NOV acquires Norwegian subsea co.
Stavanger-based Seabox provides solutions for the oil industry’s water injection needs
Photo: Sea-box.no
Seabox’s SWIT technology is an integrated subsea system for treatment and injection of seawater.
Rasmus Falck
Oslo, Norway
National Oilwell Varco (NOV) recently acquired 97 percent of the shares in Seabox. NOV has a strong presence in Norway, and subsea is an area in which NOV wants to expand. According to the company, Norway is pretty much the “Silicon Valley” of the industry, so the company thought it was only natural to search for new technologies and ideas here.
In Seabox they have found an innovative yet robust technological solution, which offers more cost-effective solutions, but more importantly offers the oil and gas companies greater flexibility in optimizing their reservoir drainage and field profitability. This is a huge market with some 250 million barrels of seawater injected worldwide every day, which is almost three times daily oil production. According to Norwegian media, the price of Seabox should have been up to 200 million NOK.
Seabox is located in the Stavanger area and provides state of the art technology for subsea water intake and treatment. Its SWIT system is a treatment and injection system for increased oil recovery that can be placed on the seabed. The company was established under the name of Well Processing in 2004, changing its name in 2011. The reason was to have a name more suited to the company’s technology and main activities. Its first patent application, and really the first seed to what later became Seabox, was filed in 2003. Since then there has been constant technical development. The company has had a close relationship with oil companies, and a major part of its financial funding has been from these companies. Another significant financial funding has been through public programs managed by the Norwegian Research Council.
The multinational NOV is based in Greater Sharpstown, Houston, Texas. It is a leading worldwide provider of equipment and components used in oil and gas drilling and production operations, oilfield services, and supply chain integration services to the upstream oil and gas industry. The company conducts operations in more than 1,200 locations across six continents. NOV proudly states that every day, the oil and gas industry’s best minds put more than 150 years of experience to work to help the customers achieve success.
Seabox works as an engineering partner with the oil industry and can perform engineering studies to arrive with the optimum technical solutions for subsea water injection both related to clean and sterile seawater or tailor-made water in which sulphate salinity has been decreased to a set level and the water has been given the desired chemical properties.
Helge Lund, founder and CEO of Seabox, is very excited to team up with the American global organization: “This will significantly increase our reach and chances of succeeding in commercializing our technology. We are convinced that our growth will be faster and stronger!”
This article originally appeared in the June 19, 2015, issue of the Norwegian American Weekly. To subscribe, visit SUBSCRIBE or call us at (206) 784-4617.
