Baker Hughes, Aker Solutions join forces offshore

HOUSTON, April 22 (UPI) -- Oil services company Baker Hughes said Tuesday it formed an alliance with energy contractor Aker Solutions to improve recovery rates from offshore fields.

A non-incorporated alliance will bring the two companies together in an effort to increase recovery rates from deepwater oil and natural gas fields at a reduced cost.

Martin Craighead, chairman and chief executive officer at Baker Hughes, said deepwater fields have been so far plagued by low recover rates and gaining access to fields located in extreme subsea environments makes them costly to develop.

"Subsea factory development is a key focus for Aker Solutions and the partnership with Baker Hughes will provide critical capabilities that will help us develop technologies to create a fully-functioning subsea production system which will improve recovery rates and lower costs for oil producers," his counterpart at Aker Solutions, Oyvind Eriksen, said.

The company's said they'd focus their joint efforts from a central location in Houston.