Grapevine

First Mining Exposition in China

After years of isolation, China is opening its doors to the rest of the world. In August 1996, a new policy on mining was adopted by the Chinese Government. This policy is effective January 1, 1997. It was designed to encourage joint ventures between foreign and local Chinese companies to explore new mining ventures, and to expand existing mining activities in China. U-link Marketing has captured this rare opportunity to host the First International Exhibition on Mining and related industries initiated by the City of Shenzhen, China. The World Mining & Industrial Expo '97 will be held April 3-5, 1997 at the Shenzhen International Exhibition Centre, Shenzhen, China. For further information, contact Jackson Cheng, Director of Marketing, U-link Marketing, 1780, 401 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, B.C. V6B SAL Phone: Toll-free 1-800-669-8169, or (604) 6698169; Fax: (604) 669-6812; E- Mail: info@worldmineexpo.com; or visit Web Site: http://www.worldmineexpo.com.

Dynamic Graphics to Add Openworks Links

Dynamic Graphics announced at the SEC; Annual Convention in Denver, the addition of another important industry link for the EarthVision™ geospatial modeling software. Asset management teams using Landmark Graphics™ systems for seismic interpretation will be able to easily export data to EarthVision for enhanced reservoir characterization and 3D well planning activities.

Shell International Exploration and Production Licenses EarthVision from Dynamic Graphics

After an eighteen-month technology evaluation and review, Shell International Exploration and Production B.V. (SIEP) has entered into an agreement with Dynamic Graphics, Inc. of Alameda, California to further license their advanced mapping, 3-D structure and property modeling software, EarthVision™.

EarthVision is third-party software for mapping and modeling complex 3-D subsurface structures, which is being recommended by SIEP to the Shell Exploration and Production (E&P) operating companies.

Deep Offshore Technology Conference & Exhibition

The ninth Deep Offshore Technology Conference & Exhibition scheduled for November 3-5, 1997 in The Hague, Netherlands, is a technical conference with recognized global reach. Case studies and research in deepwater economics, geology, geophysics, geotechnics, drilling, evaluation, subsea systems, fabrication, production, DP and mooring systems, pipelines and risers, and enhanced recovery operations will be presented over a period of three days.

Mitcham Opens Office in Canada and Names J. Martin Sommerville Vice President and General Manager

Mitcham Industries, Inc. (Nasdagy National Market MND), recently announced that in order to better serve its Canadian customers, it has opened an office in Calgary, Alberta. Management noted that this move is reflective of the Company's robust growth in the Canadian marketplace and its plans for future expansion in this area. The Company will maintain a seismic lease pool consisting of a full line of Input/Output and Sercel equipment at its Canadian office and will operate as Sercel's exclusive agent in Canada.

In connection with this news, J. Martin Sommerville has joined Mitcham Industries as Vice President and General Manager of Mitcham Canada Ltd. to oversee and spearhead the growth of operations in Canada. Mr. Sommerville has 20 years experience in the geophysical manufacturing, supply and service industry in Canada.

Radar Technology May Shed Light on Mystery Surrounding Custer's Last Stand

Technologies may have turned up new scientific evidence that could lead to the location of missing soldiers killed during the Battle of Little Bighorn, otherwise known as "Custer's Last Stand," engineers, geophysicists and an archeologist concluded recently after reviewing the data. For the second time in two years, modern remote sensing technology was used to search a site at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument near Crow Agency, Montana where it's believed approximately 28 soldiers died.

The team involved in this expedition last August operated similar ground penetrating radar technologies and agreed the site transmitted unusual signals suggesting indications that objects lay beneath the surface of the historical site's "Deep Ravine." This location is where historians have long speculated the last of Custer's men died. The results compare to other data collected in March, 1995 by engineers using a Rapid Geophysical Surveyor magnetometer. That instrument, developed by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science and Technology at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory detected a scattering of metallic objects in the same area.

Canadian Geophysical Union Annual Meeting

The Canadian Geophysical Union 1997 Annual Meeting will be held May 59, 1997 at the Banff centre for Conferences in Banff, Alberta. To register contact: M.A. Stroh, Phone: (403) 220-6229, Fax: (403) 284-4184 or Email: mastroh@acs.ucalgary.ca, or Email enquiries or abstract information can be obtained through cguconf@acs.ucalgary.ca.

