Odfjell Drilling has entered into an agreement to sell its 37% stake in Robotic Drilling Systems after the robotics company reached a deal to sell all of its shares to drilling contractor Nabors Industries.
Robotic Drilling Systems, formerly Seabed Rig, develops and supplies robotic drilling rigs for unmanned land and deepwater drilling operations. Odfjell Drilling became a major shareholder in the company in 2014.
The transaction will generate an estimated accounting gain of around $11m for Odfjell Drilling. The deal is expected to be closed in the third quarter of 2017.
As part of the transaction, Odfjell Drilling and Nabors have signed a memorandum of understanding with the intention to establish a strategic cooperation agreement which will ensure Odfjell Drilling access to RDS’ robotic technologies for Odfjell Drilling’s existing and future drilling rigs.
“We are very pleased to sell RDS to Nabors. In the 3 years Odfjell Drilling has been a shareholder in RDS, we have worked closely with the company to develop and field-prove its robotic drilling products. The company is now at the verge of full scale commercialisation and we are confident that Nabors, having a manufacturing group in Canrig, will be a good future home for this exciting technology,” said Per Lund, senior vice president, innovation in Odfjell Drilling.
