Visitors and exhibitors are coming to OI Americas to meet and to address the present and future trends of their industry, to witness the launch of new technologies, new equipment and new services. And they are coming to buy.

If you have not yet registered to attend (free at www.oiamericas.com) you can do so now, or just email us/fax us with your full contact details and we will do the rest. You can book your hotel accommodation online and rental car at the same time. You can just turn up on the day but if you register in advance we will send your free admission badge and details of how to get to the Miami Convention Center.

For complete details and a tour of what to expect at OI Americas 2001, click here to go to the OI Americas 2001 web site now. Or, for an overview in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian or Portuguese, click here.

This is Maridan's first commercial sale of an M600 AUV, which is the latest in the family of AUVs developed by the Danish company over the last 10 years. The standard M600 carries a survey sensor payload, which includes Reson 8125 imaging sonar, Klein 2000 digital side scan and GeoAcoustics Geo-chirp sub bottom profiler. These sensors deliver very high-resolution images of the seabed surface and the strata below.

The M600 is programmed to perform the surveys totally autonomously and without any acoustic or umbilical links to the supporting vessel. Once the survey data has been acquired, the AUV returns to the survey support vessel where the data is processed. Maridan Managing Director Jens Pind said "the advantages of surveying with our AUV technology are: higher quality of data, faster time to complete the survey project, a reduction in survey costs and also an overall reduction in engineering design costs as a result of the higher quality of data".

Barry Bayly, Mineral Resource unit Manager De Beers Marine said "The delivery of the Maridan M600 AUV is the result of very close co-operation between our two companies over the last two years. From our experience to date with the AUV, this technology shows all the signs of delivering the advances in surveying technology which we expect".

For further information contact Barry Bayly, Manager, Mineral Resources De Beers Marine or E-mail: bayly@debeers.co.za. Also, contact Jens Pind, CEO Maridan A/S, E-mail: maridan@maridan.dk

Fairfield Industries Corporation is a Houston based company providing shallow water, non-exclusive 3D seismic data acquisition and marine/land contract processing to the oil and gas exploration industry. Fairfield manufactures and uses the BOXÒ seismic data acquisition system, capable of recording 8,000 channels of seismic data via radio telemetry and/or cable, or stored data mode. The Data Processing Division provides 2D/3D pre-stack time and depth migration seismic processing services utilizing internally developed super cluster computing technology. These services are provided to clients on a global basis, as is the ongoing processing of Fairfield's 3D non-exclusive database. For more information, contact Debra M. Drye, Marketing Coordinator, e-mail: jdryer@fairfield.com

C & C Technologies' HUGIN 3000 AUV has undergone and completed sea trials in Norway's fjords and the Gulf of Mexico since December 2000. As of January 22, 2001, the HUGIN was fully operational and has successfully completed several deepwater projects for BP's "Mardi Gras" oil and gas pipeline project. HUGIN has delivered increased efficiency, speed and survey accuracy while providing a substantial cost saving over traditional deep tow surveys.

For more information on C & C Technologies' services please contact Jay Northcutt at 337.261.0660 or, send e-mail to info@cctechnol.com.

HardBall(^TM) Floats feature a buoyant core of solid syntactic foam, containing no macrospheres or other fillers, incased in a tough, rotomolded polyethylene shell. These floats offer the ultimate in durability and, unlike other floats, HardBalls can pass across the overboarding sheave during deployment and recovery. This feature, along with lower cost, makes them ideal for use on the tethers and umbilicals of Plows and other trenching vehicles. Hardball Floats are depth rated from 1000-3500msw in 500m increments. For more information, contact Flotation Technologies Inc., Biddeford, ME 04005, USA E-mail: Sales@flotec.com or visit their web site at http://www.flotec.com

Doug will bring a wealth of experience and knowledge which will be invaluable to the Bowtech Sales Team. Doug has travelled around a lot in his career and has lived in places such as Aberdeen, Vancouver and of course Cumbria. Contact Doug Huntington by e-mail at doug@bowtech.net

The extreme underwater autonomy of 75nm allows navigation in foul weather possible, a feat not enjoyed by deployable submersibles or tethered ROV's. The submarine is ideal for Marine Geology * Archeology * Habitat studies * Sonar and Seismic Surveys * Salvage * Eco-System Monitoring Documentary and motion picture filming * Security and Underwater Inspection of Pipelines and other submerged structures.The RS-1 operates without the need of large and expensive support ships, making the daily rate of $20K quite reasonable. Visit their web site at www.ResearchSubmarine.com for a full description of their existing state of the art submarine fleet.

BHP required real-time current measurements over the full ocean depth to support drilling operations from the drillship Glomar C R Luigs. This called for innovative techniques using acoustic Doppler current meters (ADCPs) mounted both on the drillship and on an ROV.

Through-water real-time current measurements are essential during deepwater drilling operations to assess potentially damaging forces on marine risers and to indicate the best times to deploy subsea equipment. Until now the limit on profiling range was set by the ADCPs. But for the Walker Ridge well, Fugro GEOS developed new techniques. A deepwater-rated 300kHz ADCP from RD Instruments was mounted on an Oceaneering Magnum 51 ROV and current data was recorded as the vehicle descended to the seabed.

This is a partial press release. For the full press release, contact Jan van Smirren, Regional Director, Fugro GEOS Inc, Houston e-mail: usa@geos.com or, Rob Smith, Fugro GEOS, Swindon UK, e-mail: uk@geos.com

GPS Companion software provides detailed, street-level maps using the award-winning MarcoSoft Quo Vadis mapping platform as well as navigation information such as waypoint and route management capabilities, a digital compass, an analog speedometer and more. Handspring Visor customers can purchase Magellan's GPS Companion at http://www.palmgear.com and most other leading retailers. For the full press release, go to http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/01-30-2001/0001415307&EDATE=

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