Argeo AS: Argeo order a newbuild AUV and secures a significant survey contract
Tuesday 27 April 2021
Argeo has placed an order for a newbuild SeaRaptor 6000 Autonomous Underwater Vehicle “AUV” from Teledyne Gavia with delivery taking place in the beginning of 2022 at a cost of NOK 65 million. The delivery includes several ancillary system components, software and crew training.
In parallel with acquiring the AUV Argeo has secured a deep-water survey in the Pacific region for an un-named scheduled in several projects over a three year period (“The Campaign”) with a total contract value estimated between NOK 30-40 million and potential for further extension.
Teledyne Gavia SeaRaptor 6000
The Company is pleased to announce that the design, specification, and procurement of the AUV have been successfully carried out in close cooperation with Teledyne Gavia, a global leader in the provision of Unmanned Maritime Systems, Teledyne Marine. The detailed work carried out ensures that Argeo will receive a state-of-art high specification AUV. The AUV is modular and very mobile (air transportable) with supporting systems which can be strategically placed in our Geomarkets for rapid deployment between regions. All data collected will be processed onboard (the AUV) using onboard-postprocessing and mosaicking software to allow quick turnaround during missions and improved decision making for the customer. The cost of the AUV is approximately NOK 65 million.
The AUV system will be the Company’s second vehicle contributing to our growing robotics fleet and enable deep-sea surveys to the benefit of marine industries including: Installations & Infrastructure, Offshore Wind, Oil & Gas and Deep Sea Minerals.
Deep Sea Minerals (DSM) contract
The AUV is scheduled to start work on a deep-sea mineral and environmental impact study campaign in the Pacific region immediately after completing Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) of the AUV. The Campaign contract value over the period of three years is estimated between NOK 30 to 40 million. The Company intend to further upscale project activity in the region with the system already present thus reducing mobilization cost for our customers needing high-quality deep-sea data.
Mr. Trond F. Crantz, CEO of Argeo commented as follows:
“The ordering of this newbuild AUV and signing it off on a significant survey contract straight away, proves that Argeo already has put our recent private placement to good use and why our investors strongly believe in our vision and capability. With this investment and contract Argeo become one of the very first Norwegian companies committed and engaged in the growing Deep Sea Mineral market. This also ensures that Norway will have a solid and experienced service provider available in the coming exploration activities on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. This exciting opportunity will bring new information back as to the nature and composition of the deepest parts of the planet. The presence in the region will enable other project opportunities in all our market segments in addition to potential MultiClient data projects.”