At Balance (Netherlands) - Nov 2007

Shell Technology Ventures Fund 1 BV has sold a minority stake in At Balance, a Dutch company that provides technology for drilling oil and gas wells, to Smith International Inc. The transaction will give At Balance access to pressure equipment and services supplied by Smith, a supplier of products and services to the oil and gas exploration and production industry. At the same time, Smith will gain access to a complete MPD system to control the pressure profile throughout the wellbore. The companies will also co-operate on sales and marketing.

Previous funding

The technology was originally developed by Shell, and At Balance was incorporated in 2004 to commercialise the technology under Shell’s internal technology incubation group. In 2007, Shell sold a minority stake in the internal fund which held various technology companies, including At Balance. The new investment fund, Shell Technology Ventures Fund 1 BV, is now independently managed by Kenda Capital BV. Major investors in the fund are the Shell Group, Coller Capital and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. Shell is not involved in the day-to-day management of the fund and was not involved in the deal between At Balance and Smith.

Company

Operators seeking to extend the life of their mature reservoirs and develop new fields with hazardous pressure conditions are turning to managed pressure drilling (MPD) as a solution. At Balance offers automated pressure control systems that enable operators to overcome conventional drilling limitations in narrow pressure margins.

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• Benelux
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• Trade sale