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Big Oil-backed Climate Investment among backers

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Morgan Stanley's 1GT fund, S2G Ventures also take part

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To help firm expand operations, develop new services

By Simon Jessop

LONDON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Investors including Big

Oil-backed Climate Investment and Morgan Stanley's 1GT fund have

invested 115 million euros ($119.20 million) in Irish

geophysical data firm XOCEAN to help it expand its operations.

The company uses uncrewed surface vehicles to help maintain

offshore wind and other energy infrastructure, including

checking for pipeline leaks, as well as developing carbon

capture and storage projects and conducting civil hydrography.

Unlike traditional providers of such services which rely on

crewed vessels that cost thousands of dollars a day even when

bad weather forces them into port, the firm's technology allows

clients to remotely control them and remain on-site for longer.

The technology can also be delivered using what XOCEAN said

was just 0.1% of the carbon emissions associated with manned

vessels.

Other backers in the growth equity round - which will help

XOCEAN expand its fleet, develop new products and technology,

and open new facilities - include Chicago-based venture investor

S2G Ventures and CC Industries, owned by the Crown family.

"Working with many of the world's leading energy companies,

XOCEAN has reimagined how the geophysical data central to

unlocking the blue economy's potential can be delivered," said

Francis O'Sullivan, managing director at S2G, which helped

structure the deal.

The funding of XOCEAN is the first through the growth equity

strategy of Climate Investment, an independent investor launched

by members of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, some of which,

such as Shell and BP, are already clients of the

firm.

"Several customers cited XOCEAN as their surveying 'platform

of choice'," said Climate Investment's managing director for

growth, Patrick Yip.

Founded in Ireland in 2017, the company has more than 240

staff in offices in Ireland, Britain, the United States, Canada,

Norway and Australia.

($1 = 0.9648 euros)