Getech wins Iraq and China contracts

The group, spun out of the University of Leeds, has signed a new data marketing agreement with the Geological Survey of Iraq (Geosurv).

Getech said Geosurv had the necessary approvals from the Iraqi government to enter into the agreement, under which Getech will have exclusive rights to market the existing gravity and magnetic survey data held by Geosurv.

This information provides substantial coverage across Iraq (excluding Kurdistan, where such surveys have not taken place) and Getech said it represented a major addition to its global data library.

"Iraq is currently an area of major exploration interest and the directors believe that these data will generate significant revenue from 2011."

Getech sells complex geological and geophysical data to help oil companies including Shell, BP and Exxon Mobil decide where to sink new wells.

Its data spans the globe, ranging from the oil-rich west coast of Africa to the largely untapped Arctic circle.

Getech recently signed another agreement with the China Aero Geophysical Survey and Remote Sensing Centre for Resources (AGRS).

Getech said it had a long-standing relationship with AGRS and the new agreement extends this to include the rights to market their Tibetan aeromagnetic data.

Derek Fairhead, President and Founder of Getech, said: "These two new agreements provide further evidence of our global reputation and pre-eminence in the field of gravity and magnetic data as used for exploration purposes.

"We are particularly pleased to have completed the Iraq data agreement as this follows several years of relationship-building and it has been completed at a time when the exploration potential in Iraq is of increasing interest to our clients"