BGF, the UK and Ireland’s most active growth investor, has completed a successful exit from innovative well technology company, isol8. Isol8 has been acquired by global energy service company Archer.
The acquisition of isol8 advances Archer’s strategy to become the well plug and abandonment (P&A) company of choice.
BGF made a minority investment of £3.5m in isol8, which has offices in Aberdeen and the USA, in 2021, with further investment in 2023 and 2025 to support ongoing development and commercialisation of the patented ‘Fusion’ technology.
Isol8 designs, develops and deploys alloy-based barrier solutions and advanced materials for use in well completions, intervention, and P&A, and its industry leading Fusion Barriers, providing a longer lasting and more environmentally friendly solution than traditional cement-based methods.
It has previously been estimated that successful deployment of isol8’s technology could unlock savings of between £1.5m to £7m for platform and subsea wells abandonments. This could translate to savings of between £2bn to £5bn in North Sea well decommissioning costs.
Andrew Louden, founder and CEO of isol8, said: “We’ve valued the strong relationship we’ve built with Richard and BGF over the past five years. Their support and expertise have underpinned the continued development of both our core technologies and thinking through the market applications.
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“Now, Archer’s global reach and established customer base create a strong platform to scale deployment of isol8’s technologies across the entire well lifecycle. Together, we have the opportunity to expand adoption of our existing alloy barrier products and accelerate the commercialisation of our emerging metal element technology.”
Richard Pugh, investor at BGF, said: “It’s been a pleasure working with Andrew and isol8 team, and Archer is an ideal fit for furthering the technology they have developed.
“Developing new technology is hard, and Andrew, Bill and the isol8 team have shown the required combination of ingenuity, patience and perseverance, and this acquisition by Archer also shows that the M&A market for energy technology businesses remains open. The acquisition recognises the value and global applicability of what they’ve built – we wish them every success in future.”
