UK-based Offshore Hydrocarbon Mapping (OHM) has acquired Rock Solid Images (RSI) of Houston in a £10.4 million cash and paper transaction. RSI’s rock physics toolset ties well and seismic data to predict reservoir properties. OHM uses controlled source electromagnetic imaging (CSEM) to map hydrocarbons below the seabed. OHM believes that CSEM and seismic data are ‘completely complementary’ and can provide ‘quantitative measurement’ of rock and fluid properties.
Pratt
OHM CEO Dave Pratt said, ‘The acquisition follows a year-long collaboration on integrating CSEM data with RSI’s geologic models with exciting results. We can now accelerate our R&D and secure the ownership of intellectual property rights developed in this field.’ OHM is also to leverage a ‘strategic alliance’ with CGGVeritas to further its CSEM/seismic data analysis. CGGVeritas holds a 15% stake in OHM.
Roller coaster
Founded in 2004, OHM has had a roller coaster ride on the UK AIM market as its IPR was contested by competitor Electromagnetic Geoservices AS (EMGS). After the European Patent Office’s refusal to grant EMGS’s wide CSEM claim, EMGS abandoned its suit, paying OHM’s costs. In 2004 Schlumberger’s Dalton Boutte claimed that CSEM ‘could replace seismics.’ Today CSEM remains a minute fraction of the exploration market.
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