Bull SAS and ffA (Foster Findlay Associates Ltd) Have Entered Into a Partnership Agreement to Deliver ffA GPU-enabled 3D Seismic Analysis Software to the Oil and Gas Community on Bull High Performance Computing Systems

AMSTERDAM - Seismic interpreters are facing a growing amount of data to interpret and the demands for computational tools to underpin the 3D seismic interpretation process throughout the E&P workflow have never been more apparent. Through use of ffA’s high performance computational software, a data driven approach to 3D seismic interpretation can provide the step change in productivity required for geoscientists to fully exploit their data and deliver more accurate interpretations of the subsurface, improved understanding of uncertainty and better quantification of risk.

Jonathan Henderson, ffA’s Managing Director, commented that, “The partnership with Bull is an important component in ffA’s development strategy which is delivering innovative tools that will be at the heart of next generation seismic interpretation systems. Working with other industry leading companies such as Bull allows ffA to effectively realise its vision through leveraging the rapid advances that are taking place in complementary technologies.”

“We are excited to be working with Bull SAS, who bring a strong innovative approach to their systems design, which incorporates computational power and scalability with advanced interactive visualization features. Our development programme is directly addressing the challenges of extracting meaningful information from seismic data at increasing volumes and levels of complexity. These challenges can be significantly advanced by using automated HPC techniques in real or near real time,” noted Jonathan.

The two companies will work together to promote the use within the E&P industry of interactive methods for 3D seismic analysis using HPC technology, in particular the use of GPU accelerators. These are fitted into Bull server nodes, from the entry-level tower chassis systems with GPU and graphics cards, suitable for seismic interpretation workgroups, to very large hybrid clusters located in data centers, which Bull is already delivering to government and energy customers.

ffA’s domain expertise and involvement with a large number of major oil and gas companies’ petrotechnical users combined with Bull’s expertise in hybrid systems will provide a fast track for innovation and improved turnaround times within 3D interpretation and modelling workflows.

“We are very pleased to announce this partnership with ffA, which is an important milestone in our efforts to gain further traction within the upstream oil and gas industry,” commented Guy Gueritz, Business Development Director for Oil & Gas at Bull,. “Our involvement with oil companies’ R&D groups for accelerated seismic imaging is complemented by ffA’s automated interpretation and modelling tools, which plug into established 3D interpretation and modelling workflows and make use of more scalable and powerful technologies, which are built into our extreme computing systems. These outperform the traditional commodity platforms currently in use within the oil industry and will deliver significant productivity advantages to those who adopt them.”

The two companies will jointly exhibit at EAGE, the premier conference and exhibition for geoscientists, which takes place at the RAI Amsterdam between 9-11 June. ffA will show their SVI Pro seismic analysis package running on a Bull server, with NVIDIA GPU and graphics and a large Barco LC display.

About ffA

ffA provides world-leading 3D seismic analysis Software and Services to the oil and gas industry. ffA’s unique 3D workflows are designed to reveal and extract geological features from 3D seismic data, objectively and more accurately than is possible with conventional seismic techniques to allow geoscientists and engineers to make better decisions in less time, with higher confidence. ffA’s Services operation applies ffA software to help its clients improve E & P success and has worked on over 150 operational projects worldwide. Projects include characterisation of deep water channels offshore Angola, close focus fault imaging in the North Sea and delineation of complex salt bodies in the Gulf of Mexico. ffA is an independent UK company with offices in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Aberdeen, London and Houston.

For more information on ffA visit: www.ffa.co.uk

For ffA press resources visit: www.ffa.co.uk/press.html

About Bull, Architect of an Open World

Bull is an Information Technology company, dedicated to helping Corporations and Public Sector organizations optimize the architecture, operations and the financial return of their Information Systems and their mission-critical related businesses.

Bull focuses on open and secure systems, and as such is the only European-based company offering expertise in all the key elements of the IT value chain.

For more information visit: www.bull.com ffA Contacts: Lynn Stevenson, Sales and Marketing Administrator, lstevenson@ffa.co.uk Agnes Campan, Sales and Marketing Director, acampan@ffa.co.uk Tel: +44(0)1224-825084 Bull Contacts: Barbara Coumaros - Tel: +33(0)6-85-52-84-84 - Barbara.coumaros@bull.net

Source: Bull

ffA Contacts:, Lynn Stevenson, Sales and Marketing Administrator, lstevenson at ffa.co.uk, Agnes Campan, Sales and Marketing Director, acampan at ffa.co.uk, Tel: +44(0)1224-825084; Bull Contacts:, Barbara Coumaros - Tel: +33(0)6-85-52-84-84 - Barbara.coumaros at bull.net