It has been announced that the two companies have entered into an agreement to explore how technologies and knowledge from the space and oil and gas industries can be applicable to each other.
The contract will be effectuated at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena California, which is managed but the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
The contract will be effectuated at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena California, which is managed but the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
Statoil is regarded by industry insiders as an innovative energy company that is constantly looking for safer and more cost-effective and smarter solutions. Lars Høier, Statoil acting senior vice president of research, development and innovation, has stated that, “Searching for oil and gas resources has become so advanced technically over the past decade that new solutions and ideas are needed. To Statoil this is a significant opportunity to take technologies developed by NASA and JPL for the harsh and challenging environments of space and apply them to the equally demanding environments of oil and gas production.”
Likewise, JPL director Charles Elachi has declared, “This agreement is the latest example of how NASA and JPL technologies can benefit us here on Earth. It’s also an example of how collaborations with other industries can be beneficial to space exploration.”
The contract is expected to run from 2013 to 2018 with an option for a contract extension. The research areas it will focus on are supercomputing, materials, robotics, development of new tools and communication optionality.