Geophysical Service Inc. (often abbreviated GSI) was founded by
John Clarence Karcher and
Eugene McDermott in 1930 for the purpose of using refraction and
reflection seismology to
explore for
petroleum
Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...
deposits.
History
On December 6, 1941, the company was purchased by
Eugene McDermott,
Cecil Howard Green,
J. Erik Jonsson, and H.B. Peacock. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the company produced submarine detection devices. In 1951, the company was renamed
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globa ...
(TI) with GSI as a division. GSI was later sold by TI, repurchased, and finally sold again to
Halliburton
Halliburton Company is an American multinational corporation responsible for most of the world's hydraulic fracturing operations. In 2009, it was the world's second largest oil field service company. It has operations in more than 70 countries ...
in 1988. Halliburton also acquired GeoSource, a competing geophysical contractor (formerly Petty-Ray Geophysical), and attempted to merge the two companies. Unfortunately the rivalry between the two entities endured and the merged entity known as Halliburton Geophysical Services (HGS) proved to be far from profitable. After several years of losses in 1994 Halliburton sold HGS to
Western Atlas (formerly
Western Geophysical until its merger with
Dresser Atlas in 1987). Western Atlas was bought by
Baker Hughes in 1998 and was then merged into
WesternGeco
WesternGeco is a geophysical services company. It is headquartered in Schlumberger House on the property of London Gatwick Airport in Crawley, West Sussex, in Greater London.
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Background
The company provides reservoir imaging, moni ...
in 2000 through a joint venture with
Schlumberger in which Schlumberger held the majority share (70%).
Present day operations
In 1992, Davey Einarsson, a longtime executive of the original GSI, purchased the proprietary rights to GSI’s speculative data in the Canadian offshore, launching the new GSI in Calgary. Paul Einarsson is the COO and Chairman of Geophysical Service Incorporated. He joined the company in 1997.
GSI is the largest owner of marine seismic data in Canada, with its head office located in Calgary, Alberta.
Recent developments:
GSI is currently involved in several cases of litigation for damages over disclosure of its confidential seismic data. The court challenges include litigation with the Canada-Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board, the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board and companies that have obtained GSI data from a third party or government.
See also
*
List of oilfield service companies
This is a list of oilfield service companies – notable companies that provide services to the petroleum exploration and production industry but do not typically produce petroleum. In the list, notable subsidiary companies and divisions are list ...
External links
Geophysical Service Inc.
Oilfield services companies
Seismological observatories, organisations and projects
Petroleum in Texas
American companies established in 1930
Energy companies established in 1930
Non-renewable resource companies established in 1930
1930 establishments in Texas
Halliburton
Texas Instruments