In an interesting move for the upstream software business, service sector behemoth Baker Hughes International (BHI) has acquired a 40% stake in Netherlands-headquartered JOA (de Jager Ontwerp/Advies) Oil & Gas. The share purchase was made via BHI’s Baker Hughes Nederland Holding unit. The deal gives BHI ‘unlimited access’ to JOA’s JewelSuite reservoir modeling package. BHI is also to fund ‘a significant portion’ of the development required to incorporate some of its in-house wellbore engineering applications as well as the geomechanical technology acquired in its takeover of GeoMechanics International last year (OITJ April 2008).
Nathan Meehan, BHI’s VP of reservoir technology said, ‘This is a strategic move that gives us access to an innovative software tool. JewelSuite will provide our consulting teams (Gaffney, Cline, RDS, Epic and GMI) with integrated solutions for complex reservoirs and development options.’
Like other service majors, most of BHI’s software is coupled with its products and services. Meehan sees further synergies in the deal as JewelSuite becomes an integration platform for BHI’s in-house technologies saying, ‘By integrating technology from our INTEQ product line with JewelSuite, we will be able to provide clients with accurate, real-time information on their assets.’
Gerard de Jager, CEO of JOA Oil & Gas added, ‘Uptake of our JewelSuite within the BHI organization will significantly extend our user base from operators of complex assets to highly trained consultants. We are currently training BHI’s consulting groups and expect that they will be providing us with input to future development, while simultaneously showcasing JewelSuite’s strengths to clients. Through our funded development agreement, BHI will help us to realize our vision of providing integrated, up-to-date reservoir models, at scales from detailed wellbore neighbourhood to full-field geomechanical models, all in the same framework.
JOA Oil & Gas has 58 employees in 8 different locations. de Jager plans to use the proceeds of the deal to fast-track planned expansion and growth of JOA’s sales and support organization.
Earlier this year, JOA sold a license to its flagship ‘true vertical gridding’ technology to Seismic Micro Technology (SMT), adding a ‘modeling while interpreting’ capability to SMT Kingdom Suite.
In a separate announcement, JOA revealed that the 2009 edition of JewelSuite has received a ‘Compatible with Windows 7’ logo attesting that JewelSuite 2009 ‘integrates seamlessly with Microsoft’s new operating system. JewelSuite will thus benefit from Windows 7 ‘breakthroughs’ such as ‘Multi-touch’, jump lists and GUI ribbons. More from www.joa.nl.
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