Houston, Texas; Oslo, Norway; March 29, 2001: Petroleum Geo-Services ASA (NYSE: PGO; OSE: PGS) announced today that the re-tooled Ramform Banff production ship has resumed oil production on the Banff field in the U.K. sector of the North Sea. The vessel was removed from the field in late September 2000 in order to undergo a comprehensive modification program designed to significantly reduce the vessel’s roll motion in severe weather conditions, repair damage incurred and improve the vessel’s general operability. Based upon limited experience with severe weather conditions while the vessel has been moored over the field during the past several weeks, it is already clear that the modifications have been successful in limiting the vessel’s previous roll motion problems.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Petroleum Geo-Services, Reidar Michaelsen, said, “While we were disappointed that these modifications took longer than originally anticipated, we are very happy with the vessel’s performance in recent extreme weather situations. The vessel’s systems have now been tested and oil is being produced in a reliable and safe manner. PGS Production has done an excellent job of modifying this vessel. We believe the Ramform Banff will now operate in a consistent fashion comparable with PGS’ other high-tech FPSO’s operating in the extreme North Sea environment. PGS Production will now resume discussions with other operators in the area with a view towards bringing additional oil across the Banff production system.”
Petroleum Geo-Services is a technologically-focused oilfield service company principally involved in two businesses: geophysical seismic services and production services. PGS acquires, processes, manages and markets 3D, time-lapse and multi-component seismic data. This data is used by oil and gas companies in the exploration for new reserves, the development of existing reservoirs, and the management of producing oil and gas fields. PGS’ PetroTracTM suite of advanced geophysical technologies allows oil and gas companies to better characterize and monitor their reservoirs in order to enhance production and ultimate recovery of hydrocarbons. In its production services business, PGS owns four floating production, storage and offloading systems (FPSOs) and operates numerous offshore production facilities for oil and gas companies. FPSOs permit oil and gas companies to produce from offshore fields more cost effectively. PGS operates on a worldwide basis with headquarters in Oslo, Norway and Houston, Texas.