Spectraseis Strengthens Board with Two Key Appointments

Ian Vann was Group Vice President for Exploration & Business Renewal at BP between 2004 and 2007 and, prior to this, was Chief Technology Officer. As Vice President for Exploration, he was responsible for directing BP’s global exploration efforts with an annual budget of US$1 billion.

As Chief Technology Officer, Mr Vann was responsible for technology strategy, research & development and technology deployment throughout BP’s exploration and production business including the overall direction of 1000 technology professionals.

Bjarte Fageras is Chairman of the board of Octio Geophysical AS, a technology company which specializes in offshore oil and gas reservoir monitoring systems, and CEO of Technocean AS, a subsea services company. From 2004 to 2005, Mr Fagerås was Chief Executive Officer of Exploration Resources, a marine geophysical services company listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and from 2001 to 2004, was Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at I/O Corporation (now ION).

Spectraseis CEO, Ross Newman, said:

“With so many potential opportunities to choose from in the oil & gas industry, we are honored that Ian and Bjarte have chosen to invest their time and experience in Spectraseis. We look forward to leveraging Ian and Bjarte’s immense knowledge of the upstream oil & gas technology industry to further capitalize on the huge opportunities low frequency seismic technologies bring to the E&P business.”

In November 2007, Spectraseis secured a CHF 36 million (US$ 32.2 million) investment from Warburg Pincus, the global private equity firm and a leading energy investor. Both Jeffrey Harris, a Warburg Pincus Managing Director, and Henry Makansi, head of Warburg Pincus’ European Energy activities sit on the Spectraseis board.

Established in 2003 in partnership with leading European universities, Spectraseis is the principal technology and service provider in the fast-emerging field of low frequency passive seismic geophysical surveys. Spectraseis helps oil and gas companies reduce risk and more efficiently find and produce hydrocarbon reserves, as compared to conventional surveying and seismic techniques. In October 2007, Spectraseis won the 2007 World Oil Award for Best Exploration Technology.