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23 Mar 2009 07:00
VIALOGY PLC ("VIALOGY" OR "THE COMPANY")
VIALOGY TECHNOLOGY DELIVERS LARGE OIL FIND
LONDON, March 23rd, 2009 - ViaLogy PLC (LSE: VIY). ViaLogy announces today that its QuantumRD™ oil exploration technology and service has been credited with locating a major new oil deposit on the Galba Prospect in South Central Texas. The success marks the operational and commercial validation of ViaLogy's software-based seismic interpretation service for oil and gas reservoir discovery and characterization. The technology accurately predicted the size, location and porosity of three reservoirs.
The successful drilling effort and oil strike based on the ViaLogy analysis located reservoirs at increasing depths estimated to contain a total of over 2 million barrels of recoverable reserves. ViaLogy's contract with Atascosa Exploration LLC, of San Antonio, Texas, for the Galba Prospect foresees multiple wells on the lease, now determined to be 4 or 5, targeted at the three reservoirs and positioned by ViaLogy. The first well, just completed, has located a reservoir with an estimated oil deposit which will produce 153,000 barrels of crude oil (i.e. 35% primary recovery based on an overall actual volume of 460,000 barrels). Atascosa plans extractions of 50% of the recoverable reserves in first three years. Under its contract with Atascosa, ViaLogy will receive a 5% Back-In-After-Payout (BIAPO) working interest. This means that after costs ViaLogy will receive over $300K during the life of this first well (assuming oil price at $40 per barrel). Galba Prospect production will begin immediately. For the entire field, ViaLogy could receive 5% of the 2 million barrels over the lifetime of the field's wells which, assuming an average $40 oil price, would produce around $4 million.
ViaLogy's role in the Galba Prospect project included the design and acquisition of new, high-resolution 3D seismic survey data, integrated geoseismic and geological assessment, and positioning of the drill site. ViaLogy collaborated closely with Atascosa's geology and production team. Oil was found at the depth and with the porosity ViaLogy predicted in the Upper Wilcox formation, and all other parameters conformed to ViaLogy's analysis and its determination of coordinates for the drilling site.
ViaLogy believes that its geoseismic interpretation technology will address a problem faced by the oil industry worldwide - to avoid drilling dry holes. In Texas, only four out of 10 exploratory wells, including those drilled with the aid of seismic, find oil or gas in economically producible quantities. Abortive attempts are costly. According to US Dept. of Energy (DOE) Energy Information Administration (EIA) statistics, the 2006 average cost for drilling an on-shore dry hole in the US was over $450,000. The success of the Galba Project reinforces QuantumRD's value proposition for locating oil reservoirs while lowering the probability of dry holes, and thus reducing the overall cost of exploration.
Working with Atascosa, ViaLogy plans to market the QuantumRD technology and service initially to US independent exploration companies. QuantumRD is a computational technology based on ViaLogy's patented Quantum Resonance Interferometry (QRI™), an active signal processing technique capable of significantly increasing the signal to noise ratio of seismic data and improving its value.
Commenting on the Galba Prospect find, Atascosa's Chief Executive, John Mullins, said: "We're very pleased with the success of this well. We have increased our lease positions at the prospect, and are planning to further grow our collaboration with ViaLogy on Galba and other prospects. Our geology team has been working with the ViaLogy scientists for some months now, and we're highly impressed with the technology behind QuantumRD. The accuracy of the results is remarkable and the payoff is reducing the risk of dry holes."
He added, "The quality of the information relating to the size and content of the reservoirs enables us to position the wells to extract the maximum amount of hydrocarbons."
ViaLogy's CEO, Robert W. Dean, commented: "Our success in Texas validates QuantumRD, and is a key step in building a services business in the oil and gas industry. We have a potentially global product, but initially we intend to focus our sales efforts for our oil detection technology and services on US-based independent exploration companies. Going forward, we expect it will be attractive to established seismic data companies, oil field services companies, and the oil majors."
For further information please contact:
ViaLogy
Robert W Dean, President & CEO - US +1 626-296-6337 (mobile: +1 703-589-3807) Terry Bond, Chairman - UK & Europe +44 (0) 1235-834734 (mobile: 07860 842756)
Atascosa Exploration LLC John D. Mullins, CEO (+1 210-402-3656)
Nominated Advisor (Seymour Pierce) Mark Percy +44 (0) 20-7107-8000
Brokers to ViaLogy PLC
Sebastian Wykeham, St. Helen's Capital - +44 (0) 7628 5582
About ViaLogy: Network Centric Signal Processing ViaLogy is a leading innovator of network-centric, real-time signal processing platforms for sensor applications. ViaLogy is currently deploying and designing computational systems, powered by its patented technologies, for applications in life sciences, public safety and security, surveillance, defense and geoseismology. ViaLogy focuses on market driven problems where automation, timeliness, quality and reliability of information processing are essential. ViaLogy's core competency incorporates rapidly and accurately detecting weak signals buried in high noise background and clutter. This technology can be employed to solve problems involving sensor integration and information overload challenges involving video, telephony and control sensors, as well as for enhancement of numerous signal processing applications. For more information, visit our website at www.ViaLogy.com.
Except for statements of historical fact, the information presented herein constitutes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied.
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