MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA -- SGI (NYSE: SGI) and Fakespace Systems Inc. today announced the completion of an advanced visualization system for oil and gas exploration at the Houston, Texas, offices of Norsk Hydro, Norway's second-largest energy company. Norsk Hydro, which already has six immersive SGI(R) Reality Center(TM) installations in Norway, attributes an $86 million return on investment to its work with visualization since the first system was implemented in 1997. The new visualization system in the Houston office is based on a large-scale stereoscopic WorkWall(TM) display from Fakespace Systems, driven by a powerful SGI® Onyx® 3200 supercomputer. It provides a collaborative environment that improves and accelerates well-planning decisions for Norsk Hydro's geoscientists, geophysicists and engineers exploring opportunities in the Gulf of Mexico. "The proven value of immersive visualization in helping multidisciplinary teams bring new efficiencies to the exploration process led us to contract with SGI and Fakespace for our seventh large-scale display system," said Rolf Helland, senior geophysicist, Norsk Hydro E&P Americas. "Our experience in working with these companies has been exceptional, and the new flat wall stereoscopic system was delivered in record time to meet our needs." Following extensive work with CAVE® and flat wall displays, Norsk chose an 8x18-foot, high-brightness, flat wall display based on the newest digital stereoscopic projection technology. A single-pipe Onyx 3200 system with InfiniteReality3(TM) graphics drives the edge-blended rear-projection display. The new system enables exploration team members to interact with each other and with huge data sets simultaneously in an immersive environment that integrates data from all disciplines. The Fakespace WorkWall is equipped with two active stereo DLP(TM) (Digital Light Processing) Mirage(TM) 5000 projectors, providing a stable display that is bright enough for use in a normally lit room, so that users can also reference documents and drawings as needed. "Norsk Hydro is an innovator in exploration work using immersive visualization," said Jim Angelillo, vice president of strategic relations at Fakespace Systems Inc. "We installed their first visualization system, a CAVE, back in 1997 in Bergen, Norway, and more recently installed a RAVE (Reconfigurable Advanced Visualization Environment) at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology located in Trondheim, Norway, which Norsk helped fund. Both systems have significantly aided Norsk in improving their success in locating reservoirs and choosing well paths." "Norsk Hydro is an industry leader in the application of SGI Reality Center technologies for oil and gas exploration," said Bill Bartling, director, Global Energy Solutions, SGI. "They've made full use of the unique visualization power of SGI Onyx systems by developing specialized immersive applications that take exploration teams inside the data to reach better decisions in a shorter time. As prime contractor for six out of seven Reality Center installations for Norsk Hydro, we have been pleased to contribute to the company's growth and prosperity over our five-year relationship." Norsk Hydro's first virtual reality environment was installed at the company's research facility in Bergen, Norway, in 1997. In 2001, Norsk installed four additional SGI Reality Center facilities in Norway: two in Bergen, one in Oslo and one in Stavanger. In 2002, Norsk Hydro's research center in Porsgrunn, Norway, installed yet another facility. The proven value of SGI Reality Center technologies as exploration tools led to the installation in Houston, Texas. Norsk Hydro cites its operations in the Oseberg field in western Norway as an example of the benefits of working with advanced visualization systems. Complete details about SGI Reality Center systems are available at www.sgi.com/realitycenter/. Fakespace Systems provides the broadest range of visualization systems available today for seismic data interpretation and subsurface evaluation. These systems, which are used by geologists, geophysicists and engineers to promote collaboration and better understanding of complex data, range from fully immersive room environments to small-group systems that fit in an average-size conference room. Fakespace displays are available with passive or active stereo, CRT or digital projection technology, and a range of motion-tracking and interaction options.