MicroSeismic, Inc. Awarded Contract by the El Paso Corporation For Buried Array Program in the Haynesville Shale

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MicroSeismic, Inc. (MSI), a leading geophysical service company providing 3-D passive seismic imaging for energy exploration and production, today announced that it has been awarded a contract for a Buried Array microseismic monitoring program in the Haynesville Shale by the El Paso Corporation. The El Paso Corporation (NYSE: EP) owns North America's largest interstate natural gas pipeline system and is one of North America's largest independent natural gas producers.

“The Haynesville is a challenging play with a huge potential. As an operator in the Haynesville, you want to do everything possible to increase your success rate. El Paso understands this and will utilize our Buried Array technology to help improve their frac programs and better understand their reservoir”

MSI will install the Buried Array, it’s sixth in the Haynesville Shale play this year, to provide microseismic monitoring, mapping and analysis for hydraulic fracturing for El Paso’s field development program. This will enable them to monitor the primary, secondary and tertiary activity, in a variety of reservoir conditions, for their Haynesville wells during the next few years.

The system applies MSI’s patented PSET® processing and analysis to the seismic data collected by MSI’s Buried Array as the reservoir undergoes fracture stimulation. The Buried Array has been proven to offer both technical and cost advantages over other methods of microseismic monitoring. It enables operators to monitor a larger percentage of wells treated for a more complete picture of reservoir performance. An additional cost benefit with the utilization of a Buried Array is the advantage of not requiring dedicated monitoring wells, which are very expensive to drill in the Haynesville and are often negatively impacted by the high temperatures characteristic of the play.

“The Haynesville is a challenging play with a huge potential. As an operator in the Haynesville, you want to do everything possible to increase your success rate. El Paso understands this and will utilize our Buried Array technology to help improve their frac programs and better understand their reservoir,” said Peter Duncan, Ph.D., Founder and CEO of MicroSeismic, Inc. “This is our sixth Buried Array program implemented in the Haynesville this year and we have several more planned for other clients in the immediate future. We now have more than 140 square miles of permanent, Buried Arrays installed in the Haynesville which will be used to monitor more than 130 wells, and we have additional arrays planned for other major shale plays.”

For more information visit: www.microseismic.com.

About MicroSeismic, Inc.

MicroSeismic, Inc. is a leading provider of passive seismic and microseismic data acquisition, analysis and interpretation to the global oil & gas industry. MicroSeismic’s technology and services enable E & P operators to better manage their reservoirs, increase their production rates and decrease their completion costs and risks.

Microseismic monitoring is the practice of listening to the seismic noise emitted from a reservoir to directly detect patterns of fluid movement, fracture development, compaction or faults. Passive seismic imaging is 3-D structural imaging using existing, often naturally occurring, sound sources, rather than dynamite or vibrators. Passive seismic technology enables seismic exploration in places that are difficult to reach or environmentally sensitive.

About PSET®

PSET®, Passive Seismic Emission Tomography, is a passive seismic monitoring, mapping and analysis process invented by MicroSeismic. PSET® utilizes a FracStar® array or a Buried Array of surface detectors to locate very low level acoustic energy emissions associated with hydrocarbon producing activities. The surface array approach has the advantage of not requiring dedicated monitor wells. There are many potential sources of seismic energy from the reservoir, all associated with specific dynamic reservoir interventions. Mapping of these energy fields can yield valuable information to optimize frac treatments and other processes.