Grapevine

Veritas DGC Inc. and Seitel

Compagnie Générale de Géophysique (“CGG”, ISIN: 0000120164 – NYSE: GGY) and Veritas DGC Inc. (“Veritas”, NYSE: VTS) announced today that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement whereby CGG will acquire Veritas in a part cash, part stock transaction.

CGG will offer Veritas stockholders, subject to proration, the choice of receiving 2.2501 CGG ADSs with respect to 51% of Veritas’ shares or US $75.00 in cash with respect to 49% of Veritas’ shares;

• The aggregate value of the transaction is approximately US $3.1 billion, an implied premium of 34.7% over Veritas’ 30- day average closing price of US $55.69 for the period ending on August 29, 2006;
• Shareholders of the combined group will benefit from holding a world class seismic stock;
• The transaction features strong business, geographic and client fit, with expected pre-tax run rate synergies estimated by CGG at approximately US $65 million per annum;
• The transaction is expected by CGG to be accretive to earnings per share in 2008 and approximately neutral in 2007 to cash earnings1 per share;
• Boards of Directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction; and
• Following shareholder and regulatory approvals, the combined group will operate under the name “CGGVeritas”.

The combination of CGG and Veritas will create a strong global pure play seismic company, offering a broad range of seismic services, and geophysical equipment, through Sercel, to the industry across all markets. The combined seismic services will operate the world’s leading seismic fleet with 20 vessels, including 14 high capacity 3D vessels, and land crews operating with equivalent capacity in both the Western and Eastern hemispheres. The multi-client services will benefit from two complementary, recent vintage, well positioned seismic data libraries. In data processing and imaging, CGG’s and Veritas’ respective positions will combine to create the industry reference.

With a combined workforce of approximately 7,000 staff operating worldwide, including Sercel, the future group will provide, through continued innovation, the industry benchmark for seismic technology and services to a broad base of customers including independent, international and national oil companies.

Geophysical Services Inc. (GSI)

Geophysical Service Incorporated (GSI) has been conducting a 15,000-kilometre, 2D seismic survey offshore Labrador. Paul Einarsson, GSI’s chief operating officer said that the project is nearing completion for the 2006 season and GSI will have invested approximately $11,250,000 in the acquisition and processing of 2D seismic, gravity, and magnetic data focused on offshore Labrador’s Hopedale Basin.

“Academic interpretations of the data suggest there are over 30 undrilled structures on the shelf all capable of 3-5 TCF of reserves, and there are even larger structures in deeper water of about 1,000 meters,” says Einarsson.

This is the fourth year GSI has acquired data offshore Labrador. Previously, the company has collected over 23,000-kilometres of 2D data in the years 2003-2005. GSI has gained expertise in this area over the past 30 years, having previously collected more than 31,000km of 2D data in the 1970s and 80s. Planning is currently underway for the 2007 program. Those interested in participating in the 2007 program can contact Paul Einarsson at 403-514-6260 or Jocelyn Frankow at 403-514-6295.

Junior Geophysicists Forum

The next JGF will be held on November 7, 2006. The JGF is a technical networking event and attendance by invitation only. All geophysicists and students enrolled in a geophysics degree are welcome. We especially need people with 5 to 15 years of experience. If you would like more information, or would like to attend, please email jgf@cseg.ca. If you are a student, please include what university you are attending and what year of study you are in. Space is limited, so please email as soon as possible. If you have any questions, you can contact the JGF committee at jgf@cseg.ca or contact one of the Co-Chairs, Carmen Swalwell at 514-6285 or Mark Noble at 213-8766. If you are interested in sponsoring the event, please contact one of the co-chairs. You can read about the last JGF in the September issue of the RECORDER.

Boyd PetroSearch

Boyd PetroSearch is proud to announce that they have been selected for the “Work Safe Alberta 2005 Best Safety Performer Award” for exceptional safety performance in workplace health and safety.

Of Alberta’s 128,000 employers, only 125 small businesses earned this award!

Boyd PetroSearch will continue their efforts to enhance the safety of their employees, subcontractors and their business partners.

Congratulations everyone on a job well done!

CSEG LunchBox Geophysics

After serving on the CSEG executive for two years, François is happy to come back as a volunteer coordinating the LunchBox Geophysics talks, under the umbrella of the CSEG Educational Services. Larry Adorjan has been instrumental in making these talks what they are today: he found countless speakers and maintained a regular schedule. The attendance is a testimony to Larry’s efforts: he leaves big shoes to fill. If you have speakers to suggest or particular topics that you would like to hear about, please contact François.

François Aubin
CSEG LunchBox Geophysics talks
faubin@cgg.com
Direct line: 403-213-2352
Cell: 403-990-1949

IHS

CALGARY (August 1, 2006) – IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS), a global provider of integrated oil and gas information, software and consulting services, announced today the availability of Ortho photo imagery in IHS AccuMap® software for Southern Saskatchewan, Montana, and North Dakota. Ortho photos provide detailed aerial images of the earth’s surface for oil and gas professionals. These images are particularly useful for understanding the surface context of exploration plays that affect rig placement, routing options and emergency-response plans.

Provided by Valtus Imagery Services, a division of North West Geomatics Ltd., and an IHS data partner, rectified Ortho photos deliver a true representation of the earth’s surface within 3 to 10 meters. Unlike traditional photographs, which are affected by topography and the aircraft and camera lens factors, Ortho photos undergo a rectification process that takes into account the earth’s curvature, providing accurate, uniform scale, high-resolution images that can be used for mapping purposes.

“The degree of detail in Ortho photos is so precise that subscribers can see pipeline rights-of-way, roads, lakes and streams directly from the desktop,” said Christine Bovaird , product manager for AccuMap. “This precision helps customers in effective operation planning,” she said, “and AccuMap customers subscribing to different data layers such as wells, pipelines, and seismic can overlay these datasets on the photo, resulting in a thorough map of the area of interest. AccuMap customers now have seamless data access to detailed Ortho photos for Northern U.S. — in addition to the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin— which makes AccuMap a unique tool for assessing oil and gas information across the border.”