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Royal IHC (IHC) has joined forces with Tompkins UK – the parent company of Modus Seabed Intervention – to enter the deep and ultra-deep water, oil and gas geotechnical survey and site investigation market under the banner of TI Geosciences.

Tompkins’ extensive experience and track record in offshore, subsea and geotechnical contracting fields, combined with IHC’s engineering and advanced system design and development capabilities, will deliver world-class services to the oil and gas industry in this challenging sector, IHC said in a press release.

TI Geosciences will initially provide cone penetration test (CPT)/gravity coring services. These will be based on Tompkins’ deep-push, buoyancy stabilised, deep-water CPT system – equipped with AP van den Berg’s digital pressure compensated Icone – deployed from a Swire Pacific Offshore G-class platform supply vessel.

Remote seabed drilling services are also scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2015, with the first in a range of IHC’s SWORD (sonic wireline-operated remote drill) systems, which will also be deployed from a Swire G-class vessel. Services will be ISO 19901-6 and -8 compliant.

The SWORD systems will remain within IHC’s research and development programme. This will enable operating experience and new industry/technical demands to be fed into a process of continuous improvement, with the aim of each subsequent system continuing to raise the bar.

This advanced technology and a new cloud-based data management system will enable the company to simplify processes, reduce reporting time, enhance quality and increase competitiveness. Overall, it will be equipped to gain and sustain a market-leading position.

Supported by an initial investment of €17million, TI Geosciences will be based in Darlington, UK, with operating bases in Teeside, Singapore and Saldahna Bay, South Africa. It will benefit from the support and global reach of IHC’s international network of office, production and engineering facilities.