Oliasoft have received grants from Innovation Norway to bring well construction expertise to the world

“Oliasoft both confirms and consolidates the competitive advantage the Norwegian subcontractor industry has gained over the recent decades in the oil and gas industry. A competitive advantage that is very important to exploit commercially heading towards a more renewable energy industry,” says Bjørn Aage Seem Holmen, senior adviser at Innovation Norway.

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The Oslo-based  company, which was formed in 2015, is currently established with customers and users in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Australia.

Automates workflow

The company uses digital technology to automate the well planning workflow. Their product, which is an Integrated Cloud Engineering (ICE) platform, is the first tool that incorporates all parts of the planning process and provides a unique flow of real-time data. This simplifies the work of building safe and efficient well construction systems.

Optimization also reduces the number of wells, boats and rigs needed. Their automated well construction system minimizes errors caused by users which can be fatal in safety-critical calculations. Also, increased quality of well designs significantly reduces the risk of gas emissions.

“Norway is a world-leading nation in oil and gas technology, and this gives Norway a global competitive advantage,” says André Backen, CEO of Oliasoft.

The corona situation has resulted in lower activity than expected for the company. This autumn Oliasoft received NOK 4 million in extraordinary innovation grants from Innovation Norway to maintain progress in development of the corrosion module. The module will calculate how various liquids and gases cause wear on the steel pipes.

Triggering for investor capital

Backen stresses that capital-intensive and long-term processes often take place in the industry, and that customers’ willingness to pay often is absent until the product is finished.

“The financial support we have received from Innovation Norway has been a trigger to a large extent. We have managed to retrieve NOK 42 million from investors. We would never have been able to achieve this without financial support from Innovation Norway and the Research Council,” he says.

Backen believes the Norwegian Government’s financial instruments, like Innovation Norway, are unique.

«Financial support from these instruments is invaluable when expanding into new markets and at the same time being able to create value in Norway. The opportunity to enter almost closed environments has also been very important”. 

He refers to Innovation Norway’s export program Global Growth and participation in the programs aimed at the USA and Brazil in 2018 and 2019. As a result of the program, Oliasoft established contact with large energy companies which in turn has resulted in important long-term agreements with Shell and US oil companies.

“It often takes time before Americans gain trust to foreign companies, and this was a great way to introduce ourselves and make new contacts”, concludes Backen.