Paragon Innovations

Advantage R&D teams with Paragon Innovations to speed collection, analysis of oilfield drilling data

Ethernet converter enables swift decision-making for Advantage’s petroleum industry clients

PLANO, Texas – June 3, 2002 – Paragon Innovations Inc. announced today a contract with Advantage R&D to develop an Ethernet gateway that boosts the transmission of Logging While Drilling (LWD) data during drilling operations. With this device, Advantage can swiftly collect and analyze data – such as the amount of hydrocarbons in a mineral formation – for its petroleum industry clients.

Paragon is a Plano, Texas-based technology design services company that specializes in the design, development and documentation of embedded systems. Houston-based Advantage is part of Precision Drilling Corp., an Alberta, Canada-based company that provides the petroleum industry with technologically advanced equipment, services and expertise.

To collect on-site drilling data, measurement tools are placed in the drill string – a column of pipe that rotates the drill bit – during drilling operations. When the drill bit is returned to the surface, the recorded data are retrieved from the tool and transmitted via a proprietary protocol, then converted to a parallel interface for the PC.

“LWD data need to be processed quickly and accurately to speed the drilling process, which translates to reduced costs, reduced drilling problems and increased hydrocarbon discoveries,” said Alanna Pope, Advantage’s senior firmware engineer. “Traditionally, converting data from the drill head to the computer has caused bottlenecks in transmission. We approached Paragon to develop an Ethernet gateway that boosts this transmission from a trickle to a sustained flow.”

Mike Wilkinson, Paragon’s founder and chief executive officer, said, “We’re developing an Ethernet converter that both transmits data at sustained speeds of 2 megabytes per second and survives extreme environmental conditions – including temperatures up to 320 degrees Fahrenheit.”

“At Advantage, we’re committed to providing petroleum producers with fast, accurate information during the drilling process,” says Pope. “It’s a true ‘measure’ of success.”

Paragon Innovations Inc., based in Plano, Texas, is a national services provider specializing in the design, development and documentation of embedded systems in commercial and consumer technology products. Using a proven, 22-step quality methodology, Paragon’s technology experts leverage more than a decade of experience in rapid product development to deliver superior products such as miniaturized insulin pumps, semiconductor reference platforms and Internet appliances for companies in the Internet, medical, semiconductor, telephony, robotics and wireless industries, among others. Customers include 3M, AMD, Hitachi, Motorola and Ubicom/Scenix. Paragon is a privately held company that was founded in 1990 by founder and Chief Executive Officer Michael Wilkinson. The company is located in the heart of the Telecom Corridor®. For more information, visit www.paragoninnovations.com, or contact Kay Pinkerton at (214) 521-8596, or via e-mail at kpinkerton@mbapr.com.

Houston-based Advantage R&D is part of Precision Drilling Corporation, located in Alberta, Canada. It is an integrated oilfield drilling and energy service company that provides technologically advanced equipment and expertise, a safe operating environment, and quality service to the oil and gas and industrial businesses. For more information, visit www.precisiondrilling.com.