Asker, Norway (31 May 2010) - TGS will host a conference call on Tuesday, 1 June 2010 at 15:00 CET Norway time (9:00 AM New York time) to address the recent announcements from the United States Federal Government regarding restrictions on drilling and leasing activity and how those restrictions might influence TGS' business.
Robert Hobbs, CEO of TGS, released the following statement:
"TGS believes that exploration and production in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico is critical to the energy security of the United States and since it contributes to approximately 30% of the US crude oil production, it is unlikely that a long term halt on drilling is sustainable. In addition, the cancellation of the Western Gulf of Mexico and offshore Virginia lease sales should have negligible effect on TGS' near-term performance in terms of revenue, profitability and/or investment. TGS has minimal exposure to the Western Gulf of Mexico lease sale as illustrated by the map provided. Investment by TGS in the Gulf of Mexico over the last four years has been in the Central and Eastern lease sale areas, which have not been cancelled. Additionally, TGS has no exposure to the cancelled Virginia sale that was scheduled for 2012.
TGS' multi-client seismic data is licensed and used by oil companies, typically many years ahead of drilling plans, particularly in the deepwater. A six month delay in drilling permits is expected to have a minimal affect on the licensing of seismic data. In fact, TGS has continued to discuss and close large multi-client deals in the days following the Deepwater Horizon drilling accident."
In addressing the TGS 2010 investment plan, Mr. Hobbs commented, "As previously reported, TGS resumed the seismic acquisition of the Justice Wide Azimuth project in the Mississippi Canyon area of the deep water Gulf and is confident that the acquisition will be completed in Q3 2010. Additionally, TGS has already secured the necessary vessel capacity to meet the 2010 investment guidance and continues to develop new multi-client projects globally."
The conference call will be hosted by CEO Robert Hobbs, and VP Business Development Karen El-Tawil. Norwegian attendees are invited to call +47 2316 2189 and international attendees are invited to call +44 (0) 20 7806 1951. Attendees may want to call 5-10 minutes before 15:00 CET (9:00 AM NY) on 1 June 2010 to ensure registration and access.
Participants will have to quote the following confirmation code when dialing into the conference: 4825791
A Q&A session will follow a short introduction. To pose a question, please press *1.
A replay of the conference call will be available shortly after. To access replay of TGS conference call,
A replay of the conference (MP3) call will also be available at www.tgsnopec.com.