FEI QEMSCAN WellSite Expands to Onsite Core Analysis with System Delivery to Kirk Petrophysics

Advanced onsite core analysis provides fast support for critical decisions in formation evaluation and drilling operations.
Hillsboro, Ore., USA and Surrey, U.K./December 3, 2012–FEI (NASDAQ: FEIC) and Kirk Petrophysics (Surrey, U.K.) today announced that FEI has delivered a QEMSCAN® WellSite™ analysis system to Kirk Petrophysics who will use it to provide rapid onsite analysis of drill cores in oil and gas drilling operations. Core analysis is an essential component of formation evaluation used by geologists and engineers to determine the production potential of a well and to manage drilling and completion operations. Having this capability at the well site enables reduction of analytical turnaround from several days or weeks to just a few hours (after the cores are retrieved from the core barrels or sidewall coring tools).

“Our QEMSCAN WellSite systems are now used in the petroleum industry, not only to evaluate drill cuttings in mud logging units, but also for onsite analysis of core samples,” said Paul Scagnetti, vice president and general manager of FEI’s Natural Resources Business Unit. “Currently, most of the core evaluation laboratories are located in busy centralized support labs in major cities around the world; it can take days or weeks to transport core samples and get the needed analytical results. Worse yet, in some remote locations it is logistically impossible to transport samples, or their movements are restricted by government regulations, severely limiting the analysis that can be performed on these core samples. The new QEMSCAN WellSite solution addresses these challenges; it provides essential analytical capability at the drilling site where it can deliver quick results to answer critical questions in E&P operations.”

Jean-Valery Garcia, managing director of Kirk Petrophysics, added, “The automated mineralogy capability provided by the QEMSCAN WellSite solution increases the speed and accuracy of our core analysis. In addition to microscopic mineralogy information, it can also provide two-dimensional porosity measurements and textural detail for lithological classification, which is valuable characterization information. With the QEMSCAN WellSite system, we can move that advanced analytical capability right to the drill site, significantly reducing the time it takes to get the information to the people who need it most. Near real-time decisions are important for our customers to optimize their drilling and completion designs, especially in high rig-cost environments, such as deepwater operations.”

The QEMSCAN WellSite system is an impressive solution that complements the services provided by Kirk Petrophysics to the global oil and gas industry. The system has been developed to reflect the operational imperatives of the industry, and exemplifies FEI’s commitment to lead in technological innovation in the oil and gas sector.

“We are particularly pleased to be working with Kirk Petrophysics,” adds Scagnetti. “Not only are they part of the Reservoir Group, one of the fastest growing world-wide suppliers of oil field services, they are also the first to apply QEMSCAN WellSite to onsite core analysis. Until now, it had been used onsite primarily to look at drill cuttings, so this is a significant step for us in expanding this unique technology to a new market segment.”

The QEMSCAN WellSite system combines scanning electron microscopy and X-ray spectrometry to deliver automated mineralogical analysis. It also provides automated microscopic textural details, elemental compositional and two-dimensional core porosity analysis unavailable from conventional techniques. The QEMSCAN WellSite system is a ruggedized solution that is specifically designed to withstand the harsh environment of the drilling rig. The compact configuration takes up little space and simplified operation reduces the need for operator training and expertise. The oil and gas industry uses QEMSCAN WellSite to reduce risks and improve lifting costs, based on knowledge derived from the micro analysis of drill cuttings and cores.

For more information, please visit: www.fei-natural-resources.com.

About FEI
FEI (Nasdaq: FEIC) is a leading diversified scientific instruments company. It is a premier provider of electron- and ion-beam microscopes and solutions for nanoscale applications across many industries: industrial and academic materials research, life sciences, semiconductors, data storage, natural resources and more. With more than 60 years of technological innovation and leadership, FEI has set the performance standard in transmission electron microscopes (TEM), scanning electron microscopes (SEM) and DualBeams™, which combine a SEM with a focused ion beam (FIB). Headquartered in Hillsboro, Ore., USA, FEI has over 2,300 employees and sales and service operations in more than 50 countries around the world. More information can be found at: www.fei.com

About Kirk Petrophysics
Kirk Petrophysics is a leading provider of wellsite services – specialising in core handling. It has the capability to deliver a complete solution, from the acquisition and analysis of sample material, to final storage and data management. This enables a more efficient and secure service provision, with mobile laboratories able to provide support in even the most remote locations. For more information, visit: www.kirkpetrophysics.com

FEI Safe Harbor Statement
This news release contains forward-looking statements that include statements regarding the performance capabilities and benefits of FEI’s QEMSCAN WellSite analysis solution and potential market expansion into a new market segment. Factors that could affect these forward-looking statements include but are not limited to failure of the product or technology to perform as expected and achieve anticipated results, unexpected technology problems and challenges, changes to the technology, the inability of customers to develop and deploy the expected new application and our ability to manufacture, ship and deliver the tools or software as expected and failure of potential customers in the new market segment to adopt the technology. Please also refer to our Form 10-K, Forms 10-Q, Forms 8-K and other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for additional information on these factors and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. FEI assumes no duty to update forward-looking statements.

For more information contact:
Sandy Fewkes (media contact)
MindWrite Communications, Inc
+1 408 224 4024
sandy@mind-write.com

FEI
Fletcher Chamberlin (investors and analysts)
Investor Relations
+1 503 726 7710
fletcher.chamberlin@fei.com

Kirk Petrophysics
Fifth Ring
+44 (0) 1224 626288
gavin@fifthring.com