Posts tagged ‘ION Geophysical’
PEMEX Awards Seismic Data Processing Contract to GX Technology
ION Geophysical Corp. announced that its seismic imaging subsidiary, GX Technology (GXT), has been awarded a multi-year contract with Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), the national oil company of Mexico. Under this contract, GXT will be delivering a broad range of seismic data processing and imaging services for multiple offshore and onshore projects during the next three years. To execute the work, GXT has established a local presence in Villahermosa, Mexico, where PEMEX’s exploration headquarters are located.
GXT will utilize its proprietary imaging technologies to process and interpret seismic data acquired on behalf of PEMEX, including in deepwater regions of the Gulf of Mexico, in highly complex subsalt areas, and in various onshore regions throughout Mexico. The scope of services includes velocity model building and pre-stack depth migration (PreSDM) using both beam migration and reverse time migration (RTM) techniques. By establishing a presence in Villahermosa, GXT professionals will be able to collaborate closely with their PEMEX counterparts on a daily basis in order to accelerate the interpretation of the imaging results and to identify new exploration and development drilling targets rapidly.
Jose Antonio Escalera, Sub-Director of Exploration Technology at PEMEX, commented: “PEMEX will be investing heavily in hydrocarbon exploration and development in the years ahead. Much of this investment will be directed at E&P projects in which the targets are located in complex geologic regimes, including in fractured carbonate and deepwater subsalt reservoirs. Processing these datasets requires the most advanced imaging techniques. GXT is well suited to help us address these challenges and have demonstrated their ability to deliver superior images within our required timeframes.”
ION Introduces Extended Life Geophone
ION Geophysical Corp. announced that its Holland-based Sensor B.V. subsidiary has commercialized a new, high performance geophone, the SM-24XL, which leverages a simplified product design to deliver enhanced durability in the field while continuing to record high quality acoustic data for customers in oil & gas exploration. The SM-24XL recently underwent stringent testing with TU Delft University and Sensor’s long-standing customer, Geofizyka Torun, an international geophysical service provider specializing in onshore and transition zone seismic acquisition.
Henryk Chojnowski, VP and Chief Technology Officer of Geofizyka Torun, commented: “Our 25-year relationship with Sensor affords us an opportunity to be early adopters of new technology and provides an operational advantage for our crews. The new SM-24XL not only proved to be as reliable and efficient as the previous generation of Sensor geophones, but also delivered the same high quality data our clients rely upon to make strategic drilling decisions. We are thoroughly pleased with the new, simplified design, and we anticipate improved durability and product performance, along with full support in the field by the Sensor team.”
The XL (eXtended Life) variant of the SM-24 maintains the technical specifications of the first generation of SM-24 geophones while incorporating a simplified design that enables longer field life and greater return on investment. The new SM-24XL geophone is manufactured in Dubai under the rigorous ISO:9001 quality standards and is the only geophone that comes with a four-year warranty.
ION, BGP Team Up to Provide Global Seismic Products
ION and BGP have signed an agreement to create a joint venture that will provide land seismic products worldwide. The joint venture will align ION’s innovative land equipment business with BGP’s expertise and experience in land seismic operations to create a new enterprise with the resources, technology and experience required to provide state-of-the-art products and services on a global basis.
ION will significantly enhance its financial position through total cash proceeds of $175 million from BGP. BGP will receive a 51% interest in the joint venture and a 16.66% interest in ION. Prior to the joint venture closing, ION will also receive up to $40 million of bridge financing arranged by BGP. At the transaction’s closing, ION will refinance and reduce its long-term debt and receive an expanded replacement revolving line of credit. Overall, after closing ION expects to have over $100 million in liquidity from cash and spare capacity on its revolving line of credit.
ION CEO Bob Peebler commented: “Our Board of Directors and senior leadership team are delighted to be forging this transformative partnership with BGP. ION and BGP have been doing business together for more than two decades, with each company contributing to the other’s growth and success. This transaction will create not only a new global leader in land seismic equipment capable of seizing high-value opportunities in the fastest-growing geophysical markets, but also a financially stronger ION through a significant de-leveraging of the company.”
Wang Tiejun, President of BGP, added: “As an ION customer for many years, BGP has always been impressed with ION’s vision and products, which have proven to be capable of improving the operational efficiency and the safety and environmental effectiveness of land seismic acquisition. By joining forces through our planned joint venture, we believe we can combine BGP’s operational knowledge and experience and emerging land seismic product portfolio with ION’s innovative products and culture to become the leading land seismic technology company of the 21st century. It is the intention of both ION and BGP that our joint venture will provide products and field support services to all land seismic contractors around the world, not just to BGP. The sale of products and the provision of field-support services to both in-house BGP crews and third-party land seismic contractors is a proven industry model that will benefit the broader land contractor community and the hundreds of seismic crews that operate around the world.”
The transaction is subject to the completion of regulatory reviews and receipt of applicable approvals in the US and the People’s Republic of China, which are expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2010. Prior to closing, ION and BGP will file a joint voluntary notice of the transaction for review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a government inter-agency committee chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury.
