HOUSTON, May 18, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FEI (Nasdaq:FEIC) and Weatherford Laboratories have entered into a joint agreement to offer advanced reservoir characterization services to the oil and gas industry. The two companies will work together to create new workflows that integrate Weatherford's traditional core analysis and FEI's digital rock imaging, modeling and interpretation. These integrated solutions will address challenges associated with enhanced recovery, formation damage, multi-phase fluid property prediction and wettability characterization.
"The alliance with Weatherford's Laboratory Services group will help asset teams increase the value of both traditional and digital lab measurements," said Mark Knackstedt PhD, Director of Product Development for FEI's oil and gas business. "By combining the results, we should improve reservoir characterization and help operators understand reservoir behavior and recovery mechanisms – ultimately reducing their risk and increasing their ability to make better informed development and production decisions."
The agreement will create several complementary workflows in which traditional lab tests are integrated with digital rock analysis and modeling to predict fluid flow properties. The strength of digital rock modeling lies in its ability to provide valuable data earlier in the decision-making cycle, so exploration & production (E&P) operators can initiate field development plans sooner. Subsequent integration and calibration of traditional and digital special core analysis (SCAL) data then enables E&P operators to evaluate the quality of their data and extend their predictions to multiple scenarios, such as: different rock types, variable initial saturations, fluid types and wettability sensitivities.
In addition, traditional core analysis coupled with high-resolution digital imaging and analysis modeling solutions will enable operators to gain new insights into the pore-scale recovery and damage processes that control the reservoir production potential. Combining FEI's digital analysis solutions with Weatherford's vast expertise and 'Ground Truth' lab analysis will help clients understand more about their reservoir to improve and optimize recovery programs.
For more information, visit http://www.fei.com/natural-resources/oil-gas/ or visit FEI at AAPG in Denver, taking place May 31-June 3.
About FEI
FEI Company (Nasdaq:FEIC) designs, manufactures and supports a broad range of high-performance microscopy workflow solutions that provide images and answers at the micro-, nano- and picometer scales. Its innovation and leadership enable customers in industry and science to increase productivity and make breakthrough discoveries. Headquartered in Hillsboro, Ore., USA, FEI has over 2,600 employees and sales and service operations in more than 50 countries around the world.
FEI is a leading digital rock solutions provider that offers a complete portfolio of advanced imaging systems; visualization software; and analysis, interpretation and modelling services. FEI helps its customers explore reservoir rock to understand how lithology, porosity, wettability, mineralogy, connectivity, permeability and microporosity impact fluid flow and reservoir behavior. In addition, FEI provides high-end software solutions that range from 3D components for application developers (Open Inventor®) to advanced 3D visualization software (Avizo®). More information can be found at: www.fei.com.
FEI Safe Harbor Statement
This news release contains forward-looking statements that include statements regarding the performance capabilities and benefits of the digital rock analysis workflow. Factors that could affect these forward-looking statements include but are not limited to our ability to manufacture, ship, deliver and install the tools or software or deliver the services as expected; failure of the product, technology or services to perform as expected; unexpected technology problems and challenges; changes to the technology; failure of the joint agreement to obtain the desired results, the inability of FEI, its suppliers or project partners to make the technological advances required for the technology and services to achieve anticipated results; and the inability of the customer to deploy the tools or develop and deploy the expected new applications. Please also refer to our Form 10-K, Forms 10-Q, Forms 8-K and other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for additional information on these factors and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. FEI assumes no duty to update forward-looking statements.