Roxar Announces Partnership with HP to Run Tempest™ on HP MPI with Parallel Processing Capabilities

Roxar, a leading technology solutions provider to the oil and gas industry, today announced that it is to partner with HP in adopting HP’s Message Passing Interface (MPI) software to run its industry leading reservoir simulation software, Tempest™ on.

Through HP MPI, Tempest™ will have parallel processing capabilities with users able to run the simulation software on multiple CPU workstations, servers and clusters and handle a larger number of grid blocks. Users will be able to simulate more realizations of the same problem, leading to a better assessment of prediction uncertainty.

Additional benefits will include faster and better decisions through a better quantifying of reservoir uncertainty; a more accurate description of the geology and the reservoir; better field performance; a more productive workforce where a wide variety of skills can be used on different parts of the reservoir; and an increased return on investment. Users will also enjoy lower cost desktop computing with users able to purchase ‘off-the-shelf’, low cost multi-processing and multi-chip hardware to run on Tempest™.

Sandy Esslemont commented on the HP partnership:
“The key rationale behind Tempest™ has always been fast, cost effective and accessible reservoir simulation – a tool which provides vital information to the reservoir engineer on the structure, type and economic potential of fields so that production can be maximized.”

“Through partnering with HP and the use of HP MPI, we are ensuring that our customers enjoy the latest in parallel processing capabilities and an even greater understanding of their reservoir flow where fast, detailed simulation, ease of use, quality of support and price competitiveness remain top priorities.”

HP MPI is the Universal Message Passing Interface for Linux, HP-UX, Tru64 and MS Windows. It is also the only MPI required to support a wide choice of industry-standard processors, interconnects, and operating systems and provides the same interface and run-time environment across all platforms.

HP MPI helps optimize performance in intra-host communication, taking advantage of shared memory optimization for lower latency and higher bandwidth. It supports the multi-protocol execution of MPI applications on clusters of shared-memory servers so that applications can take advantage of the shared memory for intra-node communications. HP-MPI is object compatible with MPICH V1.2.5.

HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. With annual revenues totalling US$83.3 billion, the company's offerings span IT infrastructure, global services, business and home computing, and imaging and printing.

Tempest™, which comprises four integrated software modules covering the different stages of reservoir simulation and runs on Linux 64-bit, UNIX 64-bit and Windows 32-bit and 64-bit platforms, comes with state of the art modeling and simulation capabilities. This includes the ability to simulate a wide range of physical processes within one program, such as black oil, compositional, dual porosity, steam, coal bed methane and polymer injection.

At a time when the future of some simulators is uncertain, Roxar remains fully committed to the very best in ongoing simulator development, support and training for Tempest™. A new version – Tempest™ 6.3, was launched in August 2006.

Roxar creates value for its customers through its Reservoir Interpretation, Reservoir Modeling, Reservoir Simulation, Well and Completion, Production and Process Solutions and Consultancy Services.

Note to Editors
About Roxar

Roxar is a leading international technology solutions provider to the upstream oil and gas industry. The company creates value for its customers through innovative products and services that help achieve maximum performance from oil and gas reservoirs.

With its head offices in Stavanger, Norway, Roxar employs over 600 staff across a network of wholly owned offices in Europe, the Americas, Africa, CIS, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. Founded in May 1999, the company generated revenues of approximately US$130 million in 2005. Roxar’s International customer base includes all of the multinationals, major independents and the majority of national oil companies.

For Further Information:
Sandy Esslemont (USA)
CEO, Roxar Group
Tel: +1 713 482 6439
Email:

Mark Bashforth
Managing Director, Software Solutions
Tel: +47 91 10 75 82
Email:

Svenn Haugen
Group Marketing Director Tel: +47 51 81 88 00
Email:

Paul Fisher, Axiom Communications Management
Tel: +44 (0) 1285 713 776 / Fax: +44 (0) 1285 713 071
Email: