NEOS GeoSolutions
Encyclopedia
NEOS GeoSolutions is a geoscience services company that services exploration teams in the onshore oil & gas
and mining
industries. The company acquires and simultaneously interprets multiple geological
, geophysical
, and geochemical datasets to identify hydrocarbons and minerals in the subsurface. NEOS is privately held and headquartered in Houston, Texas.
The company is an advocate of the multi-measurement interpretation approach to natural resource exploration, which involves integrating the broadest possible range of geological, geochemical, geophysical, and petrophysical
measurements.
The company seeks to make use of geo-data from a variety of sources, including publicly available information, data available for license, and data resident within the archives of its customers. However, airborne remote sensing
systems – including satellites, fixed-wing aircraft, and helicopters – provide the vast amount of newly acquired measurements interpreted by the company.
Other companies that acquire airborne geophysical datasets include ARKeX, Fugro
-Airborne, and Sander Geophysics. Airborne geophysical acquisition allows service providers to survey and assess large swaths of acreage on behalf of oil & gas and mining firms in order to determine their prospectivity potential for natural resource exploration and development. Unlike the more conventional seismic acquisition technique, airborne methods do not require personnel and equipment to be placed directly on the ground for multi-week operations. This reduces the risk to the health and safety of acquisition personnel and minimizes the environmental footprint of the surveying operation. Companies that process and interpret multi-measurement geophysical datasets using various simultaneous inversion techniques include Fugro-Jason, Mira Geoscience, and Schlumberger
.
By 2008, the company’s scientists had developed unique methods to integrate hyperspectral measurements with other geophysical data – including seismic, gravity, magnetic
, electromagnetic
, and radiometric.
In January 2010, the company hired a new CEO – Jim Hollis, formerly COO at ION Geophysical
. During the year, the company announced that it was acquiring a hyperspectral survey over a 29,000 square kilometer region of the Gulf Coast that had been impacted by the April 2010 blowout at BP’s Macondo oil prospect in the Gulf of Mexico.
In January 2011, the company announced that it had raised more than $60 million in expansion capital from its existing investors – Goldman Sachs
, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers , and Passport Capital – as well as from new investors including Microsoft founder Bill Gates
and Energy Capital Group.
NEOS has recently undertaken projects in the following areas: Argentina’s Neuquén Province
; Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale; California’s Ventura
Basin; and Nevada’s Cortez Gold Trend
.
Oil exploration
Hydrocarbon exploration is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for hydrocarbon deposits beneath the Earth's surface, such as oil and natural gas...
and mining
Mineral exploration
Mineral exploration is the process of finding ore to mine. Mineral exploration is a much more intensive, organized and professional form of mineral prospecting and, though it frequently uses the services of prospecting, the process of mineral exploration on the whole is much more involved.-Stages...
industries. The company acquires and simultaneously interprets multiple geological
Petroleum geology
Petroleum geology refers to the specific set of geological disciplines that are applied to the search for hydrocarbons .-Sedimentary basin analysis:...
, geophysical
Geophysics
Geophysics is the physics of the Earth and its environment in space; also the study of the Earth using quantitative physical methods. The term geophysics sometimes refers only to the geological applications: Earth's shape; its gravitational and magnetic fields; its internal structure and...
, and geochemical datasets to identify hydrocarbons and minerals in the subsurface. NEOS is privately held and headquartered in Houston, Texas.
History
NEOS was formed in 2008 when a group of investors extracted the necessary acquisition and interpretation technologies from a natural resource exploration company. To date, NEOS and its predecessor have spent roughly $100 million to develop advanced remote sensing devices, field deployment systems, and processing and interpretation techniques.The company is an advocate of the multi-measurement interpretation approach to natural resource exploration, which involves integrating the broadest possible range of geological, geochemical, geophysical, and petrophysical
Petrophysics
Petrophysics is the study of the physical and chemical properties that describe the occurrence and behavior of rocks, soils and fluids . Petrophysics mainly studies reservoirs of resources, including ore deposits and oil or natural gas reservoirs...
measurements.
