Wave energy company eyes oil & gas market

US-based wave energy developer Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) has formed a strategic alliance with HAI Technologies to explore options in the oil & gas market.

The two companies will pursue mutual opportunities through a joint applications development and marketing agreement with an initial focus on offshore oil and gas subsea chemical injection systems where persistent power and real-time data communications are critical, OPT said.

OPT has developed a PB3 PowerBuoy that harvests the energy of the waves, and can act as both power and communication platform for remote offshore applications.

George Kirby, OPT Chief Executive Officer stated: “Chemical injection systems require persistent and reliable power, and we believe OPT’s PB3 PowerBuoy can provide prime and augmented power and real-time system control communications which may enable the cost reduction and simplification of transporting chemicals over long distances.”

HAI Technologies, based in Houston, Texas, specializes in products both for high power long wave acoustics, and oil and gas subsea field development.

Commenting on the newly formed alliance with OPT, Dan Krohn, HAI Technologies General Manager, said: “We believe combining subsea chemical injection components with a local surface power system such as the PB3, is a new subsea architecture reducing field development cost, and potentially making an impractical field now practical.”