MEXICO CITY, Sept 7 (Mexico) – Mexican state oil monopoly Pemex awarded a $464 million contract to France’s CGG Veritas (GEPH.PA) to search for crude in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, Pemex said on Monday.

the Paris geophysical-services company, received a contract from the Mexican oil giant Pemex to acquire and process three-dimensional seismic data offshore the Gulf of Mexico. The contract, extending from October 2009 through 2013, is valued at $465 million, CGG Veritas said in a statement on Wednesday.

Pemex, fighting to halt declining reserves and production, said the geophysical survey company would provide more than 46,000 square miles (75,000 square km) of 3D images over five years.

“This work will improve the precision in finding oil wealth in the deep Gulf of Mexico,” Pemex [PEMX.UL] said in a statement.

Mexican oil output has fallen by nearly a quarter since 2004 as output from the aging Cantarell field has slumped.