Annual Report 2011 - PGS

Marine Contract
provides more detailed information about
the lithology and fluid content of potential
reservoirs. PGS has been developing a towed
EM streamer system for several years. In 2009,
PGS successfully field tested a 2D EM line that
was towed over the documented Peon field.
Field testing continued in 2010 and 2011. Clients
have shown great interest in a towed EM
solution as it can deliver both high operational
efficiency and good data quality.
Fiber-optic technology for permanently installed
seismic reservoir monitoring is another new
venture of the Marine Contract business unit.
In 2010, Petrobras awarded PGS a contract
to design and install a permanent fiber-optic
seismic monitoring system at the Jubarte
Field offshore Brazil. System components
were manufactured mainly in 2011 and seabed
installation will be in 2012. The OptoSeis system
has been certified by DNV for operation at
water depths of up to 3,000 meters. Features
include a high channel count, long service
lifetime and excellent reliability. The market
for permanent seismic monitoring is still in
an early phase. Encouraging is the number
of oil companies showing a keen interest in
permanently installed monitoring systems
for producing fields. Greater tendering of
commercial projects is anticipated. (See
the business case on page 19 for further
information about the Jubarte Field OptoSeis
project.)
Market and Market Position
In terms of the combined contract and
MultiClient 3D market, PGS holds a market
share in excess of 20 percent. In 2007, there
were two significant corporate acquisitions in
the seismic industry: WesternGeco acquired
EasternEcho and PGS acquired Arrow Seismic.
The seismic market consolidated further when
CGGVeritas acquired Wavefield Inseis in early
2009. Currently, WesternGeco, CGGVeritas and
PGS account for approximately 70 percent of
total global streamer capacity.
Other established, but smaller-sized players,
are Fugro, via its geoscience division, and
TGS Nopec. New market entrants include
Polarcus and Dolphin Geophysical. Additionally,
there are several niche players such as
Electromagnetic Geoservices, Spectrum,
Seabird Exploration, Reservoir Exploration
Technology and Octio — all of which are active
within limited areas of PGS’ overall service
scope.
The OptoSeis system has
been certified by DNV for
operation at water depths
of up to 3,000 meters
Marine Contract Revenues
In millions of US dollars
1 200
1 000
800
600
400
200
0
2008 2009 2010 2011
Revenue decline from 2008 to 2011 reflects reduction in unit rates
post the global financial crisis.
PGS Annual Report 2011 17