Annual Report 2011 - PGS

Introduction to business units
transferred. Core businesses included predrilling
site surveys, pipeline inspection,
exclusive and non-exclusive 2D seismic surveys
and the processing and interpretation of survey
data. PGS remained a holding company for
Precision Seismic and Geoteam Exploration
Ltd. until late 1991, when PGS merged with
Nopec A/S. By year-end 1991, PGS had
established itself as an important 2D and 3D
seismic operator in the North Sea and the Gulf
of Mexico.
PGS was reincorporated as a public limited
liability company, Petroleum Geo-Services
ASA, and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange
in 1992. PGS was listed on NASDAQ in 1993,
and in 1997 trade in the Company’s American
Depository Shares (ADS) was transferred to the
New York Stock Exchange. Today, PGS is listed
on the Oslo Stock Exchange while ADS trade is
quoted on the US Pink Sheets.
From 1995 to 1999, PGS designed, built
and deployed six proprietary Ramform
survey vessels and grew to become one of
the worldwide leaders in the development
and industrialization of 3D marine seismic
acquisition.
In 1998, PGS acquired Golar-Nor, which owned
the vessels Petrojarl I and Petrojarl Foinhaven.
The acquisition gave PGS a foothold in the
Floating Production Storage and Offloading
(FPSO) market. PGS subsequently added
Ramform Banff and Petrojarl Varg to its fleet of
FPSO vessels. As the year 2000 approached,
PGS’ financial situation deteriorated.
Aggressive growth in an unfavorable market
strained the Company’s liquidity. Sale of shares
in the subsidiary Spinnaker Exploration, a Gulf
of Mexico oil company, and sale of PGS’ data
management business and related software to
Landmark Graphics Corporation, a Halliburton
subsidiary, provided some relief.
To secure maximum utilization of its FPSO fleet,
PGS bought a 70-percent license interest in the
Varg field in the North Sea from Norsk Hydro
and Statoil and established the exploration
and production company Pertra. PGS’ liquidity
situation remained challenging and in 2001
the Company sought to sell another non-core
asset, the exploration and production company
Atlantis. Early in 2003, Sinochem bought the
company, but at a significantly lower price than
PGS’ original asking price. The low purchase
price received for Atlantis and an inability to
meet debt installment payments resulting
from, among other factors, significant budget
overruns on the FPSO newbuilding Ramform
Banff, left PGS with no alternative but to
voluntarily file for reorganization under Chapter
11 of the US Bankruptcy Code in July 2003. PGS
emerged from Chapter 11 four months later.
In March 2005, Pertra was sold to Talisman and
PGS became a dedicated oil services company.
Divestments continued. In 2006, PGS demerged
its Petrojarl floating production unit. In late
2009, PGS’ Onshore seismic business was sold
to Houston based Geokinetics.
PGS is now a focused marine geophysical
company; its foremost competitive advantage
is the Ramform seismic fleet. The fleet was
enhanced further in 2008 and 2009 when PGS
took delivery Ramform Sovereign and Ramform
Sterling. The Ramform vessels deliver proven
operational capabilities and superior efficiency
and deploy state-of-the art technologies. PGS
holds the industry record for towing and
handling the greatest number of streamers.
Fleet efficiency will continue to improve in
2013 when the Company takes delivery of two
Ramform Titan-class vessels. PGS’ proprietary
GeoStreamer GS technology is another key
competitive advantage, complemented and
enhanced by sophisticated data processing and
imaging capabilities.
PGS headquarters are located at Lysaker
(Oslo), Norway. The PGS Group has offices in
26 countries around the world and operates
major regional centers in London, Houston and
Singapore. During the year ended December
31, 2011 PGS had on average 2,145 full-time
employees worldwide.
PGS holds the industry
record for towing and
handling the greatest
number of streamers
PGS Annual Report 2011 13