CGG Celebrates 50th Anniversary of ARGAS Joint Venture in Middle East

Paris, France | Mar 9, 2016

CGG congratulates ARGAS, its geophysical services joint venture with TAQA in the Middle East, on its 50th anniversary. Since its creation in January 1966, ARGAS has consistently delivered geophysical innovation and superior technical performance, expanding its business scope from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the whole Arabian Peninsula and Egypt.

ARGAS began operating as Saudi Arabia’s leading geophysical partner for the exploration and development of hydrocarbon, water and mineral resources. Both CGG and its then partner, Petromin, shared a strong commitment to transferring state-of-the-art geophysical technology and know-how to Saudi Arabia as well as hiring and training Saudi employees and field staff in the latest geophysical methods.

The first thirty years of operations focused on airborne general geophysics and 2D seismic surveys. A new phase began in 1997 when ARGAS started operating 3D crews, in addition to 2D crews, as part of a large seismic exploration program for Saudi Aramco. In 2001 its 3D crews on Gawar, the largest oil field in the world, started operating non-stop, 24/7. The drive ARGAS demonstrated to push back the limits of seismic crew productivity in Saudi Arabia while showing a total commitment to safety at all times became its trademark.

In 2003, TAQA took over Petromin’s 51 % stake in ARGAS, with CGG retaining the remaining 49 %. In 2008, ARGAS acquired its first 3D marine survey in the Gulf and in 2010 ARGAS was awarded a three-year program to acquire two Ocean Bottom Cable 3D data acquisition surveys in Saudi waters of the Gulf in water depths ranging from 20-60 m.

In June 2014, CGG and TAQA strengthened their long-term partnership in the Middle East by extending the operating scope of ARGAS to all Gulf countries to better address the growing industry demand for high-end seismic solutions throughout the region.

Pascal Rouiller, COO, CGG, said: “The creation of ARGAS marked an important milestone in the history of CGG and saw the start of a successful, long-term business relationship in the Middle East. As has been the case over the last fifty years, CGG, through ARGAS, is committed in the future to bringing new advances in geoscience technology in the Middle East to continue to improve understanding of reservoirs in the region.”