Texas-based Avatar Systems, Inc. has been awarded a highly competitive $1.2 million contract with a large Dallas oil and gas management company for its System i-based energy software solution, the company announced today.

Chuck Shreve, Avatar Systems, Inc. president and chief executive officer, said, "This is a significant win for us. We have gone head-to-head with most of our major competitors in a rigorous selection process and demonstrated that our software is the most effective and easiest to use in a heavy transaction processing environment for this customer. Our product innovation and superiority have been recognized by very knowledgeable audiences from the oil and gas industry. This contract represents a large contract for Avatar Systems and the addition of such a significant client is another milestone for our company." The company did not release the name of its client.

The Avatar 400 Energy Solution is capable of performing the intensive transaction processing required by the customer, Shreve said. "The Avatar 400 Energy Solution on the IBM AS/400 iSeries was the perfect solution and cut the customer's processing time for millions of transactions per month. Simply put, that's why we won the contract. We now have the honor of being awarded this high profile contract to go with our previous best-in-class client base of almost 700 customers."

Strong fourth-quarter sales and this latest large contract demonstrate that Avatar is a leader in offering oil and gas software solutions, the company said. The company's products and service offerings continue to gain market share as it executes a growth strategy including strategic acquisitions. "We have developed and acquired a strong product mix and can be competitive on any level for upstream oil and gas companies," says Shreve. This sale will result in additional revenues recognized in both 2007 and 2008 fiscal years, he said.

Avatar Systems' headquarters is in Frisco, Texas, with branch offices in Midland and Tyler . The Company provides ERP/accounting software and computing infrastructure solutions for companies engaged in the petroleum exploration and production industry. Avatar has a growing customer base for its Petroware2000, Integra Energy products for Microsoft Windows, Avatar400 on the IBM AS/400-iSeries-System i platform, and subscribers utilizing its software as a service (SaaS) on-demand ASP services. Avatar's products and services provide an excellent resource for critical information management requirements of the petroleum industry. Avatar also provides document imaging, workflow and business process management, as well as disaster recovery and remote backup services for all vertical markets. For more information, visit http://www.avatarsystems.net/.