The first challenge was to design a website structure that would encompass the company's diverse offerings, while also anticipating future expansion. The creative design would need to prominently feature the new company logo and seamlessly promote the company's products and services, including its massive, integrated data library, all while appealing to a broad global audience.

The key challenge stemming from the company's recent acquisitions involved the new subsidiary called A2D, which had made extensive use of the web to sell well log data. Because A2D's customers would now be using the TGS website to access and purchase these data products, the new site would need to make judicious use of the A2D name, to prevent confusion while still promoting TGS as the overall geoscience data provider.

The possibility of future mergers or acquisitions, or simply new service offerings, required that the website be as dynamic and scaleable as possible. More flexibility to change and evolve the site structure and content would mean better longevity, providing TGS with the most return on its web development investment.

Another challenge for this project was the development of content for the Investor Relations area of the website. Because TGS trades on the Oslo stock exchange (Oslo Børs), the investor information had to meet a stringent set of requirements, carefully laying out the company's background and shareholder policies and providing links to key financial data.

In addition to an attractive and sophisticated website design, HexaGroup delivered a flexible content management solution; a front end for the TGS' massive library of seismic surveys and well log database; and an integrated, customized GIS viewer.

For the first phase of the project, HexaGroup's web development team worked to create a look and feel that could be carried throughout the entire website, from the home page to the Newsroom to a detailed map of seismic data for the Timor Sea. The branding that TGS had recently updated was incorporated into the overall design, and the new company logo appeared as a unifying visual element on each page.

Along with a striking visual design, the web design team put in place a content management system that enables administrators to control and protect the website's content, even as individuals around the globe update and contribute to the site. Built on SQL Server and XML technology, the content management system features a user-friendly interface that enables users of any skill level to populate site content, which TGS administrators can approve at their discretion.

The next step was to incorporate the interactive data library into the overall website design, managing the large volume of data while providing a seamless user interface. The library itself was mammoth, with detailed 2D and 3D seismic maps from sites all over the world and over four million well logs, and it needed the room and the means to grow.

For the seismic maps, HexaGroup incorporated into the site an image manipulator based on Microsoft technology, which makes it easy to create clickable image maps on the fly. Even users who are inexperienced with web graphics can add hotspots to a map and publish it to the website, enabling others to drill down to new seismic data for that geographical area.

Adding new well log data was relatively straightforward with the content management system, but that data also needed to be made available for online delivery. To reach the established online customer base of A2D, the new subsidiary of TGS that specialized in well log data on the web, HexaGroup provided a seamless tie-in within the TGS website to the existing A2D e-commerce application.

The final project phase involved the delivery of a GIS viewer, powered by ESRI's ArcIMS technology. HexaGroup collaborated closely with the TGS IT team to provide a full-featured, cross-platform map viewing application with a professional look and feel worthy of the rest of the website.

The completed TGS website (tgsnopec.com ) sports a look that is both up-to-date and clean; a careful balance of traditional and cutting-edge elements, with broad visual appeal. The site promotes the firm's new logo and corporate identity and conforms to the Oslo stock exchange requirements, while prominently featuring its new product offerings and providing seamless e-commerce functionality.

The back end of the website is equally friendly and robust, enabling users both inside and outside the company to add their own images and articles using nothing more complicated than a word processor.

These features add up to a website that solidifies the online image of TGS as a confident global leader in its field, offering its customers both detailed company information and high-tech data delivery with the click of a mouse.