November 19, 2017: Oslo, Norway, Petroleum Geo-Services ASA ("PGS" or "the Company") announces that it has entered into an agreement with the tax authorities of Rio de Janeiro to settle all ongoing disputes related to Municipal Services Tax ("ISS") on the licensing of MultiClient data.
The Municipality of Rio de Janeiro recently published new regulations for ISS relating to licensing of MultiClient data. PGS has opted to settle all the ongoing ISS disputes in accordance with the provisions of the new regulations and has together with the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro presented a motion to the courts for withdrawal of the lawsuits and release of the amounts deposited as escrow.
The settlement covers all historical periods and exposures relating to ISS on MultiClient licensing up to today. Under the settlement, PGS will pay an aggregate amount which is substantially less than the amounts already deposited by PGS for the parts of the exposure which are in court proceedings. With current exchange rates, PGS estimates that it will receive approximately USD 55 million of the amounts on deposit and therefore realize a significant positive liquidity effect. PGS expects that the funds will be released before year-end 2017.
PGS expects to record a loss of approximately USD 15 million in Q4 2017, since the full book value of the deposited amount is not recovered. The deposit was reported as restricted cash with a book value of USD 72.2 million at September 30, 2017.
PGS welcomes the new regulations issued by the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro which will increase transparency going forward and specifically require 2% ISS to be paid on MultiClient licensing.
| FOR DETAILS, CONTACT: |
| Bård Stenberg, VP IR & Corporate Communications Mobile: +47 99 24 52 35 |
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Petroleum Geo-Services is a focused marine geophysical company providing a broad range of seismic and reservoir services, including acquisition, imaging, interpretation, and field evaluation. The Company's MultiClient data library is among the largest in the seismic industry, with modern 3D coverage in all significant offshore hydrocarbon provinces of the world. PGS operates on a worldwide basis with headquarters at Lilleaker, Oslo, Norway.
For more information on Petroleum Geo-Services visit www.pgs.com .
**** The information included herein contains certain forward-looking statements that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects, projects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future. These statements are based on various assumptions made by the Company, which are beyond its control and are subject to certain additional risks and uncertainties. The Company is subject to a large number of risk factors including but not limited to the demand for seismic services, the demand for data from our multi-client data library, the attractiveness of our technology, unpredictable changes in governmental regulations affecting our markets and extreme weather conditions. For a further description of other relevant risk factors we refer to our Annual Report for 2016. As a result of these and other risk factors, actual events and our actual results may differ materially from those indicated in or implied by such forward-looking statements. The reservation is also made that inaccuracies or mistakes may occur in the information given above about current status of the Company or its business. Any reliance on the information above is at the risk of the reader, and PGS disclaims any and all liability in this respect.
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This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5 -12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
