Distribution of company announcements to the professional platforms, finance portals and syndication of important corporate news to a wide variety of news aggregators and financial news systems.
SeaBird Exploration Ltd. (OSL:SBX) 3 October, 2008. British Virgin Islands/Dubai: SeaBird Exploration Limited (BVI) ('SeaBird" or "SBX") announced today the vessel utilization for the third quarter of 2008. For this purpose vessel utilization is defined as the percentage of the full quarter where the vessel is in paid work either in the form of acquisition, mobilization, demobilization, steaming, standby or other.
SeaBird had nine vessels in operation in the third quarter with an average vessel utilization of around 84% for the full quarter which is down from 87 % for the second quarter of 2008.
Four of the vessels (Aquila Explorer, Harrier Explorer, Northern Explorer and Hawk Explorer) were on time charter contracts for the whole quarter and had an average vessel utilization and chargeable time of 94%. Kondor Explorer ended a long contract with CGGVeritas at the end of August and consequently the vessel utilization was around 59%. We are working with alternative employment options for the Kondor Explorer.
Osprey Explorer continued to acquire data at the East-Coast of India for the whole quarter even though this is monsoon season in the region with utilisation of 91%. Acquisition rates have been above expectations during the monsoon. The Northern Explorer will join Osprey Explorer on the India projects post monsoon season.
Munin Explorer was working on various contracts in Africa and had a vessel utilization of 88%. Geo Mariner started the quarter with a time-consuming transit due to adverse weather conditions from Africa to a survey in the Middle-East. Vessel utilization for Geo Mariner was above 95%.
The Hugin Explorer completed successful maritime and seismic sea-trials at the end of the second quarter and completed a short undershoot survey in the North Sea in July. She is now in Angola on her first full scale ocean bottom node survey for Total and has at end Q3 deployed in excess of 100 nodes. Vessel utilization for the quarter of around 50% is not representative of a full operating quarter as 30% of the time was used for unpaid final commissioning prior to her mobilization to Angola. For the remaining part of Q3 her utilization has been around 82%. Reported revenues for the vessel for the third quarter are therefore not representative.
We expect to recognize consolidated revenues for the third quarter around the level of Q2 2008, where reported revenues were USD 55.6 million.
For further queries contact:
Tim Isden CEO SeaBird Exploration Phone: +971 504 539075
- - - SeaBird Exploration Limited (BVI) `SeaBird` is a global provider of marine 2D and 3D seismic data, solutions for seabed acquisition of 4C/4D multimode seismic, and associated products and services to the oil and gas industry. SeaBird specializes in high quality operations within the high end of the source vessel and 2D market, as well as in the shallow water 2D/3D market. Main focus for the company is proprietary seismic surveys (contract seismic). SeaBird does not have a multi-client data library. Main success criteria for the company are an unrelenting focus on Health, Safety, Security, Environment and Quality (HSSEQ), combined with efficient collection of high quality seismic data.
All statements in this press release other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict, and are based upon assumptions as to future events that may not prove accurate. These factors include SeaBird`s reliance on a cyclical industry and the utilization of the company's vessels. Actual results may differ substantially from those expected or projected in the forward-looking statements.
