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Julyl 2006

TDI-BROOKS' R/V GYRE BEGINS COASTAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL MONITRORING CONTRACT FOR PETROBRAS

TDI-Brooks' affiliate in Brazil, GSI-Brooks, in March 2006 signed a contract with PETROBRAS to provide TDI-Brooks' research vessel the R/V GYRE for a two-year contract. The R/V GYRE was previously Texas A&M University's (TAMU's) research vessel operated by its Department of Oceanography. TDI-Brooks purchased this vessel from TAMU in November 2005. The contract is a partnership between GSI-BROOKS and GALÁXIA. Through the consortium GSI-GALÁXIA, the group was declared winner in the PETROBRAS tender for "Coastal and Oceanic Environmental Monitoring", along the Brazilian Coast, including vessel charter, for all production areas of the Brazilian National Oil Company. The contract involves a series of oceanographic campaigns involving chemical, physical, geologic and biological components for environmental characterization and monitoring.

The aim of the project is to study the aquatic environment directly or indirectly impacted by PETROBRAS' projects, enterprises and coastal and oceanic installations, besides subsidizing the corresponding processes of environmental licensing and decisions for the environmental management, as well as the accomplishment of engineering projects.

The project will be carried out by the consortium GSI-GALÁXIA, which is formed by the leader GSI-BROOKS and the ship company GALÁXIA MARÍTIMA LTDA. The R/V GYRE will be fully dedicated to PETROBRAS for a 2-year period beginning with vessel operations in July 2006. The R/V GYRE is outfitted with state-of-art technology in oceanographic equipment and navigation. Some of the equipment on the vessel includes a SeaBird 911 CTD/Rossette/Niskin bottle package with oxygen, pH, altimeter and fluorescence sensorsl; Ocean Surveyor 75 kHz ADCP; Mocness zooplankton sampling system; Kongsberg HPR410 USBL and EA400 fathometer; and C-Nav and Winfrog navigation system.

GSI-Brooks' office is located in Rio de Janeiro. GSI-Brooks is charged with managing and staffing this project. Two teams of eight (8) scientists each staff the R/V GYRE on 14-day rotations.