DUTCH SOFTWARE ON CRAY RESEARCH SUPERCOMPUTERS EXPECTED TO HELP PETROLEUM INDUSTRY STAVANGER, Norway, June 7, 1993 -- At the 55th Annual European Association of Exploration Geophysicists (EAEG) conference and exhibition held here this week, a new seismic data processing software package is being demonstrated on a Cray Research system that could substantially boost the petroleum industry's success in locating new oil and gas reserves, according to Cray Research. The new software, named DELSI, an acronym for DELft Seismic Inversion, is being developed by the Dutch research organization TNO (de nederlandse organisatie voor toegepast natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek), headquartered in Delft, Holland. The software is currently in its Beta version and has been pre-released to the DELSI project sponsors. The DELSI software is scheduled for commercial availability on the full range of Cray Research supercomputing systems in mid-1994, according to TNO and Cray Research officials. Seismic data processing software allows geophysicists to feed field data into a supercomputer, which calculates the vast amount of data and models the geophysical characteristics of the earth's subsurface. Advanced imaging techniques allow geophysicists to view pictures in detail on a graphics workstation screen to more easily locate hydrocarbon reservoirs and determine the best method for extracting the hydrocarbon. The DELSI software is expected to be considerably more accurate in the discovery of oil and gas than today's technologies and will help the petroleum industry more readily locate these natural resources, said Max Mulder, head geophysicists at TNO. According to Mulder, the DELSI software incorporates revolutionary new seismic data processing technologies based on research done by the re-knowned DELPHI consortium, headed by Dr. A.J. Berkhout at the Delft University of Technology. DELSI software will initially incorporate two important technologies: wave equation-based multiple elimination, which allows geophysicists to eliminate unwanted "noise" in their modeling to get a better "picture" of the hydrocarbon reservoir beneath the earth; and the controlled illumination method based on areal shot record technology, which allows geophysicists to focus into the target zone in a very efficient way. This method presents an extremely cost-effective alternative to current depth migration technologies, Mulder said. "Typically today there is a lot of assumption in seismic data processing," said Mulder. "We aren't giving into to that methodology. Our aim with the DELSI software is to push the possibilities to allow for the most accurate seismic data processing software available today." Cray Research and TNO today also announced that TNO is upgrading its Cray Research system to a CRAY Y-MP EL system for the continued development of the new software. TNO previously used a less powerful interim Cray Research system for DELSI software development. "This project is on target and has strong momentum," said Mulder. "Now that we are in our second year of our three-year project, we are at the point were we are working on real-world problems and real data that requires the greater power of the EL system." Cray Research is assisting in DELSI software development through a 1991 joint software development agreement with TNO. The company has also been a DELPHI consortium member for the past seven years. "We are proud to be a part of the break-through technologies of both the DELSI and DELPHI projects, which will provide new powerful tools to our petroleum industry customers," said Tom Eliseuson, Cray Research's petroleum industry marketing director. "And we are particularly pleased that the DELSI project's industry-leading work is being done on the Cray Research supercomputing platform." The DELSI project was developed to commercialize the research software code discovered by the DELPHI consortium. DELSI is jointly headed by TNO, Total in Paris, and the Delft University of Technology. TNO, the DELSI project leader, is a premier research and development organization funded by worldwide industry, as well as the Dutch government. Sponsors of the DELSI project include Cray Research, Elf Aquitaine, Statoil (Norway), Saudi Aramco, SAGA (Norway), and UNOCAL (USA). The European Community also funds the DELSI project through the THERMIE program. Cray Research creates the most powerful, highest-quality computational tools for solving the world's most challenging scientific and industrial problems. ### -- -- Conrad Anderson Employee Communications (612) 683-7338