Grapevine

Happy February! As the “official” groundhog in Pennsylvania saw his shadow on February 2nd, apparently we are going to see another six weeks of winter. I was hoping that since the Pittsburgh Steelers won the Superbowl the day before, Pennsylvania would have been luckier, but I guess not. Ick. Oh well. Think positively. If Mother Nature makes snow, go skiing! Reminder to any outdoor enthusiasts that the CSEG Ski Spree will be happening on February 27th until March 1st. Stay warm.

Light Up The World Silent Auction... Actively Soliciting Donations!

As you probably know already, the CSEG, CSPG and CWLS will be having their joint convention May 4th to May 8th, 2009 at the Stampede Roundup Centre in Calgary. As part of our convention and commitment to our community, we will be holding our sixth annual charity event and silent auction on Tuesday, May 5th, 2009 from 4 pm until 6 pm. We have raised over $67,000 to date with our silent and live auctions.

This year the proceeds will once again be going to Light Up the World (www.lutw.org), which was founded in Calgary. LUTW is a Canadian humanitarian initiative whose chief goal is to assist the poor in the developing world to obtain affordable, safe, and environmentally friendly White Light Emitting Diode (WLED) based home lighting powered by renewable energy sources.

A team from Light Up The World will be in Ghopte Ghyang, Nepal from May 1st to 14th 2009 to install solar powered WLED lighting in 52 homes. The trip will be led by LUTW founder David Irvine-Halliday and will bring the total number of homes illuminated to well over 14,000.

LUTW projects have brought tangible social, environmental and economic gains to communities by enhancing their health and safety, fostering local education, helping to develop an economic infrastructure, and protecting the physical environment by reducing the amount of carbon based fuels used for lighting. Over 100,000 people have been impacted directly by this new and innovative approach to development. LUTW’s goal of reaching approximately 2 billion people worldwide without access to electricity or proper lighting is ongoing.

We invite you to be a part of this worthy cause by generously contributing products or services for the silent auction. If you can help out with a donation or if you would like to work on the committee for the silent auction please contact Sean Callaghan at 403-819-4190. Your support is greatly appreciated.

DOODLESPIEL RESULTS!

The 37th annual CSEG Doodlespiel was held in Banff and Canmore Jan30-Feb1st, 2009. The event was attended by over 400 members, with 88 teams competing in five events.

Congratulations go out to the 2009 Doodlespiel Event Winners:

A – Alan Richards
B – Rob Langill
C – Bob Bleaney
D – Andy Williamson
Holeplug – Kim Hedin

Look for more details to follow in the March Grapevine (including pictures of your event winners).

Armin Schafer
“2009 Doodlespiel Chairman”

GEDCO

GEDCO has subscribed an agreement with Integrated Trade Systems, Inc., a subsidiary of Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) based in Houston, TX, with the purpose of facilitating Pemex’s E&P Division (Pemex Exploración y Producción) the future contracting of GEDCO’s products/services.

CGGVeritas Partners With ‘The Earth and Us’ Exhibition

2008 (January 2007 to December 2009), is the International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE), a joint initiative of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS). This initiative combines the energies of all parties involved around the importance of geoscience and its contribution to a better society as well as to sustainable development.

As a three-star sponsor of IYPE, CGGVeritas is offering valuable support to this initiative. It has already taken part in several events during IYPE and is now partnering with ‘The Earth and Us’ exhibition, which will be held at the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie museum in Paris from 16 December 2008 to 30 August 2009.

As a world leader in geophysics, developing and deploying techniques to explore the Earth’s subsurface, CGGVeritas is actively committed to addressing global environmental challenges for current and future generations. CGGVeritas is pleased to support the ‘The Earth and Us’ exhibition and take part in this educational initiative to raise awareness around the key issues at stake for improving society both today and tomorrow.

Robert Brunck, Chairman and CEO of CGGVeritas, said: “We are very proud to take part in this exhibition at the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie, a museum renowned for presenting scientific information and the latest technologies in an attractive and accessible format. Along with gaining a better understanding of Earth Sciences, visitors will have the opportunity to learn about the major challenges facing society and changes each one of us can make in our daily lives to address these challenges. Being individually committed to group success along with respecting and being responsible for the environment are at the heart of our CGGVeritas values and our operations throughout the world. We are pleased to support this educational initiative which is an ideal vehicle for raising awareness and mobilizing all those committed to the quality of our future life.”