Schlumberger Introduces New Formation Tester To Measure Reservoir Pressure With Lower Risk

Business Wire, August 31, 2004

HOUSTON -- The PressureXpress combinable reservoir pressure-while-logging service accelerates pressure data acquisition

Schlumberger Oilfield Services today introduced the new PressureXpress(a) combinable reservoir pressure-while-logging service.

This service provides formation pressure and fluid mobility data in typically less than a minute -- a substantial time improvement over conventional pressure measurements -- and with less risk of differential sticking than conventional methods. As a result, oil companies can eliminate completing or hydraulically fracturing depleted zones, giving them a significant economic savings while enhancing production from their aging fields.

"With the PressureXpress tool, we realized significant savings in rig time and testing time," said Mark Norville, vice president of exploration and production, Kerns Oil & Gas Inc. "It's an excellent service for high-density drilling areas."

"The new pressure service was ideal for measuring accurate formation pressures very efficiently in an old field with many low permeability and often depleted gas sands," said Rob Spaeth, senior staff petrophysicist, Dominion Exploration and Production Inc.

The PressureXpress service is designed to be run as a standard addition to the Platform Express(a) integrated wireline logging tool during the first logging pass, and is also fully combinable with most openhole tools. The probability of getting successful pressure and mobility measurements is calculated in real time during the Platform Express logging pass. The new formation pressure tool also reduces overall pressure testing expenditures through increased reliability, operational efficiency, reduced potential for fishing and associated lost-in-hole costs.

"Field testing has been performed in many basins around the world, including more than 50 wells in the U.S. with very low permeability reservoirs," said Sami Iskander, president, Wireline, Schlumberger Oilfield Services. "Our customers have eliminated many frac stages, avoided thief zones and, for the first time ever, measured reservoir pressure in extremely low permeability formations, all with significant cost savings from the fast measurement and combinability."

PressureXpress uses the new Smart Pretest(a) system to dynamically control the pretest process and optimize draw down and build up profiles. The pressure measurement cycle -- from set to retract -- typically lasts less than a minute compared to up to ten or more minutes required previously.

PressureXpress data are the basis for accurate pressure profiles and mobility measurements that integrate with petrophysical, seismic and conventional log data to obtain a more complete picture of the reservoir. With this information reservoir models can be fine-tuned to improve ultimate reservoir productivity. This combination of expert data can also improve the design of multilevel or stage fracturing operations in low-mobility formations and help identify depleted zones and zones to avoid during fracture stimulations.

For further information, go to www.oilfield.slb.com/PressureXpress.

About Schlumberger

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) is the world's leading oilfield services company supplying a wide range of products and services from formation evaluation through directional drilling, well cementing and stimulation, well completions and productivity to consulting, software, information management and IT infrastructure services that support core industry operational processes. Today, the company employs more than 45,000 people of over 140 nationalities working in 100 countries. Schlumberger also manages WesternGeco, jointly owned with Baker Hughes, which is the world's largest seismic company and provides advanced acquisition and data processing services. In 2003, Schlumberger operating revenue was $10.1 billion. For more information, visit www.slb.com.

(a) Mark of Schlumberger