PXGEO places order for over 20 Saab underwater vehicles

June 6, 2023, by Nadja Skopljak

Dubai-headquartered marine geophysical company PXGEO has placed an order with Saab for the delivery of over 20 autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) for a value of approximately €53.3 million.

The order includes more than 20 Sabertooth vehicles making it Saab’s largest Sabertooth order to date, the company stated.

The vehicles will form part of PXGEO’s MantaRay solution for offshore seismic data acquisition and will be used for the deployment and recovery of equipment during ocean bottom surveys.

According to Saab, the order value is SEK 620 million (approximately €53.3 million), with deliveries set to take place in the period between 2023 and 2025.

“We are excited to bring the efficiency and reliability of the autonomous Sabertooth platform to the offshore seismic industry. The combined efforts between PXGEO’s engineering team and Saab in the development of MantaRay will revolutionize our industry and finally unlock the full potential of ocean bottom node seismic in line with PXGEO’s commitment to United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals,” said Tony Bowman, CEO of PXGEO.

To remind, PXGEO and Saab announced yesterday that they had developed what is said to be a next-generation ocean bottom node (OBN) handling system in a push to make offshore seismic data acquisition fully autonomous.

The fully-electrical system is said to allow complete survey design flexibility providing optimal imaging to eliminate geological risk, minimizing seabed impact and reducing crew and operational exposure.

“Together with PXGEO, we are taking the step to make offshore seismic data acquisition fully autonomous. This is a great achievement, made possible by our combined expertise,” said Görgen Johansson, head of Saab’s business area Dynamics.

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