7 Apr 2010 07:00
VIALOGY PLC ("VIALOGY" OR "THE COMPANY")
TRADING UPDATE
London, April 7, 2010. ViaLogy (LSE: VIY). The board of ViaLogy announces that the fiscal year ending March 31, 2010, marks a year of strong performance highlighted by the successful introduction of QuantumRD seismic analysis and reservoir characterization technology to the hydrocarbon energy market. ViaLogy ends the year with 12 clients under contract, including two key industry independent E&P firms, and a strong sales pipeline which should produce additional high quality Exploration and Production company customers in the coming months. The five successfully completed wells have demonstrated the ability of QuantumRD to locate productive hydrocarbon deposits in a variety of formations.ViaLogy's strategy going forward is to work closely with clients to exercise the technology in as yet untried areas of major significance, especially to bring QuantumRD to shale gas and offshore exploration plays. ViaLogy's work for contracted clients has produced an inventory contingent backlog of over 60 probable future wells to be drilled at locations recommended by ViaLogy. The Company stresses that the ultimate decision to drill, drilling schedules, and locations are dependent upon clients' operational plans, as are business decisions about the timing of hydrocarbon extraction.
The five successful well completions have been at widely separated locations in Texas ranging from 3,000 ft to 12,000 ft in depth. These targeted structural and stratigraphic formations include carbonates, vugs, clastic sediments and channel sands. The deliverables provided analysis of formation porosity, lithology and fluid presence.
ViaLogy'stechnical staff now includes experienced and industry geophysical specialists, and two to three more will join the staff in the coming months. In addition, ViaLogy will establish a Houston office to accelerate business development objectives and maintain close access to the customer base.
ViaLogy has ambitious objectives for the coming year. The focus will be on additional strong customers and repeat business, further establishing the Company's business model where payment is received through substantial up-front service fees and a share of income from successful wells. It should be emphasized that while QuantumRD - based on proprietary active signal processing technology that uniquely exploits signal spectrum and associated noise to extract more, and more precise, information from seismic data - will not prove successful in 100 per cent. of cases, it should significantly de-risk exploration as compared with current industry methods.
The coming months should see drilling of four to five new ViaLogy-positioned wells, some with new and some with established clients, and that number will increase over the course of the coming year. In its latest project, San Antonio-based client Atascosa is currently determining whether to do a deviated drilling completion of its Escondido well or to drill at another nearby ViaLogy designated location. Initial results indicate that the drilling process may have failed to achieve the placement accuracies set by ViaLogy, but has confirmed that QuantumRD analysis accurately located a pay zone and determined porosity. It is always up to the operator to determine if the expense of well completion is justified by the operator-estimated amount of profitably extractable oil, i.e. the standard he sets for his own operating margins. Atascosa's other two producing wells will be reworked in the coming months to bring them up to optimal production; such rework is typical and may include installation of larger pump and cement squeeze into the formations.
CEO Robert Dean said, "I'm very pleased that we've been able to achieve as much as we have during the last year. Anyone with experience will tell you unabashedly that you have to prove yourself to win acceptance in the oil industry, and that it doesn't come easily. Also, it's not academic - it's about finding oil. ViaLogy has done this in very challenging situations. We have successfully completed a significant number of QuantumRD wells, and, very significantly, our retrospective analysis showed why previous drilling efforts had produced dry holes for over 20 wells. The technology's ability to accurately and repeatably predict the presence of hydrocarbons and to estimate porosity are two of the critical variables in the high-risk exploration world. We are building our team of industry professionals and we can now look forward to a major year that brings ViaLogy to another level of industry acceptance for our pathbreaking QuantumRD."
For further information please contact:
ViaLogy plc
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)
Nominated Advisor to ViaLogy PLC (Seymour Pierce)
Mark Percy / Catherine Leftley, Corporate Finance +44 (0) 20-7107-8000
Jeremy Stephenson / Katie Ratner, Corporate Broking +44 (0) 20-7107-8000
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 forwardlooking 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.