Petroleum Geo-Services ASA : PGS Starts 26 000 km2 MC3D Survey - Offshore Angola

11.01.2012  |  Marketwired

LYSAKER, NORWAY -- (Marketwire) -- 01/11/12 --

The Ramform Valiant, a seismic vessel owned and operated by
Petroleum Geo-Services ASA, has started acquisition of over 26,000 km²
of
GeoStreamer® data in five blocks in the Kwanza/Benguela Basins in
Angola. The
size of the survey area corresponds to an area slightly larger than
Massachusetts or Wales. Following the block awards made on December 20th,
BP,
Total and Statoil have been made operators of blocks 24, 25, 38, 39 and 40.
Sonangol is a partner in all of the blocks.

Speeding up decision making

All four oil companies have committed to funding the survey.

With early access to 3D seismic data based on the most advanced seismic
technology, the operators will benefit from clearer images and more time to
plan
the exploration wells that they are committed to drill within the next five
years.

PGS commitment to Angola

PGS, in association with Sonangol, has a long history of investing in its
latest
technology in Angola. The Company will work closely with Sonangol to ensure
this
project not only delivers the data and time savings to the operators but
also
improves the collective understanding of the basin geology.

PGS already has 2D GeoStreamer data over this area, acquired in 2010, and
good
quality conventional 3D datasets over blocks 24 and 25 that PGS will re-
process.
Together these datasets will enable PGS to construct the best possible
velocity
model for processing of the new 3D GeoStreamer data.

On the job

In February, the PGS Apollo will join the Ramform Valiant and acquisition
will
continue with both vessels until Q4 2012. PGS teams will start processing
data
in March, utilizing the latest depth imaging technology and building on
their
experience of illuminating pre-salt targets in Angola. Together, the two
vessels
will operate 20 vessel months on this project. Previous PGS press releases
in
December summarizing vessel backlog included this project.

The Conjugate Margin

The salts basins of Angola have a clear geological link to similar basins
offshore Brazil. Recent advances in tectonic reconstruction point to
parallels
with the prolific pre-salt Santos and Campos areas, and PGS will use its
extensive MC library on both sides of the Atlantic to take a closer look at
these links.

Red outline indicates new MC3D. Blue-purple shaded area is existing PGS
MC3D.
Purple lines show 2010 GeoStreamer MC2D.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

The information included herein contains certain forward-looking statements
that
address activities, events or developments that PGS expects, projects,
believes
or anticipates will or may occur in the future. These statements are based
on
various assumptions made by PGS, many of which are beyond its control and
are
subject to certain additional risks and uncertainties. PGS is subject to a
large
number of risk factors including but not limited to the demand for seismic
services, the demand for data from our MultiClient data library, the
attractiveness of our technology, unpredictable changes in governmental
regulations affecting our markets and extreme weather conditions. For a
further
description of other relevant risk factors we refer to our Annual Report
for
2008. As a result of these and other risk factors, actual events and our
actual
results may differ materially from those indicated in or implied by such
forward-looking statements. The reservation is also made that inaccuracies
or
mistakes may occur in the information given above about current status of
PGS or
its business. Any reliance on the information above is at the risk of the
reader, and PGS disclaims any and all liability in this respect.

This information is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to
section
5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of
Thomson Reuters clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that:
(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and
other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and
originality of the information contained therein.

Source: Petroleum Geo-Services ASA via Thomson Reuters ONE

[HUG#1576824]

Bard Stenberg

Investor Relations Manager

Phone: +47 67 51 43 16

Mobile: +47 99 24 52 35