Sercel and Mertz Combine Vibrator Product Lines

Sercel, headquartered in Nantes, France, and Mertz, based in Ponca City, Oklahoma, have announced plans to combine their respective vibrator product lines following the execution of a joint letter of intent. The agreement is expected to be effective January 1, 1997 and consist of two main aspects:

Sercel Inc., a U.S. corporation based in Houston, Texas and Tulsa, Oklahoma, will purchase the vibrator technology from Mertz and take over its R&D, marketing and customer support operation related to the vibrator product line. A new unit, based in Ponca City, will consolidate the existing R&D program of Mertz and AMG while marketing operations will be combined within the Sercel worldwide organization.

Sercel and Mertz will enter into a manufacturing agreement, providing for Mertz to build vibrators according to Sercel specifications. Sercel, a subsidiary of Compagnie Generale de Geophysique (CGG), will thus become the leading supplier of vibrators to the seismic industry through its Sercel Mertz product line. This agreement will broaden the range of Sercel products, from 24-bit seismic recording equipment (cable system SN388 and radiotelemetry Opseis Eagle) to vibrators and vibrator electronics and other specialized equipment.

In a separate move, Sercel and AMG will merge by year end and regroup their R&D and marketing forces in the Sercel worldwide organization. Their SaintGaudens, France facilities will provide customer support to the vibrator product line for the Eastern hemisphere and focus manufacturing mainly on cables, streamers and other seismic equipment.

IT Vastly Increases Supply of Crude Oil and Natural Gas While Allowing the Industry to Flourish at Low Prices

Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) recently released a ground-breaking study that examines how Information Technology (IT) has enabled the oil and gas industry to survive, and now flourish, since the price collapse of 1986. The comprehensive study presents findings of how operations of 38 of the world's leading oil and gas companies have been fundamentally transformed over the last 10 years by information technology.

The study entitled, "The Quiet Revolution: Information Technology and the Reshaping of the Oil and Gas Business," was conducted with the participation of more than 40 companies around the world from April through October 1996. Cambridge Energy Research Associates conducted the study, with participation and sponsorship by Ernst & Young, Landmark Graphics, Oracle Corporation and Silicon Graphics, in addition to the 38 co-sponsors involved in exploration and production for the oil and gas business.

According to the 112-page report, the oil and gas industry spends approximately $6 billion each year on information technology. These expenditures include seismic technology, horizontal drilling, computers, graphics and futuristic visualization, advanced application software, databases, networks, and many other technologies and services associated with global computing and communications infrastructures, both in the office as well as in the oilfield. The study created a unique and objective forum that brought together a wide range of companies to discuss, for the first time, the impact of information technology on their businesses. The report provides a benchmark for companies to measure their experiences and to develop an IT strategy to ensure growth in the face of increasingly complex industry and organizational issues. The report also points to the problems that IT creates, including "change fatigue" and "digital anxiety." The report examines the impact of what it identifies as the IT Generation Gap - the "Baseball Kids," versus the "Video Game Kids," versus the "Computer Kids." It urges management to pay attention not only to hardware and software, but also to the "wetware" - the human element.

Sercel Announces Sale of Opseis Eagle System to Eagle Geophysical, a Seitel, Inc. Company

Sercel recently announced the sale of an Opseis Eagle RF seismic data acquisition system to Eagle Geophysical. This Opseis Eagle purchase will bring Eagle Geophysical recording capability to more than 5,200 RF channels.

Eagle Geophysical records 3-D Seismic Data in the environmentally-sensitive and demanding marsh, swamp and transition zone region of the United States Gulf Coast. Sercel, which merged with Tulsa-based Opseis Inc. in June, 1996, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Compagnie Generale de Geophysique.

Sercel Announces Contracts With ONGC India

Sercel has announced contracts for the supply of nineteen Seismic data acquisition systems to the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation of India (ONGC). Contracts comprise of thirteen SN388 Dynamite systems; four SN388 Vibroseis systems; and two Opseis Eagle RF systems. ONGC is in the process of upgrading their seismic crews to the latest 24 bit telemetry and workstation-based technology. The Sercel systems will operate in diverse environments in India including Dehradun, Vadodorn, Madrass, Calcutta, Jorhad and Assam.