Blue Ocean Seismic Services has secured a £10-million investment from a group of energy technology and investment companies: bp Ventures, Woodside Energy and Blue Ocean Monitoring.
The investment should help continue the development of a fully integrated system which uses long endurance self-repositioning autonomous underwater nodes to conduct offshore seismic surveys for oil and gas exploration and reservoir optimisation, whilst also identifying and monitoring carbon storage opportunities under the seabed.
The technology has been designed to be fully containerised, scalable and modular.
While collecting seismic data, the vehicle should deliver substantial cost savings and facilitate a significant reduction in survey time, BOSS says.
As a result it will enable much faster data delivery and at a lower cost compared to current technologies.
In addition to these commercial benefits, BOSS says the system will reduce the HSSE risks, while the reduced survey time and the use of autonomous vessels will have a range of environmental benefits such as significantly reduced carbon emissions during operations.
To support the project, BOSS has appointed a technical team, and has a number of forthcoming engineering roles.
The team has also established a new corporate head office, lab and workshop facility in Farnborough, UK, adding to its existing premises in Perth, Australia. It is planning to open other offices from next year.
All three investors have joined the company at Board level.
Simon Illingworth, MD & CEO of Blue Ocean Seismic Services, said:
“This significant investment marks an important milestone in the development of our revolutionary underwater vehicle and we are excited to be opening up a range of new job opportunities in Farnborough.
“This support from major industry innovators serves as a strong endorsement for our technology and vision as we continue our journey to disrupt the marine seismic acquisition sector. Through our technology, future customers will be able to explore the subsurface of the ocean whilst substantially reducing risk, carbon emissions, duration and cost, enabling customers to overcome a range of challenges.”