A2D Technologies Announces Log Preservation Initiative; A Visionary Industry Partnership to Preserve Fragile Mylar Logs.

Business, Energy & High-Tech Writers

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 11, 2002

A2D Technologies, the leading provider of digital well log data and custom digitization for the petroleum industry, announced today the start of its Log Preservation Initiative. This new effort will digitally preserve an important and fragile exploration asset, original Mylar logs created at the well site.

Under the terms of the initiative, operators or other organizations that provide original Mylar log films will be given free, unlimited access to the scanned image file of the log via A2D's online data repository, LOG-LINE(R). In contrast to the laborious and glacial process currently in use to create paper copies from the original film, these image files will then be made available for immediate use by geologists via the Internet.

"The operator's original film is the most pristine copy of a log," commented Dave Kotowych, A2D President. "This is what we are endeavoring to capture and preserve. It is in everyone's interest to preserve the integrity of one of the largest and most valuable data assets in the oil and gas industry. In the end, exploration geologists will have access to first generation data, better than any other that exists at present."

When logging a well, the captured data was once preserved on a strip of Mylar film from which subsequent paper copies were printed (Mylar logs are negative images). As these paper logs are further reproduced, the quality of the data is reduced each time it becomes another "generation" away from the Mylar negative. Microfiche backups were often created from paper logs rather than the original film, further degrading the quality of the available materials. The Log Preservation Initiative seeks to reverse the steady decline in log quality by sourcing the original Mylar logs, and making pristine digital copies available online.

Similar to non-profit work performed in the motion picture industry, the A2D Log Preservation Initiative will digitally preserve original Mylar films for future generations of exploration geologists. In addition to the risks posed by fire, flood and other catastrophes, the images captured on these films deteriorate over time due to environmental factors such as light, temperature and humidity. Adding to the problem, these logs are sometimes folded, which can lead to cracking in the plastic, and thereby risking loss of the original negative forever.

Mergers and acquisitions throughout the industry have often lead to the creation of massive non-indexed log repositories in central or disparate locations. A2D's Log Preservation Initiative will dramatically reduce the overhead required to store these logs by moving them from expensive warehouses and file rooms to compact and easily accessed computer servers. In addition, by having the logs in digital form, data management issues are markedly simplified.

"At A2D, we believe that efficient access to critical exploration data benefits not only our industry, but the wider economy that it fuels," stated David Armitage, CEO of A2D Technologies. "This is why our entire collection is available online, day or night, around the world. Other log providers have only a fraction of their collection digitized and immediately available. Indeed, industry sources indicate that it may take a decade or more for them to complete digitization of their collections."

About A2D Technologies

Founded in 1993, Houston-based A2D Technologies pioneered providing high-quality well log data instantly over the Internet when it created LOG-LINE(R) at www.a2d.com. The company offers a one-of-a-kind integrated solution for well log data sourcing, data management and interpretation with smartSECTION(R), a geologic software cross-section, mapping and interpretation tool. Today, A2D provides and manages the industry's largest electronic source of well log data with over 800,000 logs in major U.S. basins. For more information, contact Jenny Salinas at 281/319-4944, or visit www.a2d.com.

LOG-LINE(R) and smartSECTION(R) are trademarks of A2D Technologies.