TGS NOPEC Geophysical Company ASA

Bounty Oil & Gas has agreed to acquire PetroQuest Liberia Deep Water, giving the Australian company access to negotiations for a production sharing contract covering Block LB-32 offshore Liberia. PetroQuest holds a letter of engagement from the National Oil Company of Liberia granting the exclusive right to negotiate with the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority, though Block LB-32 is not currently covered by a granted licence or an executed PSC. The acquisition is conditional on due diligence, shareholder and regulatory approvals, a capital raising of at least $2.13m, or A$3m, and either execution of the PSC or confirmation of a satisfactory route towards its grant, with all conditions to be satisfied or waived by 31 December 2026 unless the parties agree another date. Bounty has also received firm commitments for a placement of around A$3.55m, cornerstoned by Tribeca Investment Partners, L1 Capital Global Opportunities Master Fund and S3 Consortium, also known as Stocks Digital. Under the terms, Bounty will pay A$1.5m in cash and issue more than 863 million ordinary shares, plus 86.3 million shares linked to a previous exclusivity fee, while vendors may receive up to one billion performance shares tied to an independent report confirming at least 800 million barrels of P50 prospective resources and a geological chance of success of at least 30%, and to a binding farm-out agreement. Block LB-32 covers 2,322km² in Liberia's Harper Basin in water depths of roughly 1,500m to 4,200m, with about 656km² of 3D seismic data and 753 line-kilometres of 2D seismic data, and Bounty plans to license the data from TGS before completing its technical review.

TGS has been awarded a 4D streamer acquisition contract offshore Australia. The Ramform Sovereign is scheduled to mobilize in December, with the survey expected to last close to 50 days. CEO Kristian Johansen said the award from a repeat client provides visibility into the first quarter of 2027 and demonstrates continued confidence in the company's acquisition capabilities, including its Ramform platform and GeoStreamer technology.

TGS has been awarded an ocean bottom node contract in the AMME region. A deep-water crew is scheduled to mobilize in the fourth quarter, and the project has a duration of approximately 100 days. CEO Kristian Johansen stated that the award from a repeat customer extends into 2027 and highlights the strength of the company's integrated business model across all segments of the geophysical market.

TGS ASA's board has resolved to distribute a quarterly dividend of the NOK equivalent of USD 0.155 per share, or NOK 1.49 per share, for the third quarter of 2026. The last trading day including the right is 29 July 2026, with the ex-date on 30 July 2026 and the record date on 31 July 2026. Payment will be made on 13 August 2026, following board approval on 22 July 2026.

TGS announced second-quarter 2026 revenue of USD 400 million, driven by high multi-client activity and strong sales in North and South America and West Africa. EBITDA rose 60% year-over-year to USD 244 million, while operating profit reached USD 120 million compared to a loss of USD 22 million in the same quarter last year. Streamer utilization hit 94%, the highest since the third quarter of 2013, and order inflow of USD 377 million pushed the total backlog to USD 756 million, a 78% increase from a year earlier. The company also raised its 2026 multi-client investment guidance to approximately USD 550 million from a previous range of USD 500 million to USD 575 million, and completed the sale of its North American well data business for more than USD 100 million after the quarter ended.

TGS has signed an agreement with Ghana's Petroleum Commission to deliver a new offshore 2D-cubed seismic project in the Keta Basin. The first phase of the Gulf of Guinea 2D-cubed project will incorporate data from 5,500 square kilometers of existing 3D seismic data and more than 14,700 kilometers of 2D surveys to create a 25,300 square kilometer 2D-cubed seismic model spanning the shelf and deepwater portions of the basin. TGS expects the final products to be available in the first quarter of 2027. The project aims to produce a unified subsurface dataset for one of Africa's significant under-explored regions, helping explorers assess opportunities without immediate new 3D seismic acquisition.

TGS has announced the Atlantic Margin South Reprocessing project in the Norwegian Sea. The project covers more than 23,000 square kilometers of 3D data over an underexplored part of the Norwegian continental shelf. The data will undergo a comprehensive pre-stack depth migration flow to address imaging challenges from volcanic rocks, incorporating advanced machine learning-based denoising, adaptive demultiple, and Dynamic Matching elastic Full Waveform Inversion. Interim products will be available in Q3 2026, with the full integrity volume expected in Q2 2027. The project is supported by industry funding.

TGS has commenced the Orphan3D PSDM Phase 2 reprocessing project offshore Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The project will upgrade approximately 13,300 km² of 3D seismic data across a highly prospective exploration region in the North Atlantic. TGS will apply advanced Full Waveform Inversion and proprietary imaging workflows to improve image clarity, structural definition, and reservoir characterization, targeting key Cretaceous and Jurassic intervals. Early products are expected in 2027, with final migrated volumes scheduled for delivery in the third quarter of 2027. The project is supported by industry funding and reinforces TGS’ commitment to the basin’s prospectivity and future exploration activity.

TGS has closed the sale of its North American well data products business to Enverus for a purchase price in excess of USD 100 million. The transaction includes USD 100 million payable at closing and an additional USD 15 million earn-out conditioned on agreed milestones. The divested business, operated by TGS subsidiary A2D, includes the North American well log library and generated revenues of USD 27 million in 2025, representing 2.9% of TGS' reported multi-client revenues. TGS said the sale sharpens its strategic focus on integrated offshore geophysical services and will use the proceeds to reduce net debt, supporting higher capital returns to shareholders. Enverus CEO Manuj Nikhanj noted that A2D's subsurface dataset now complements Enverus' extensive operational, economic and commercial data, including exchange networks handling an estimated 80% of U.S. production volumes and more than USD 500 billion in annual transaction activity.

Goldman Sachs said artificial intelligence and digital technologies could significantly shorten development timelines and lower costs for new oil and gas projects. AI, high-performance computing, and digitalization could reduce the average development cycle for greenfield deepwater projects from about 12 years to seven years, with most of the time savings occurring before final investment decisions through faster exploration, appraisal, and engineering work. The improvements could lift the internal rate of return for a typical greenfield oil project to 19% from 15.5% by lowering capital spending, reducing operating costs, shortening development timelines, and increasing production, while project breakeven prices could decline by about 15%. Among oilfield services companies, TGS, Vallourec and SLB were identified as the strongest beneficiaries of increasing AI adoption, while companies focused on floating production storage and offloading vessels and pure subsea construction contractors are expected to benefit less because their operations remain constrained by fabrication capacity rather than digital workflows.

TGS, in joint venture with SLB, has announced the Pelotas Sul Phase 1 multi-client 3D seismic survey in the Pelotas Basin offshore southern Brazil. The survey covers approximately 13,500 square kilometers, with the Ramform Tethys having mobilized in December 2025 and data acquisition expected to be completed in early Q3 2026. The project expands TGS' high-quality seismic coverage in a frontier region that has seen growing interest due to successful exploration results along the conjugate margin and features diverse play concepts including turbidite systems, deep-water channels, and underexplored stratigraphic and structural traps. Pelotas Sul Phase 1 includes a balanced mix of held and open acreage, providing opportunities for near-term evaluation and future licensing round sales. CEO Kristian Johansen noted that the survey complements the previously announced Pelotas Norte in the northern part of the basin and will support customers evaluating new exploration opportunities in the southern Pelotas Basin.