DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

Norwegian seismic oil and gas exploration company Reservoir Exploration Technology ASA (RXT.OS) said Wednesday it is refocusing its ocean bottom cable (OBC) seismic operations to meet expected demand for its services in the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and most of West Africa, and has made two senior management appointments to lead the process.

 
   MAIN FACTS: 

-Appoints Kim Gunn Maver as vice president of sales and marketing, and Fredd Causevic as vice president of business development, both based in the company's headquarters in Oslo, Norway.

-The new strategy follows RXT's formation of GeoRXT, a joint venture with Brazilian oil and gas services company Georadar.

-Under the agreement, in which Georadar has a 55% holding, the joint venture will have exclusive marketing rights in the highly prospective Brazilian offshore, as well as the rest of South America, Angola, and some areas of the Middle East.

-Stein Hedemark, RXT's CEO, says: "Now that the joint venture is up and running it makes sense for us to target our resources in those areas where there is already an established market for OBC."

-"In fact we are seeing increased interest in our seafloor multi-component seismic acquisition technology."

-Kim Gunn Maver joins RXT from Schlumberger Inc. (SLB) where his positions include vice president of reservoir seismic services.

-Fredd Causevic came to RXT last year as senior sales manager.

-At 1250 GMT shares traded 7.6% higher at NOK1.27.

-By Dominic Chopping; Dow Jones Newswires; +46-8-5451-3093; dominic.chopping@dowjones.com