The Department of Geology and Geography in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University has received a three-year educational grant valued at $4,819,192 from Landmark Graphics Corporation, a part of Halliburton’s (NYSE:HAL) Digital and Consulting Solutions Division.

As part of Landmarks University Grant Program, WVU will be equipped with various exploration, development and modeling software while being provided with continued maintenance and support. Additionally, Landmark will provide training on the software at reduced prices to geology faculty and students, who are the principal beneficiaries of the grant.

The software will be under the supervision of Dr. Tom Wilson, who applied for and received a $1.2 million grant from Landmark in 2003.

This years grant, which was also applied for by Dr. Wilson, is a significant extension of the 2003 grant. Dr. Alan Brown, both a WVU geology alumni and former Landmark employee, was also a great help in moving this grant forward.

This software grant, several months in the making, allows us to make significant advances in our abilities to work with increasingly complex data sets, to integrate increasingly multidisciplinary data and to build on our long-term commitment to future students to provide challenging and timely training in the energy sciences,says Wilson.

The main resources provided by the grant include state-of-the-art seismic processing, modeling and interpretation package, the type of software that several major oil and gas exploration and development companies employ to locate reservoirs and assess reservoir potential.

Dr. Wilson comments,Back in the mid-1980s and early 1990s, we used to write our own codes to process 2D seismic data. Our interpretations were all paper-based in those days. Recent grants have dramatically increased our capability to undertake routine post stack processing and interpretation.”

Landmark, part of Halliburton Digital and Consulting Solutions, is the leading supplier of software and services for the upstream oil and gas industry. The company’s software solutions span exploration, production, drilling, business decision analysis and data management. Landmark offers a broad range of consulting services that enable customers to optimize their technical, business and decision processes. Visit the Landmark Web site at www.lgc.com for more information.

Founded in 1919, Halliburton is one of the worlds largest providers of products and services to the petroleum and energy industries. The company serves its customers with a broad range of products and services through its Energy Services Group and KBR . The companys World Wide Web site can be accessed at www.halliburton.com .

The grant was made through the WVU Foundation, a private non-profit corporation that generates and provides support for West Virginia University.

For more details on this $4.8 million grant to the Department of Geology and Geography at WVU , contact Dr. Tom Wilson at Tom.Wilson@mail.wvu.edu .