ECLIPSE Parallel will also soon be available on the Intel Itanium 2 processor, said SIS.

The move to open standards-based Intel microprocessors marks a shift for the oil and gas industry, making it possible to create computationally intensive simulations in a matter of days rather than weeks and at a lower cost.

"The oil and gas industry continuously seeks ways to optimally produce the reservoir; the ultimate goal is to get downstream faster," said SIS president Ihab Toma.

"This requires faster, more precise results from computing performance, and we are increasingly using Intel-based Linux solutions to expand our range of software choices for 3D visualisation, modelling and simulations.

"This allows us to make the ECLIPSE Parallel solution more affordable and accessible to a broader audience-opening up the field for small, mid-size and regional operating companies and enabling organisations to leverage their distributed resources worldwide."

Oil and gas companies depend heavily on computer simulations of their reservoirs to maximise the profitability of their hydrocarbon reserves. The ECLIPSE Parallel solution allows customers to run simulations and to perform post-run viewing and analysis in 'real time' enabling interpretations of how to optimise production recovery.

"Intel is working with global service leaders such as Schlumberger to accelerate the availability of best in class IT solutions to energy customers worldwide," Intel Solutions Market Development vice president John Davies said.

"Through our joint investment and efforts, we have tuned and optimised ECLIPSE for Intel architecture and are allowing customers to test-drive these applications prior to real-world deployment."

Schlumberger Carolyn Turner +713 513 2353

cturner@indigopool.com