The terms of the agreement have been unanimously approved by BGP and by ION’s Board of Directors and is not subject to approval by ION’s shareholders. ION’s current bank group has amended ION’s credit facility to the extent necessary to allow the transactions to proceed.
The joint venture will provide ION with preferred access to the world’s largest land seismic contractor, currently operating 110 seismic crews around the world. In addition to improved economies of scope and scale and enhanced supply-chain efficiencies, the joint venture will enable joint engineering teams to develop innovative, market-leading land recording systems, 3C (full-wave) sensors and vibroseis products.
Key Aspects of the Joint Venture
- ION will contribute its Land Imaging Systems assets and intellectual property to the joint venture, including its ARAM, Aries®, Scorpion®, and FireFly® product lines as well as its VectorSeis® land sensor and vibroseis businesses, but excluding ION’s Sensor geophone business. All other ION businesses – including ION’s Marine Imaging Systems, Concept Systems, Data Management Solutions, GXT Imaging Solutions, Integrated Seismic Solutions (ISS) and BasinSPANTM seismic data libraries – will be retained by ION and will not become part of the land joint venture.
- BGP will contribute land seismic equipment assets and intellectual property to the joint venture, including an innovative land recording system currently under development, its vibroseis business, and various complementary land seismic equipment businesses. BGP’s geophone business, including associated BGP geophone joint ventures with other parties, will be excluded.
- The joint venture will be governed by a board of directors consisting of representatives from both owners. The joint venture’s board will appoint management, approve strategic and operating plans, and govern the direction and performance of the company.
- After taking into account the value of tangible and intangible assets contributed to the joint venture by both parties, BGP’s cash investment to be paid to ION with respect to the joint venture will be $108.5 million.
ION Completes ArgentineSPAN, Starts Phase II of ArcticSPAN
ION Geophysical has completed the data processing and interpretation for ArgentineSPAN, a basin-scale seismic program offshore Argentina. ArgentineSPAN contains nearly 11,800 km of new data off the Argentine coast from Uruguay border to the southern tip of Tierra del Fuego. The program provides high-resolution images of prospective targets in all of the basins offshore Argentina and offers a new understanding of the petroleum systems and prospectivity of offshore Argentina, one of the most under-explored petroleum regimes in the world.
The program was sanctioned following an agreement signed at the end of 2007 between ENARSA (Energia Nacional de Argentina SA) and ION’s subsidiary, GX Technology (GXT). Exequiel Espinosa, President of ENARSA, said: “ArgentineSPAN is a key component to increasing investment in the offshore industry in Argentina, and we are pleased that this data will be available to Latin American and international companies who are looking to invest in Argentina over the long term.”
Ken Williamson, Sr. VP of ION’s Integrated Seismic Solutions group, commented: “ArgentineSPAN is providing new insights that are prompting both public and private organizations to rethink the potential of Argentina’s resource base. We continue to develop further exploration opportunities in Latin America by providing a strategic framework for international and domestic oil and gas exploration companies and by working very closely with governments and state controlled agencies within the whole region.”
ION has also initiated the next phase of its ArcticSPAN seismic data program. The US Geological Survey estimates the Arctic region could contain nearly 25% of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas resources. Therefore several of the world’s largest energy companies have agreed to underwrite a new, basin-scale imaging project to study the deep crustal architecture offshore Greenland. Acquisition of this phase of the ArcticSPAN program will be undertaken by the Octio Group, a subsidiary of Norway’s GC Rieber Shipping, utilizing ION’s Intelligent Acquisition (IA) streamer technologies.
Williamson commented: “ION has been actively acquiring seismic data in the Arctic since 2006, when we acquired the initial phase of our ArcticSPAN regional program offshore Alaska and northern Canada. Based on our success with this program, several of our BasinSPAN customers asked us to undertake a deep crustal study in a region offshore Greenland that is largely unexplored and potentially prospective. Given the harsh operating conditions in this area and the short weather window for acquisition, we needed to design a highly customized seismic program that allows operations to proceed in a highly efficient manner and with the utmost environmental sensitivity.”
Bjarte Fageras, CEO of the Octio Group, added: “The GC Rieber Shipping Group has a long history of building and operating special-purpose vessels in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. While a seismic program in this area poses a unique set of challenges, I am confident that we will be able to acquire the data in a highly productive and environmentally aware manner to meet the demanding criteria set forth by ION and its program underwriters. For this project, ION’s IA streamer portfolio was the only suitable technology solution. We purchased DigiSTREAMER due to its unique continuous recording capability and environmentally friendly, low-noise solid cable that enables operations in a wider weather window. We’ll also be deploying DigiFIN, DigiBIRD and the Orca command and control system to actively steer around and beneath any ice we encounter.”
Acquisition for this phase of ArcticSPAN is expected to be conducted during an extended seasonal window with operations beginning in July 2009 and ending by October 2009.
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