Norwegian offshore vessel operator Reach Subsea is branching out into monitoring of CO2 storage reservoirs and oil and gas fields.
The Haugesund-based company has struck a deal with domestic energy giant Equinor to acquire its shares in Bergen-headquartered geophysical survey player Octio.
Reach will also buy associated operation MonViro, which is a carbon storage monitoring specialist owned by Octio employees.
The deal will be funded through cash in hand, although financial terms were not disclosed.
Certain Octio staff will subscribe for 974,700 new shares in Reach at NOK 3 each for a total of NOK 2.9m ($326,000).
The acquisition will deepen Reach's technology competence and expand its value chain, accelerating the company's strategy of becoming a full-service provider of subsea data and solutions for clients globally, according to Reach chief executive Jostein Alendal.
Long relationship
"We have worked with Octio for several years and are well-acquainted with how their cost-efficient and highly-accurate survey and monitoring technology enhances data value for clients and provides optimal solutions for monitoring of future CO2 reservoir storage," he added.
The transaction complements its Reach Remote autonomous subsea vessel venture launching with Kongsberg Maritime in 2023.
Octio was set up in 2006 and performs geophysical studies.
"For CO2 reservoir storage monitoring, Octio's core monitoring technology, 4D gravity, has demonstrated success and has been utilised on the two CO2 sequestration projects in Norway, Sleipner and Snohvit," said Reach.
The company offers an alternative to seismic surveys using remote operated vehicles at 10% of the cost, the buyer added.
'Enormous' potential
"We are excited to be joining forces with Reach Subsea, a fast-growing subsea operations provider serving energy majors across the world," said Leon Lovheim, CEO of Octio.
"We believe there is enormous potential through the combination of our organisations to support clients in enhancing their field recovery rates, improve reservoir management and optimise subsea infrastructure through our services and data insights offering," he added.
Equinor Ventures head Gareth Burns said his company believes the next phase of Octio's development is better served by an owner with a broad customer base.
