Offshore staff
BERGEN, Norway – GC Rieber Shipping ASA has signed an agreement with Rasmussengruppen AS to establish a jointly owned marine geophysical company called Shearwater GeoServices AS.
Shearwater GeoServices will aim to become an integrated provider of marine geophysical services to oil and gas and multi-client companies worldwide.
Rasmussengruppen has experience from investing in maritime industries and oil services over several decades.
GC Rieber Shipping and Rasmussengruppen will own the company 50/50.
Shearwater will take over the four high-capacity seismic vessels;Polar Empress, Polar Duke, Polar Duchess, and Polar Marquis, and the partners will also inject $60 million in equity in cash. Terms have been renegotiated with the lending banks for the four vessels.
The new joint venture also has agreed on the main terms to purchase the seismic equipment (including streamers) and the operative entity, Dolphin Geophysical UK Ltd., which includes the processing business from the former lending banks ofDolphin Geophysical ASA.
Shearwater will receive technical and crewing support from GC Rieber Shipping with regards to marine operations. Shearwater’s own organization is being established, in part on former Dolphin Geophysical staff and in part on new hires, and will be capable of offering customers with fully integrated geophysical services and operations from the start.
The agreement between GC Rieber Shipping and Rasmussengruppen is conditional upon final loan documentation with the lending banks in line with agreed term sheets, as well as entering into final sales and purchase agreements for the seismic equipment. The transaction is expected to close in 4Q 2016.
10/13/2016
