Summer is over. You’re back to work with no vacation time in sight. Chin up – Christmas is coming! There’s a few days off in there somewhere. You’ll be happy to know that I’ve decided not to publish any of those Stampede stories I promised. They just aren’t appropriate for print – you know who you are! You can breathe a sigh of relief now. My column is a bit on the low-fat, no carb side of things this month. So please, if you have any announcements, just send them in. It’s free after all, and I know you can appreciate a good deal when you see one.

As many of you know, I’ve taken on a new position at IHS doing all of their marketing events. It’s a lot of hard but very fun work, and I’m loving every minute of it. I’ve got wonderful and talented people to work with, and I’d like to thank everyone at IHS for being so welcoming – except for the people that didn’t bother telling me I had toilet paper on the bottom of my shoe my first day – just kidding, as if!!!

Veritas DGC Inc. and Seitel

Houston, Texas – July 24, 2006 – Veritas DGC Inc. (NYSE: VTS; Veritas) and Seitel, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: SELA) announced today that they have formed an alliance to reprocess and license Seitel’s non-exclusive seismic data in the Gulf of Mexico shelf region.

The Seitel library contains pre-stack time migration (PSTM) data covering 954 blocks in the Gulf of Mexico. An initial tranche of 425 blocks will be reprocessed using Veritas’s state-of-the-art advanced imaging technologies including pre-stack depth migration (PSDM) and amplitude versus offset technology. This alliance will result in an improved library with m o re precise seismic information offering an enhanced understanding of the geology in this prolific hydrocarbon bearing basin.

“As operations and drilling costs continue to rise in this strategically relevant area, it is critical that we provide our customers with the best technology and information available to make accurate decisions,” notes Tim Wells, President and Chief Operating Officer of Veritas. Wells went on to say “We struck this alliance because we believe through it Seitel and Veritas together can offer a unique product that will improve the success of our customers in the Gulf of Mexico.”

“This is an excellent opportunity for the industry to capitalize on Seitel’s comprehensive and robust existing data library in this key basin of interest, enhanced with Veritas processing and analysis capabilities,” added Kevin Callaghan, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Seitel. “The first sale of PSDM data from the alliance has already occurred, demonstrating in real terms the value this joint effort brings to our customers.”

The first offering in the series will be 40 lease blocks in the Grand Isle area which will be available in the Fall of 2006.

IHS

CALGARY (July 24, 2006) – IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS), a global provider of integrated oil and gas information, software and consulting services, announced today the acquisition of Calgary-based Canadian Hydrodynamics Ltd. (CHD), the leading provider of comprehensive drillstem test (DST) information for the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. The CHD database has been available exclusively through IHS AccuMap as a partner dataset since 1995. This acquisition is consistent with the IHS strategy of providing superior information to the E&P desktop.

“The CHD DST library is the only source for truly complete and accurate DST information in Canada. It is widely recognized by DST experts as the superior file due to its historical content and image quality,” said Chris Jones, IHS senior vice president and general manager for Energy, Canada. “We are extremely pleased to acquire this important dataset and plan to leverage this information with our existing datasets to enhance the value we deliver to our customers.”

Built over the past 45 years by Nor Hannon, a leading hydrodynamicist in the Canadian market, the CHD dataset was designed in cooperation with industry experts who helped ensure the library was as complete and accurate as possible. Since its inception, each test has been reproduced on 35mm microfilm, rather than 16mm film fiche, to ensure compatibility with accepted engineering standards that preserve the exact scale and resolution of the original chart and source material.

Today, the CHD DST dataset provides critical insight to discovering new fields, as well as bypassed pay. The CHD DST data is accessible directly from AccuMap to subscribers.

End

References

Share This Column