Petroleum Geo-Services ASA Third Quarter 2010 Results

LYSAKER, NORWAY -- (Marketwire) -- 10/29/10 --

GeoStreamer® Increasing Earnings Momentum

Highlights Q3 2010

· Marine Contract EBIT margin of seasonally strong 25%, up
from 14% in
Q2

· Late sales of $50.6 million, up 97% from Q2

· MultiClient pre-funding rate of 139%, up from 66% in Q2

· Terminated NB 535 (PGS Artemis), with a corresponding
impairment
charge of $80 million

· EBITDA guidance maintained

'Higher Contract revenues, improved margins and stronger MultiClient sales
have
delivered an upturn in performance from Q2. Solid MultiClient pre-funding
revenues are driven by strong interest in GeoStreamer®, and we intend
to
continue remapping the mature North Sea region with our game-changing
streamer
technology next year. Our geographically diverse MultiClient library and
broad
spectrum of MultiClient offerings have limited the extent to which we have
been
affected by the Macondo incident in the Gulf of Mexico.

We currently see an increase in market and bid activity, with good leads
for
late sales. We have secured a good start for next year with more than 70%
of Q1
capacity already booked. For the remainder of 2010 we have good visibility
for
Marine contract and MultiClient pre-funding revenues with all of the
capacity
booked. '

Jon Erik Reinhardsen,

President and Chief Executive Officer

+-------------------------+-------------------+-------------------+-------+
|                         |                   |                   |   Year|
|                         |    3(rd) quarter  |    Nine months    |   2009|
|Key Financial Figures    +---------+---------+---------+---------+Audited|
|(In USD millions, except |         |         |         |         |   (1) |
|per share data)          |  2010   |  2009   |  2010   |  2009   |       |
|                         |Unaudited|Unaudited|Unaudited|Unaudited|       |
+-------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+-------+
|Revenues from continuing |  296.4  |    361.5|    770.7|  1,046.5|1,350.2|
|operations               |         |         |         |         |       |
+-------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+-------+
|EBITDA (as defined)      |    131.0|    170.2|    301.8|    530.6|  672.1|
+-------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+-------+
|EBIT excluding impairment|     52.3|    105.1|     92.4|    341.4|  386.9|
|charges (2)              |         |         |         |         |       |
+-------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+-------+
|EBIT                     |   (27.6)|     52.7|     12.0|    190.2|  233.3|
+-------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+-------+
|Income (loss) before     |   (28.1)|     68.4|   (40.5)|    198.2|  228.1|
|income tax expense       |         |         |         |         |       |
+-------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+-------+
|Net income (loss) to     |   (41.2)|     47.7|   (47.3)|    143.0|  165.8|
|equity holders           |         |         |         |         |       |
+-------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+-------+
|Basic earnings per share |   (0.21)|     0.24|   (0.24)|     0.77|   0.88|
|($ per share)            |         |         |         |         |       |
+-------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+-------+
|Diluted earnings per share   (0.21)|     0.24|   (0.24)|     0.77|   0.88|
|($ per share)            |         |         |         |         |       |
+-------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+-------+
|Net cash provided by     |     60.5|    163.8|    239.8|    517.3|  676.1|
|operating activities     |         |         |         |         |       |
+-------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+-------+
|Cash investment in       |     38.6|     34.4|    142.4|    136.0|  183.1|
|MultiClient library      |         |         |         |         |       |
+-------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+-------+
|Capital expenditures     |     51.6|     39.4|    152.2|    190.0|  231.2|
+-------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+-------+
|Total assets (period end)|  2,653.9|  3,011.5|  2,653.9|  3,011.5|2,929.4|
+-------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+-------+
|Cash and cash equivalents|    168.0|    184.0|    168.0|    184.0|  126.0|
|(period end)             |         |         |         |         |       |
+-------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+-------+
|Net interest bearing debt|    602.9|    813.0|    602.9|    813.0|  774.0|
|(period end)             |         |         |         |         |       |
+-------------------------+---------+---------+---------+---------+-------+

1) Financial information for the full year 2009 is derived from the audited
financial statements as presented in the 2009 Annual Report.

2) Impairment charges of $79.9 million in Q3 2010, $80.4 million YTD Q3
2010,
$52.4 million in Q3 2009, $151.2 million YTD Q3 2009 and $153.6 million for
the
full year 2009.

Complete Q3 2010 earnings release can be downloaded from www.newsweb.no or
www.pgs.com.

****

Petroleum Geo-Services is a focused geophysical company providing a broad
range
of seismic and reservoir services, including acquisition,
processing,
interpretation, and field evaluation. The company also possesses the
world's
most extensive MultiClient data library. PGS operates on a worldwide basis
with
headquarters at Lysaker, Norway.

For more information on Petroleum Geo-Services visit www.pgs.com.

****

The information included herein contains certain forward-looking statements
that
address activities, events or developments that the Company expects,
projects,
believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future. These statements
are
based on various assumptions made by the Company, which are beyond its
control
and are subject to certain additional risks and uncertainties. The Company
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 2009. 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 the
Company 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 acc. to §5-
12 vphl
(Norwegian Securities Trading Act)

[HUG#1456972]

Q3 2010 Earnings Release:
http://hugin.info/115/R/1456972/396801.pdf

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(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and
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(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

FOR DETAILS, CONTACT:


Tore Langballe

SVP Corporate Communications

Phone: +47 67 51 43 75

Mobile: +47 90 77 78 41


Bard Stenberg

Investor Relations Manager

Phone: +47 67 51 43 16

Mobile: +47 99 24 52 35


US Investor Services

Phone: +1 281 509 8712