Aberdeen headquartered Sigma Offshore has won a fund totaling GBP4m ($6.1m) from National Oilwell Varco (NOV), Scottish Enterprise's Scottish Venture Fund (SVF) and venture capital firm, Energy Ventures that will allow the company to continue with the development of its Smart Mooring System (SMS) and its other mobile production offerings.
The company said that SMS is a cost-efficient external turret and fluid transfer system with unlimited weather-vaning for oil and gas vessels.
Benefits of the system include the ability to operate in harsh environments, efficient connect/reconnect systems, minimal invasion into the ship’s hull and low maintenance costs, according to Sigma.
The company claims SMS, which uses technology in a more efficient way for many applications, could save clients up to 30%.
The company has targeted SMS for markets in Gulf of Mexico, South America, West and North Africa, the North Sea, South East Asia and Australian waters. A bespoke SMS can cost from GBP10m ($15.3m) to GBP30m ($46m) or more, while competitive mooring systems can cost GBP25m ($38.1m) to GBP50m ($76.3m).
This investment follows GBP2m of funding secured from Scottish Enterprise’s SVF and Energy Ventures in May last year. Sigma secured GBP1m investment from SVF, while Energy Ventures, an original investor and the company’s major shareholder, provided the rest.
In addition to FSO and FPSO mooring and fluid transfer solutions, Sigma Offshore delivers extended well testing systems, floating production export system solutions, subsea solutions and project management.