The company seeks to make use of geo-data from a variety of sources, including publicly available information, data available for license, and data resident within the archives of its customers. However, airborne remote sensing
Remote sensing
Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon, without making physical contact with the object. In modern usage, the term generally refers to the use of aerial sensor technologies to detect and classify objects on Earth by means of propagated signals Remote sensing...
systems – including satellites, fixed-wing aircraft, and helicopters – provide the vast amount of newly acquired measurements interpreted by the company.
Other companies that acquire airborne geophysical datasets include ARKeX, Fugro
Fugro
Fugro N.V. is a Dutch multinational company headquartered in Leidschendam. The current president is K.S. Wester.Fugro provides geotechnical, survey and geoscience services to oil, gas, mining and construction industries...
-Airborne, and Sander Geophysics. Airborne geophysical acquisition allows service providers to survey and assess large swaths of acreage on behalf of oil & gas and mining firms in order to determine their prospectivity potential for natural resource exploration and development. Unlike the more conventional seismic acquisition technique, airborne methods do not require personnel and equipment to be placed directly on the ground for multi-week operations. This reduces the risk to the health and safety of acquisition personnel and minimizes the environmental footprint of the surveying operation. Companies that process and interpret multi-measurement geophysical datasets using various simultaneous inversion techniques include Fugro-Jason, Mira Geoscience, and Schlumberger
Schlumberger
Schlumberger Limited is the world's largest oilfield services company. Schlumberger employs over 110,000 people of more than 140 nationalities working in approximately 80 countries...
.
By 2008, the company’s scientists had developed unique methods to integrate hyperspectral measurements with other geophysical data – including seismic, gravity, magnetic
Magnetometer
A magnetometer is a measuring instrument used to measure the strength or direction of a magnetic field either produced in the laboratory or existing in nature...
, electromagnetic
Electromagnetism
Electromagnetism is one of the four fundamental interactions in nature. The other three are the strong interaction, the weak interaction and gravitation...
, and radiometric.
In January 2010, the company hired a new CEO – Jim Hollis, formerly COO at ION Geophysical
ION Geophysical
ION Geophysical is a technology-focused seismic solutions company that provides advanced acquisition equipment, software, planning and seismic processing services, and seismic data libraries to the global oil & gas industry...
. During the year, the company announced that it was acquiring a hyperspectral survey over a 29,000 square kilometer region of the Gulf Coast that had been impacted by the April 2010 blowout at BP’s Macondo oil prospect in the Gulf of Mexico.
In January 2011, the company announced that it had raised more than $60 million in expansion capital from its existing investors – Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational bulge bracket investment banking and securities firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients...
, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers , and Passport Capital – as well as from new investors including Microsoft founder Bill Gates
Bill Gates
William Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen...
and Energy Capital Group.
Products & Services
By applying its multi-measurement interpretation methodology, NEOS generates 3-D subsurface models of the Earth in which the distributions of minerals, hydrocarbons, fractures, and lithologies can be probabilistically determined and mapped.NEOS has recently undertaken projects in the following areas: Argentina’s Neuquén Province
Neuquén Province
Neuquén is a province of Argentina, located in the west of the country, at the northern end of Patagonia. It borders Mendoza Province to the north, Rio Negro Province to the southeast, and Chile to the west...
; Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale; California’s Ventura
Ventura County, California
Ventura County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. It is located on California's Pacific coast. It is often referred to as the Gold Coast, and has a reputation of being one of the safest populated places and one of the most affluent places in the country...
Basin; and Nevada’s Cortez Gold Trend
Gold mining in Nevada
Gold mining in Nevada, a state of the United States, is a major industry, and one of the largest sources of gold in the world. Nevada currently mines 79% of all the gold in the United States, which is equivalent to in 2009. Total gold production from Nevada recorded from 1835 to 2008 totals ,...
.