Geoscience specialist CGG and Russian shipper Sovcomflot have signed a joint venture agreement to form a company dedicated to conducting 3D marine seismic acquisition services with a focus on Arctic and sub-Arctic waters.
The joint venture, to be called Arctic Geophysical Exploration (AGE), will be 51 per cent owned by Sovcomflot and 49 per cent owned by CGG.
The company will be incorporated in Russia with its headquarters in Moscow. Under the terms of the agreement, CGG will charter a fourteen-streamer ice-class vessel while Sovcomflot will add the capabilities of an eight-streamer ice-class vessel.
The primary aim of the joint venture company is to offer 3D marine seismic acquisition services to operators during the Arctic navigation season.
CGG and Sovcomflot will have a combined total of four vessels scheduled to operate on client projects during the 2014 Arctic navigation season, and expect the joint venture to be fully operational by Q4 2014, in order to capture the growing 3D seismic market in this region.
Jean-Georges Malcor, CEO at CGG, said: “The Russian Arctic is an exciting new frontier that has increasingly shown its potential over the last two years.
By bringing together the two companies’ strong HSE cultures, Sovcomflot’s considerable Arctic maritime experience and Russian presence along with CGG’s expertise as a leading technology provider, we believe this joint venture will create a strong vehicle for growth in this demanding region.”
[mappress] June 19, 2014