The Greater Fort Bend Economic Development Council (GFBEDC) announced today that Global Geophysical Services, Inc. (Global) will be relocating its Houston office and expanding its local presence by building a 50,000 sf facility in the Beltway Crossing Business Park at S. Gessner and US 90A in Missouri City, Texas, Fort Bend County.

The City of Missouri City and Fort Bend County offered tax abatement packages to encourage the company to locate to Fort Bend. The company is currently leasing 10,000 sf of office space in Houston, 4,000 sf of warehouse in Texas City, and 6,000 sf of warehouse in Katy. Global will consolidate its operations into 29,000 sf of office and approximately 22,000 sf of warehouse on 17.9 acres in Missouri City. Approximately 36 employees will be moving to the new location, and the company expects to add 40-50 employees locally over the next 5 years. There are approximately 230 other employees in the field domestically and an additional 100 employees located internationally. Global will invest over $6 million in its new facility.

“Beltway Crossing Business Park in Missouri City is the perfect place to grow our business,” stated Richard Degner, founder and President of Global Geophysical Services, Inc. “Beltway Crossing’s unique location is ideal, as it is close to our Houston-based clientele and is in the center of our vendor base and employee base. It offers quick and easy access to Beltway 8, US 90A and US 59, and the size of our land hold gives us adequate room for growth. I expect this base to be Global’s worldwide headquarters for many years to come.”

Missouri City mayor Allen Owen noted that “the company’s quality jobs and professional compensation packages were a big factor in our decision process, not to mention their fast growth and future growth projects. This is the kind of industrial project we are trying to attract to our City.”

“This is the first tax abatement granted in Missouri City in over 5 years” stated Bob Graf, Missouri City Economic Development Coordinator. “We’re excited that Global chose Missouri City for their new home.” The County’s Commissioners Court offered an attractive tax abatement on new improvements that matched the city’s offer. “More and more companies are looking to Houston’s suburban markets to locate their businesses,” added Barkley Peschel, Vice President Development for the GFBEDC. “Fort Bend is the closest suburban market to Houston offering all of the business and quality of life amenities that companies are looking for, while only being located a few miles from Houston’s CBD and the city’s finest attractions.

Global is a young, privately held seismic company founded by Richard Degner, former President of PGS Onshore and former Vice President of Western Geophysical (now a Schlumberger company. It is staffed with veterans of internationally respected seismic firms. Global provides land, transition zone, and shallow marine seismic surveys using state-of-the-art technology to deliver superior service and data quality to its clients. The information is used by oil and gas exploration and production companies to image complex subsurface structural details to help them identify and produce sources of hydrocarbons.

Global completed their inaugural year of operation with revenue of over $25 million and $1.2 million in net income. The company’s goal is to gain a 10% market share of the seismic acquisition industry over the next five years, which would be approximately $250 million in annual revenues. “At the growth rate we are on, we may get there quicker” added Degner.

Recent announcements in Fort Bend such Sunoco Logistics, Cardinal Health, Rolls-Royce Energy Systems and Mechanical Equipment Corporation (MECO) attest to the county’s attractiveness.

Groundbreaking for the Global Geophysical property is expected in early summer.

For more information, contact:
Barkley Peschel, Vice President Development
Greater Fort Bend Economic Development Council
One Fluor Daniel Drive
Sugar Land, Texas 77478
(281) 242-0000
bpeschel@fortbendcounty.org