Subsea firms FMC Technologies and Technip are forming an exclusive alliance and launching Forsys Subsea, a new 50/50 joint venture.
The firms say the alliance will "redefine the way subsea fields are designed, delivered and maintained" and will aim to "significantly reduce the cost of subsea field development and provide the technology to maximize well performance over the life of the field."
The move follows a string of joint ventures and alliances in the industry, from OneSubsea, a JV between Cameron and Schlumberger's Framo division, Xodus Subsea, which saw the UK's Xodus Group partner with Saipem and Japan's Chiyoda Corp, and Aker Solutions and Baker Hughes' subsea production alliance.
Last month McDermott International and Petrofac inked a subsea, umbilical, riser and flowline systems (SURF) alliance, following on from an agreement to form a new engineering consultancy, io oil & gas consulting, with GE Oil & Gas. In January, Helix Energy Solutions, Schlumberger and OneSubsea formed a subsea well intervention alliance.
On its launch, Forsys Subsea will have 320 staff and will be supported by the 58,000 employees of FMC Technologies and Technip. The company will be based in London, with regional hubs in Oslo, Houston, Paris, Rio de Janeiro and Singapore. The leadership team of Forsys Subsea will include Rasmus Sunde (FMC Technologies) as CEO, Alain Marion (Technip) as Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Arild Selvig (FMC Technologies) leading front end engineering and Gérald Bouhourd (Technip) leading life of field.
Forsys Subsea will reduce the interfaces of the SURF and subsea production and processing systems (SPS). It will also simplify the seabed layout, reducing complexity, accelerating time to first oil, and maximizing sustainable peak production, according to Technip, driving a "step-change approach to how equipment designs and installation methods converge in a new generation of subsea architecture."
Gathering the expertise and experience of its parent companies, Forsys Subsea will focus on:
In addition, the alliance will be uniquely positioned to deliver and install a seamless subsea infrastructure from seabed to topside by eliminating interfaces and by integrating SPS with SURF, attaining the highest reliability and uptime and the lowest total ownership cost available in the industry.
“The world needs new sources of oil, and deepwater holds the greatest promise of meeting this demand. But these sources are expensive to develop, and operators will not pursue them unless they can significantly reduce costs,” said John Gremp, FMC Technologies Chairman, President and CEO. “This requires not just incremental improvements, but step changes and new ways of thinking. Service providers must be involved at the project concept stage, provide innovative technology that reduces costs, standardize processes and equipment for greater efficiency, and execute flawlessly. The creation of Forsys Subsea with an industry leader such as Technip embodies this new way of thinking to a degree that's never been done before.”
“In today’s fast-changing environment, clients require closer relationships with, and more integrated solutions from, their partners of choice. This imposes a new way of working in the industry,” said Thierry Pilenko, Technip Chairman and CEO. “Beyond products, we need to design optimized development concepts. Beyond concepts, we need to be strongly focused on the practicalities of project execution. Simplicity, standardization, innovation, technological creativity and delivering tangible results to clients — this is exactly what Forsys Subsea is about, and we are delighted to make this step a reality with FMC Technologies.”
FMC Technologies and Technip will have 50/50 ownership of Forsys Subsea. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
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