French geoscience technology company CGG has announced that it has completed an exit from the marine acquisition business, closing a deal with Shearwater GeoServices to transfer its vessel assets.
CGG and Shearwater signed a binding term sheet in June, which sees Shearwater took over five high-end seismic vessels jointly owned by CGG and Eidesvik Offshore. A five-year capacity agreement for marine seismic acquisition services between Shearwater and CGG was also signed and is now effective.
Additionally, the agreement covers the creation of a technology partnership under the Sercel brand name and CGG’s majority ownership, for the development, manufacturing, commercialisation and support of marine streamer seismic acquisition systems. CGG said the jv is expected to be finalised during the first half of this year.
“Completing the transaction further increases Shearwater’s scale and capabilities in line with the company’s strategy. The capacity agreement represents significant long-term backlog for Shearwater and strengthens the company’s financial and operational visibility,” said Einar Ytredal, CEO of GC Rieber Shipping, a major shareholder of Shearwater.
“In 2019, we executed key milestones of our 2021 strategy: the exit from marine and seabed acquisition businesses and the wind down of land acquisition operations. We are delighted to enter into this strategic partnership with Shearwater for our multi-client projects and look forward to finalizing the creation of our marine streamer equipment JV under the Sercel brand,” said Sophie Zurquiyah, CEO of CGG.