Magseis acquires node-on-a-rope business amid ‘optimistic’ OBN market outlook

Business & Finance

March 4, 2022, by Ajsa Habibic

Norwegian survey services provider Magseis Fairfield has entered into an agreement with compatriot Carbon Transition to acquire its proprietary node-on-a-rope business.

By purchasing Carbon Transition’s unit, Magseis is looking to reinforce the ocean bottom node (OBN) market and improve its competitive situation.

Carbon Transition said it is divesting the node-on-a-rope business for a consideration of up to $12 million.

As disclosed, Magseis pays an initial $0.5 million and enters a profit-sharing model with the seller for surveys executed with this equipment over the coming three years.

The node handling systems acquired by Magseis are currently installed on two Havila vessels with an additional system onshore.

They have been previously used for Carbon Transition’s large survey for ONGC in India and other surveys in the Middle East and the North Sea.

The sale does not include the multiclient business and the company retains the full upside of the Utsira and the Gulf of Suez multiclient surveys, Carbon Transition remarked.

Commenting on the purchase, Magseis’ CEO Carel Hooijkaas said: “We see an increasingly optimistic outlook for a market recovery for OBN services in 2022 and beyond, and with this acquisition, we are further consolidating the market with a minimal upfront payment. In a global environment with significant supply chain delays, this asset purchase gives us a time-to-market advantage to capture project opportunities.

“This acquisition adds to our delivery capability in the mid-water-depth market, and we improve our competitive situation in this market segment. The deal structure limits our financial risk and gives us the ability to deploy additional capacity quickly as the market continues to improve.”