A subsidiary of the Saudi Arabian state oil company has invested £3.5million in Aberdeen oil service company Zilift.
Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures (SAEV) has taken an undisclosed stake in the firm which is backed by venture capital companies.
Zilift is developing artificial-lift systems using permanent magnet motors and magnetic transmissions.
It was established in May 2009 and employs 30 people in the Granite City.
Zilift is targeting the Aberdeen workforce to hit nearly 40 this year while turnover is expected to rise to around £2.5million.
SAEV’s mission is to invest globally in start-ups and high-growth companies with technologies of strategic importance to its parent, Saudi Aramco.
SAEV chief executive Ibrahim Buainain said: “Reliable and easily deployable artificial-lift systems are a priority area of technology development for Saudi Aramco.
“We believe that Zilift’s technologies offer potential for substantial time and cost savings in artificial-lift deployment and the potential for substantially enhancing the output from large numbers of producing wells. We are delighted to become an investor in the company.”
Zilift CEO Iain Maclean said artificial lift had a long-established history of technical development, but added that significant step changes were infrequent.
He said: “In contrast, permanent magnet motor and transmission technology has made significant advances in the past 20 years, driven predominantly by significant increases in magnet material performance to enable smaller machines with high power density.
“There is a great deal of interest in our technologies. This additional investment from SAEV, as well as ongoing support from existing investors provides us with the resources to forge ahead with product development to achieve commercialisation.”