide basis with headquarters at Lysaker, Norway.
For more information on Petroleum Geo-Services visit www.pgs.com.
The information included herein contains certain forward-looking statements that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects, projects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future. These statements are based on various assumptions made by the Company, which are beyond its control and are subject to certain additional risks and uncertainties. The Company is subject to a large number of risk factors including but not limited to the demand for seismic services, the demand for data from our multi-client data library, the attractiveness of our technology, unpredictable changes in governmental regulations affecting our markets and extreme weather conditions. For a further description of other relevant risk factors we refer to our Annual Report for 2007. As a result of these and other risk factors, actual events and our actual results may differ materially from those indicated in or implied by such forward-looking statements.