FMC Technologies Inc. and Technip have signed an agreement to form an exclusive alliance and to launch Forsys Subsea, a 50/50 joint venture that will unite the skills and capabilities of two subsea giants.

After closing and upon launch of the joint venture, Forsys Subsea will have a workforce of 320 people and will be supported by the 58,000 employees of FMC Technologies and Technip.

The company will be headquartered in London, with regional hubs in Oslo, Houston, Paris, Rio de Janeiro and Singapore. The leadership team of Forsys Subsea will include Rasmus Sunde (FMC Technologies) as CEO, Alain Marion (Technip) as Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Arild Selvig (FMC Technologies) leading front end engineering and Gérald Bouhourd (Technip) leading life of field.

According to its parent companies, Forsys Subsea will focus on:

- Early involvement in the concept selection phase of front-end engineering and design, when ability to influence cost is greatest;

- Integrated life-of-field well surveillance, monitoring, data interpretation and advisory services;

- Joint R&D to drive technological innovations that will boost efficiency and further reduce development costs.

This alliance will redefine the way subsea fields are designed, delivered and maintained.

“The world needs new sources of oil, and deepwater holds the greatest promise of meeting this demand. But these sources are expensive to develop, and operators will not pursue them unless they can significantly reduce costs,” said John Gremp, FMC Technologies Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. “This requires not just incremental improvements, but step changes and new ways of thinking. Service providers must be involved at the project concept stage, provide innovative technology that reduces costs, standardize processes and equipment for greater efficiency, and execute flawlessly. The creation of Forsys Subsea with an industry leader such as Technip embodies this new way of thinking to a degree that’s never been done before.”

“In today’s fast-changing environment, clients require closer relationships with, and more integrated solutions from, their partners of choice. This imposes a new way of working in the industry,” said Thierry Pilenko, Technip Chairman and CEO. “Beyond products, we need to design optimized development concepts. Beyond concepts, we need to be strongly focused on the practicalities of project execution. Simplicity, standardization, innovation, technological creativity and delivering tangible results to clients — this is exactly what Forsys Subsea is about, and we are delighted to make this step a reality with FMC Technologies.”

FMC Technologies and Technip will have 50/50 ownership of Forsys Subsea. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.