Developer of software for smart well drilling raises $2m in domestic investment
7 Dec '16
GTI (Geonavigation Technologies), a Russian developer of software solutions for smart well drilling, has raised $2m in its B round of funding, portal Firrma.ru
reported, citing a source at Phystech Ventures (a Russian VC fund set up by MIPT University (Phystech) alumni) which participated in the deal.
More than 30% of the money reportedly came from AYR, a Russian PE fund. The consortium also brought together investors from the oil and gas sector, as well as North Energy Ventures, another VC fund.
In a deal that was closed in late November, the three private funds are reported to have purchased an aggregate of about 30% of GTI, with controlling interest retained by the software developer currently valued at an estimated $6.7m. In May 2015, GTI raised $220,000 from Phystech Ventures.
The company wants to use the money to complete and tweak its brand new software solutions for geomechanics and petrophysical interpretation. GTI also has plans for expansion to the U.S. and Middle East markets.
The sensor-aided GTI software is said to be able to obtain data from a well, help process and analyze it, and then generate parameters for further drilling direction—and all that on a real time basis. The Russian market for its current products includes the domestic oil and gas majors such as Gazpromneft, Rosneft, Slavneft, Bashneft, Lukoil and other key market players.
Sergey Yartsev, an investment manager at AYR, said in a comment to the deal that “in energy tech, the latest three-year trend is a major shift in venture interest from “classical” clean tech to energy efficiency solutions in the conventional energy sector, including oil and gas; in this context, GTI is an investor-attractive player in this promising market segment.”