Trondheim, 16th April 2008, EMGS confirms that three of its patents that are disputed by Schlumberger Holdings will remain valid.
The proceedings were launched by Schlumberger Holdings on 6th June 2007.
The Dutch patent court stayed the proceedings until a decision by the European Patent Office, which is expected within three to four years. In doing so it disregarded Schlumberger's objections against a stay of proceedings. The court also upheld EMGS's assertion that it is the inventor of sea bed logging and that EMGS was the first company to use EM to directly detect oil and gas reservoirs.
Terje Eidesmo, Chief Executive Officer of EMGS said:
"This decision confirms that EMGS was the first company to use EM technology to directly detect hydrocarbons, that we can assert our patent position with clients and that we can invoke our patents against third parties.
"The court's decision is welcome although it is not material in terms of our ability to deliver on our business strategy.
"We do expect further patent challenges as more companies realise the game changing nature of EMGS' EM technology and will continue to defend our patents in the interests of our shareholders and other stakeholders.
"EMGS can legitimately claim to have the best people, the best technology, and the best analysis tools in the EM market. Whilst none of these factors is, of itself, unassailable, my belief is that the combination of all of them is unbeatable."
EMGS is the market pioneer in EM and has a clear time advantage over potential competitors in terms of delivering technology to the market.
EMGS has a broad portfolio of patents and patent applications in more than 25 jurisdictions relating to EM technology.
Contacts:
EMGS:
Terje Eidesmo, Chief Executive Officer, +47 73 56 88 10
Svein Knudsen, Chief Financial Officer, +47 73 56 88 10
Crux Communications
Jan Petter Stiff (Norway), +47 99 51 38 91
Capital MS&L
Steffan Williams, +44 207 307 5332 or +44 7767 345 563 (m)
Jennifer Martin, +44 207 307 5335 or +44 7841 401 304 (m)
James Madsen, +44 207 255 5199 or +44 7738 324 438 (m)
About EMGS
EMGS is the market leader in deep electromagnetic (EM) imaging. The company launched the EM imaging industry in 2002 with the commercialisation of seabed logging, a proven exploration method that uses EM energy to find offshore hydrocarbons without drilling wells. This proprietary and patented technology has been developed over the past 10 years, and its ability to indicate hydrocarbons directly is enabling EMGS' customers to dramatically improve their exploration performance in frontier and mature provinces.
EMGS employs over 300 people from three main offices in Trondheim, Norway; Houston, USA; and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The company operates the world's largest EM vessel fleet, and has conducted more than 300 surveys for many of the world's leading energy companies.
Please visit www.emgs.com for the latest news and in-depth information about EMGS and EM imaging technology.
For general enquiries please email findinghydrocarbons@emgs.com