QinetiQ Group plc
21 March 2013
OptaSense signs follow-on contracts with Shell to extend footprint in downhole oil and gas market
QinetiQ Group plc today announced that its OptaSense® distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) business has signed follow-on contracts with Shell which set a clear roadmap for the provision of services over the next three years.
The new contracts include:
· Customer-funded product development, worth £10m, which will focus on new tools for flow monitoring, as well as enhancements to proven tools for hydraulic fracture monitoring and vertical seismic profiling (VSP);
· The addition of VSP to the global commercial framework agreement, which gives any Shell business worldwide access to OptaSense services under a standard set of terms and conditions;
· Access for other companies across the oil and gas industry to OptaSense services that were previously exclusive to Shell.
Leo Quinn, QinetiQ CEO said: "We are delighted that our relationship with Shell is continuing with the further development of OptaSense applications for the downhole oil and gas market. This is a key step in realising the potential of OptaSense, by deploying its technology within a services model throughout Shell, as well as to other oil and gas companies."
Notes to Editors:
OptaSense is the world leader in distributed fibre sensing and operates in 40 countries globally. It is managed as an autonomous subsidiary of the QinetiQ Group. See: www.OptaSense.com.
OptaSense is a platform technology which has applications in a number of markets, including infrastructure security where the technology is already in use to monitor 10,000kms of assets, principally providing leak detection and third party intrusion detection for oil and gas pipelines.
A FTSE250 company, QinetiQ uses its domain knowledge to provide technical support and know-how to customers in the global aerospace, defence and security markets. QinetiQ's unique position enables it to be a trusted partner to government organisations, predominantly in the UK and the US, including defence departments, intelligence services and security agencies. See: www.QinetiQ.com.
For further information please contact:
Investor relations: David Bishop, QinetiQ +44 (0) 7920 108675
Media relations: QinetiQ press office +44 (0) 1252 393500
OptaSense, Fergus Campbell, Golin Harris +44 (0) 7799 132303
