By the OGJ Online Staff
LONDON, Mar. 13�Petroleum Geo-Services AS said Monday it had completed the sale, first inked in December, of its Petrobank Data Management business to Halliburton Co. subsidiary Landmark Graphics Corp.
The final purchase price of $175 million, PGS noted, would be $4 million less that originally agreed, following "changes in Petrobank's working capital as of the effective date and a decision to exclude the originally contemplated sale of PGS' Tigress software and the related development group."
The reduction in price, due to the omission of Tigress, would have "a negligible impact" on the PGS's bottom line profit from the sale, the company said in a statement. The transaction's effective date was Feb. 28.
Reidar Michaelsen, PGS's acting chairman and CEO, said the company was "excited to have completed this transaction in a timely manner."
Michaelsen, who took up the top post at PGS following the sudden resignation of Bjarte Bruheim in February, underlined that the sale was part of the struggling company's strategic plan to focus on bolstering the company's operational and financial performance.
"It represents our commitment to achieve a more desirable level of debt through the sale of non-core businesses and the enhancement of our liquidity position," he said.
Shares in PGS fell sharply in late February after the marine seismic company reported a 23% decline in operating profit before unusual items in the fourth quarter of last year to $22.5 million.
Along with the sale of Petrobank, PGS also disposed of its shares in Spinnaker Exploration Co. last year, collecting $54.7 million.
Meanwhile, PGS Production Services, a unit of PGS Production specializing in North Sea operation, maintenance, and management services for offshore oil and gas installations, reported Monday that was awarded ISO 14001 accreditation by UK certification body Lloyd's Register PLC for its Environmental Management System.
Jim Atack, managing director of PGS Production Services, said, "Receiving LR's Quality Assurance recommendation at our first formal certification assessment, and with no reservations, is an excellent achievement for the company."
The accreditation covers elements such as energy efficiency and waste management minimization. Last year, the company's waste minimization program resulted in a 15% decrease in the waste sent to landfill.
