Russia’s Integra Group, an onshore oilfield services provider, and WesternGeco, the seismic business segment of Schlumberger, announced agreement on principal terms of an exclusive seismic joint venture company to be known as IG Seismic Services Limited.
The joint venture will provide land seismic acquisition services as well as interpretation and data processing in Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan and their respective transition zone waters. WesternGeco will become a minority shareholder in the venture with a 25% stake through the contribution of its land and transition zone seismic and data processing business in the aforementioned countries together with cash and access to certain proprietary Q* technology and Omega* data processing software. Day-to-day management of the venture is expected to be performed by Integra while key strategic and investment decisions will be made by the board of the joint venture with input from WesternGeco.
According to an official statement, the new company will benefit from the synergies created by combining the partners’ experience, technology, operational expertise and marketing skills. IG Seismic Services Limited will continue to pursue the existing Integra strategy of undertaking land seismic projects outside the CIS and as part of the transaction the parties also agree to cooperate in such services in other areas. The venture will operate a combined capacity of more than 40 seismic crews and nearly 900 CPUs of computer processing power with best-in-class software for data processing and interpretation.
Commenting on the transaction, Antonio Campo, Integra’s Chief Executive Officer said:
“We are very excited about expanding our capabilities by joining forces with WesternGeco. The agreement will boost the service range and expand the market presence of our core seismic segment. With the introduction of WesternGeco personnel and technology, the new venture will ensure efficient development of our joint seismic operations while the combination of our processing centers in Russia and Kazakhstan will substantially increase our data processing capabilities. We believe this move is in line with our strategy to increase our presence in businesses with higher added value and further improve our technology.”
Carl Trowell, president of WesternGeco said: “This new venture enhances the competitive strength and geographical footprint of its partners while providing additional business opportunities and expansion of the client base. In addition, the synergy created will bring significant value to customers as they expand their operations throughout the area”.
In March Schlumberger announced that it had entered into a purchase agreement to acquire Geoservices, a privately-owned French oilfield services company specialised in mud logging, slickline and production surveillance operations. The total value of the transaction, including the assumption of net debt, is approximately US$1.1 billion.
Schlumberger currently operates in all oil production regions of the Russian Federation and has 50 production bases, research centres, plants and representative offices across Russia.
Established in 2004, Integra Group is an independent provider of onshore oilfield services and is also a manufacturer of cementing equipment and certain specialised equipment used in the exploration, development and production of oil and gas. The company’s customer base includes Russian and international oil and gas companies operating in Russia and CIS. Integra Group employs more than 17,000 people and has a presence in the oilfield and equipment manufacturing sector in the Russian market.
