Total, Aker Solutions developing ‘cost-effective’ subsea field technology

French oil company Total, and Norwegian oilfield services provider Aker Solutions will collaborate on research and innovation with the aim to develop new cost-effective subsea field technology.

The initial four-year technical collaboration agreement will build on earlier cooperation and bring both companies closer in developing technologies that will reduce costs and increase value at subsea oil and gas fields, Aker Solutions said in a statement on Tuesday.

In 2016, the partnership says it explore a wide range of issues, including further evolution of subsea processing and compression systems to boost cost-efficiency of deepwater gas production, development of electric subsea controls and optimization of flow-measurement technologies. Further scope of the collaboration will be defined over the next months.

“This joint effort reinforces our common interest in finding more effective solutions to maximize value from subsea field developments,” said Hervé Valla, chief technology officer at Aker Solutions. “It allows us to work more closely with Total to solve technical challenges faced by the industry today and to reduce the time needed to bring subsea technology to the market.”