Viridien, formerly CGG, is a global technology and Earth data company focused on leveraging advanced science, digital solutions, and high-performance computing. It operates at the intersection of geoscience, technology, and sustainability to address complex global challenges.
How does your subsurface imaging create tangible impact for clients across industries—and can you share specific examples where it’s improved environmental outcomes?
We're a geoscience company at heart. Our work relies on advanced digital technology, high-performance computing, and subsurface Earth data. Today, about 90% of our client base is in oil and gas, where we support exploration and development. We’ve been around since 1931, with about 3,200 people and $1.1 billion in revenue last year. Our core offering is high-resolution subsurface imaging, down to tens of meters, miles below the Earth’s surface, which requires significant data processing and helps optimize well placement and production. Without our technology many more wells would need to be drilled.
As the world, and we evolve, we’re also supporting carbon sequestration, mining, geothermal energy, and infrastructure monitoring. Our solutions enable lower-impact and lower-risk resource extraction and support the reuse of existing Earth data. In the US Gulf, for example, our imaging helps avoid high-pressure zones, helping to prevent accidents like Macondo.
Better well placement can reduce costs and environmental footprint—one optimally designed well can replace two or more.
We’ve supported projects like Northern Lights in Norway, helping identify carbon storage reservoirs, and used our global database to screen and de-risk both carbon and geothermal sites.
What does the recent rebrand from CGG to Viridien signify about the company’s renewed strategy and direction?
After I became CEO in 2018, we exited seismic data acquisition, which had become commoditized and commercially risky, and shifted toward high-tech, differentiated services. Today, we focus on three areas: sensing and monitoring solutions; Earth data, particularly in key regions like Brazil, the US Gulf, and Norway; and geoscience, where we use high-performance computing to generate subsurface images.
We have around 1,200 people in geoscience alone, including 900 with master's or PhDs. Our computing centers are continuously being updated and today operate around 600 petaflops of capacity. The name Viridien comes from “Viridian,” a blue-green color symbolizing both our Earth science and environmental focus. It also means "Fresh, green, drawn from the roots," which reflects our heritage and long-term commitment to this field, along with our new growth ambitions.
As you expand into areas like mining, geothermal, and infrastructure, where are your technologies gaining traction—and what challenges do you face in breaking into these sectors?
We’re active in mineral exploration and mining, geothermal, and infrastructure monitoring. For example, our Sercel sensing & monitoring equipment was recently used to map geothermal potential in Geneva. For carbon storage, our analytics capabilities help assess fault systems to prevent CO2 leakage and we provide integrated geoscience packages to de-risk potential sequestration sites. Our Earth data library and subsurface modeling supports exploration of minerals like copper and lithium and we also support the monitoring of mine tailings, bridges, and dams using our real-time sensing systems.
Each sector has different barriers. In mining, adoption of new technology is slow, especially as companies move from near-surface to deeper exploration. In carbon storage, priorities can shift quickly mainly based on government regulations. We're also supporting oil and gas clients with physics-based high-performance computing for modeling and digital twins. Our work in data curation and classification continues to expand, particularly for subsurface data. Our background in Earth data, sensing and understanding the subsurface naturally extends into these adjacent sectors.
Which regions are you prioritizing, and how are local market dynamics shaping your geographic focus?
Our focus is on regions where both oil and gas and energy transition activity are strong. The US is key, especially in the shallow Gulf, where sequestration projects are growing. Houston is becoming a major energy hub. The UK leans more toward energy transition. We’ve placed business leads strategically: geoscience in the UK, Earth data in the US, and sensing and monitoring in France.
We’re also active in Asia, Brazil, and the Middle East, including Abu Dhabi. Europe moved earlier on carbon storage, but US incentives helped it catch up. Asia has been a pleasant surprise, with growing interest in both carbon and minerals from countries like Thailand and Malaysia. We follow demand, focusing on where legacy energy and transition projects are developing side by side.
In a competitive field, clients have options when it comes to technology and data providers. What are the key factors that lead them to choose Viridien over others?
Clients value our advanced technology and deep expertise. We hold over 50% market share in geoscience, around 20% in Earth data—and are particularly strong in the US Gulf, Brazil, and Norway—and about 50% in sensing and monitoring. Our clients rely on us for insights they can’t get elsewhere, and for consistently delivering high technical quality.
Beyond technical strength, clients appreciate how we anticipate their challenges and deliver better answers without added cost. We aim to provide the best available solution at any given time, combining scientific rigor, domain expertise, and responsiveness. That balance sets us apart.
Since stepping away from field operations, what steps are you taking to address the more difficult challenge of indirect emissions across your value chain?
Since exiting the data acquisition market in 2018–2019, which eliminated a vast amount of our emissions, we’ve already reduced the rest of our direct emissions by over 70% compared to our 2019 baseline. About 80% of our energy is from low-carbon sources, and we already use 100% renewable electricity in many key locations. Most of our production sites are ISO 14001 certified, and we expect all to meet ISO 50001 energy efficiency standards by year-end 2025.
The harder challenge is indirect emissions, which account for over 90% of our footprint. We're working toward net zero by 2050, including reducing supplier emissions and designing more efficient products. Our new Sercel Accel drop node system for seismic surveys can reduce geophysical contractors’ carbon footprints, operational costs and HSE risk significantly by allowing them to operate more efficiently. We're also improving our data center efficiency with immersion cooling and aligning with the EU Code of Conduct for sustainable IT operations. Continuous improvement drives our sustainability efforts.
