Core Laboratories and TomoSeis join forces

Core Laboratories announced that it has signed a letter of intent to merge with TomoSeis Corporation, a California-based, privately held company.
TomoSeis, with offices in Houston, provides highly detailed reservoir imaging technologies that are the critical component for successful 4D seismic and reservoir monitoring programs. Proprietary and patented energy-source and seismic- receiver hardware, specialised imaging technology and internally developed data processing capabilities make TomoSeis the industry-leading provider of crosswell seismic services.
When combined with measured petrophysical and reservoir fluid-phase behaviour data sets from Core Laboratories, TomoSeis' crosswell seismic surveys can resolve dynamic reservoir production processes ten to one hundred times better than those achieved with conventional surface seismic efforts. The results from well and field studies utilising these technologies can be applied by oil companies to significantly increase the oil and gas recovered from their existing fields.

TomoSeis performs crosswell seismic imaging by placing its proprietary X-Series piezoceramic energy source down a wellbore at reservoir level while positioning seismic receiver arrays at reservoir level in adjacent wellbores. This borehole positioning significantly increases seismic bandwidth while eliminating surface effects and seismic artefacts caused by overburden strata. State-of-the-art tomographic and reflection processing by TomoSeis provides reservoir imaging resolution one to two orders of magnitude better than conventional surface seismic data.
"We are extremely excited about joining forces with Core Laboratories," said TomoSeis President and CEO Bruce P. Marion. "Combining technologies from both companies will enable us to establish a leading position in offering the highly detailed reservoir imaging needed by the industry to achieve high recovery efficiencies and operating margins from mature fields."
David M. Demshur, President and CEO of Core, added, "TomoSeis is recognised for its cutting edge technology, and its addition to Core strengthens both companies. This merger is a continued execution of our business strategy of developing and adding technologies to optimise reservoir performance and positions us well for the developing 4D seismic and reservoir monitoring market."
Combining technologies from Core and TomoSeis enables the Company to fully commercialise 4D seismic and real-time reservoir monitoring services. These services enable oil companies to image the dynamic movement of oil and natural gas in their reservoir in real time.
This ensures that petroleum reservoirs are being exploited to the maximum degree as average recoveries of 40 % of the hydrocarbons in place can be increased to over 50 % recovery. In addition, the imaging technology can be used to monitor ongoing field floods to ensure sweep efficiency and may be applicable to hydraulic fracture diagnostics, a proprietary service Core already provides to industry.
The chief benefits to the oil companies will be increased production on a daily basis and maximised ultimate hydrocarbon recovery from their existing fields. The increased cash flow can then be reinvested in future 4D and reservoir monitoring programs.
The merger of the two companies will be achieved by exchanging all of the outstanding shares of TomoSeis for unregistered shares of Core. The transaction, which is expected to be accounted for as a pooling of interests, is expected to close in late November.

Core Laboratories N.V. is a leading provider of proprietary and patented reservoir description, production enhancement and reservoir management services. The Company has over 70 offices in more than 50 countries and is located in every major oil-producing province in the world. The Company's outlook is subject to various important cautionary factors as more fully described in the Company's 1998 Form 10-K filed 31 March, 1999, and in other securities filings.