CGG (company)

In 1926, Conrad Schlumberger, and his brother Marcel Schlumberger, formed Société de Prospection Electrique (SPE) which specialized in oil and coal exploration as well as civil engineering.

In March 1931, SPE and Société Géophysique de Recherches Minières (SGRM), both specialists in seismology and magnetometry, merged into La Compagnie Générale de Géophysique. SGRM provided 5,000,000 francs of capital and CGG capital of 120,000 francs. In his premises at 30 rue Fabert, in Paris, Conrad Schlumberger decided to transfer the subsurface business to CGG while SPE retained the logging. At the same time, Raymond Maillet from SGRM was appointed President of CGG.

The first two years of business for CGG were shaky. Near-surface surveys (hydrology, mining and civil engineering) and oil exploration were not enough to break even in a period when oil was worth 10 cents a barrel. In 1966, CGG opened its first seismic data processing center in Massy, France.

Veritas Energy Services, a geophysical services company, was established in 1974 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with the purchase of a Rafael Cruz owned firm Rafael B. Cruz and Associates Ltd. by David B. Robson.

Meanwhile, Digital Consultants Inc. had been established in Houston, Texas in 1965 with a vision to apply digital computing to the geophysical industry. In 1969, Digital Consultants reincorporated as Digicon Inc. (DGC), becoming a public company on the American Stock Exchange.

In 1996, Veritas DGC was formed from the merger of Veritas and Digicon.

CGG’s Equipment business, Sercel, offers systems, sensors and sources for seismic acquisition and downhole monitoring. Oilfield service companies and geophysical contractors use the equipment for monitoring subsurface characteristics on onshore, offshore, downhole and seabed activities.

CGG has the full range of data acquisition capabilities to conduct all types of geophysical surveys, large or small, onshore, offshore and in the air. They are unique in being able to provide seamless coverage with a wide portfolio of seismic and geophysical methods in any environment.

The Geology, Geophysics & Reservoir Division provides seismic and geophysical services for characterizing the subsurface, and monitoring hydrocarbon reservoirs. Services include Land and Marine Seismic Acquisition, Geophysical Processing and Imaging, and Reservoir Characterization.