Eversheds has advised FMC Technologies, on an agreement with France-based Technip, to form an exclusive alliance and to launch Forsys Subsea.

The 50/50 joint venture will unite the skills and capabilities of the two subsea industry leaders, and define the way subsea fields are designed, delivered and maintained.

Bringing together FMC Technologies and Technip, Forsys Subsea will have the technical capabilities, products and systems to significantly reduce the cost of subsea field development.

By combining the technologies of the two companies, Forsys Subsea will reduce the interfaces of the subsea umbilical, riser and flowline systems (SURF) and subsea production and processing systems (SPS). In addition, the alliance will be uniquely positioned to deliver and install a seamless subsea infrastructure from seabed to topside by eliminating interfaces and by integrating SPS with SURF, attaining the highest reliability and uptime and the lowest total ownership cost available in the industry.

This unique combination will drive a new, step-change approach to how equipment designs and installation methods converge in a new generation of subsea architecture.

Eversheds advised on all the legal aspects of the joint venture agreement including all the underlying transfer of assets, employment and IP issues.

The Eversheds team was led by Partners Antony Walsh, Jason Lovell and Elizabeth Graves.

Antony Walsh commented:

“This collaboration is the first of its kind in the oil and gas sector and we are extremely pleased to have assisted with such an innovative and revolutionary transaction. The industry is constantly changing and organisations must look at different routes to market. This trailblazing deal will definitely shape the industry and we look forward to seeing how it continues to evolve.”