Getech contract will integrate different sets of skills
Leeds-based Getech provides complex geological and geophysical data to help oil companies such as Shell, BP and Exxon Mobil to decide where to sink new wells.
The new 700,000 contract will help the client to gain a better understanding of the subsurface structures and petroleum systems in an unnamed area.
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Hide AdGetech's chief executive Raymond Wolfson said: "This contract is particularly exciting because not only is it our first with this client, but it is also the first large proprietary contract that combines and integrates our traditional geophysics skills with our recently developed geological analysis and interpretation capabilities."
Getech has a wide range of technical specialists in data processing and the interpretation of geophysical data.
Over the last few years it has also built up the geological side of the business to allow it to undertake petroleum systems analysis.
"This contract will allow us to combine these geophysical and geological skills in a single piece of work," said Mr Wolfson.
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Hide AdThe aim is to determine whether the area in question is likely to have the right structure to provide oil and gas deposits.
Getech will also model the deposits, movements and maturing of sediments through time to assess whether they have had the potential to become usable oil and gas deposits.
In July the group said second-half trading continued to recover, but not enough to prevent it falling to a full-year loss.
The company has been hit by restrained spending among its customers.
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Hide AdHowever, Getech said revenue was increasing as spending freed up and it believes the second half of its financial year will show an operating profit.
"However, the loss in the first half year will not be recovered and the year as a whole will still show a deficit, " added the company.
In the longer term Getech believes looser purse strings at oil giants should bring brighter prospects.
The business endured a tough time during the recession, as companies slashed budgets and deferred spending on its studies.
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Hide AdGetech is seeing a return towards normality in customers' buying patterns.
For the six months to the end of January, the company reported a pre-tax loss of 392,000, compared with a 187,000 profit a year earlier.
However, this was a substantial improvement on the 815,000 loss it made between February and July last year.
Revenues more than halved to 1.2m.