OSLO: The Board of PGS ASA confirmed that it has received a conditional and non-binding offer from TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company to acquire the MultiClient data library of PGS for a cash consideration of $600 million.

The offer also includes proposals for the provision of acquisition services by PGS to TGS and the opportunity for TGS to participate in future MultiClient projects undertaken by PGS.

The proposed transaction presents an opportunity for PGS and its stakeholders to monetize its multi-client data library in excess of its full reported value, delivering substantial funds to PGS in what are challenging times for the entire seismic industry. The Offer will secure the liquidity required to repay PGS’ USD 135 million revolving credit facility due September 2020 and will further significantly deleverage the company to support its continued operations and enhance the ability to service the remaining debt.

PGS Management and the Board of Directors will address the offer. PGS will make an announcement before the offer expires on August 16, 2020.

PGS ASA and its subsidiaries is a focused marine geophysical company that provides a broad range of seismic and reservoir services, including acquisition, imaging, interpretation, and field evaluation.

The Company MultiClient data library is among the largest in the seismic industry, with modern 3D coverage in all significant offshore hydrocarbon provinces of the world. The Company operates on a worldwide basis with headquarters in Oslo, Norway and the PGS share is listed on the Oslo stock exchange (OSE: PGS).

For TGS, the acquisition of PGS’ multi-client data library would broaden the Company’s offering as a multi-client geophysical data provider in all major mature and frontier basins world-wide.

Commenting on the Offer, Kristian Johansen, CEO of TGS said: “We see a strong complement between our existing business and the PGS data library and the opportunity to leverage our expertise and scale to improve returns. Concurrently, a refocused and refinanced PGS will be a world-leading and highly innovative provider of acquisition technology and marine acquisition capacity, providing a strong platform for creating long-term value for the company´s stakeholders. The proposed transaction is thus aimed at safeguarding customers’ access to leading acquisition technology, high-quality data acquisition capacity and top tier data processing capabilities, whether they choose to purchase data through the contract model or the multi-client model. We believe the consolidation and further partnership between our two companies carries a strong industry logic and we look forward to initiate the dialogue with the management and board of PGS.”

TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company ASA (TGS) provides multi-client geoscience data to oil and gas Exploration and Production companies worldwide. In addition to extensive global geophysical and geological data libraries that include multi-client seismic data, magnetic and gravity data, digital well logs, production data and directional surveys, TGS also offers advanced processing and imaging services, interpretation products, and data integration solutions.