Nanaimo-based SEAMOR Marine Ltd. is receiving an investment of up to $100,000 from the Women Entrepreneurship Fund offered by the Government of Canada. Among only three companies on Vancouver Island, SEAMOR Marine joins approximately 200 other women-led businesses across Canada to receive this funding.

Leading ROV and hydrographic survey company, Rovco, has been awarded further funding to develop the next stage of its integrated live 3D vision and artificial intelligence (AI) survey technology. This brings the combined total in technology grants for the UK subsea services company to £1.46 million.

ROVOP Limited, (“Rovop”) an independent operator of underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), is to immediately increase its fleet by 50% to meet ongoing customer demand following a funding boost of £56m.

-Industry body urges organisations to step forward with game changing technologies- Industry body Subsea UK in partnership with Scottish Enterprise has today announced that it has opened an R&D funding call for innovation projects to drive forward research and development projects between Scotland and Japan that will help solve the industry’s most complex technological challenges.

Fledging subsea firms will discover how they can overcome common financial challenges through industry supported and government-backed initiatives at an event in Aberdeen on 26th October. The workshop will explore the wide range of tools and resources available to SMEs, technology developers and innovative companies, providing market expertise, funding, skills and organisational support.

A major funding package for the Institute of Petroleum Engineering (IPE) at Heriot-Watt University will directly support research and training for the future of the industry in UK offshore waters. Heriot-Watt’s Chief Scientist, Professor John Underhill, has secured funding of £416k from Verus Petroleum, an independent oil company active on the United Kingdom continental Shelf (UKCS). The award will support a number of oil and gas related training and Applied Geoscience research activities in IPE including the NERC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT), the Ogilvie-Gordon 3D Audio-Visualisation Centre (OGAVC) and UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) and Frontier Basins PhD research activities.

SEATTLE - APRIL 24, 2017: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has selected BluHaptics to receive new grant funding to apply its proprietary software to remote robotic operations in space. Synchronizing what a robot sees and does through advanced applications of real-time modeling, force feedback and machine learning, BluHaptics’ software addresses the challenges of latency, spatial awareness and control that have long limited robots’ effectiveness in space.

The Industry Technology Facilitator (ITF) and the Oil & Gas Innovation Centre (OGIC) have joined forces to fund and support the development of innovations which could reduce costs, raise production efficiency, and improve safety and environmental performance. OGIC has made £1 million available to support companies with projects that require research and development to be undertaken at a Scottish university. OGIC can fund up to 70% of these costs and ITF can potentially ‘top-up’ financial support if an innovative project engages the interest of its members.

ROV services company, Rovco, has secured Innovate UK funding which will enable the firm to carry out extensive research and development activity and perform a full feasibility study into the advancement of underwater 3D modelling technology. Once developed into a real-time inspection system this technology has the potential to revolutionise the way energy companies manage and inspect their subsea assets, potentially saving hundreds of millions of pounds in subsea inspection costs each year. The project will be 70% supported by Innovate UK and the remaining 30% will be funded by Rovco. The newly-formed company will be seeking further equity investment in the 2nd quarter 2017 as it looks to engage with subsea companies, software developers and universities across the country to become collaborative partners in the firm’s latest venture.

Aberdeen based Subsea International Ltd has agreed an equipment funding arrangement with Ashwood Partnerships in the Midlands to enable their customers to access financial support for purchasing equipment. Subsea International is an equipment sourcing and technical support hub operating in oil and gas, offshore renewables, decommissioning, defence and nuclear sectors, providing lifting and handling, subsea electronics and bespoke engineering solutions and technical services to their customers. Ashwood Partnerships specialise in sourcing and implementing funding solutions that help companies create opportunities, increase sales, save time and reduce costs. Their ethos of ‘business first, funding second’, Ashwood Partnerships evaluate every funding solution from a business perspective.

The ongoing oil price volatility has taken its toll on all aspects of companies who operate in support of offshore work and that includes funding options. However, Bridge & York Capital Partners (“BYCP”) takes a much more granular approach in dealing with clients and transactions, and advises its appetite for the right client with the right opportunity is even stronger than previously.