Silixa Ltd. will begin global commercialization of its game-changing fibre optic sensing technology after an equity investment of $8 million from Statoil Technology Invest (STI) and Chevron Technology Ventures (CTV).

Building on earlier investment made by CTV and Lime Rock Partners, the latest investment cements Silixa's position as a company with an exceptional potential for growth. Within five years, the company has blossomed from a garage start-up into a specialist service company backed by three of world's leading private equity investors from the energy sector.

'We are very excited to make an equity investment in Silixa, which will strengthen what already is a strong cooperation between the two companies', declared Sigurd Paulsen, STI's Investment Director. "In addition to the technology being able to tell us precisely what is going on in the well at every location, we are also excited about its application in other areas of growing importance, such as pipeline and environmental monitoring."

Trevor Burgess, Managing Director at Lime Rock Partners, hailed the deal as a "significant endorsement of the achievements made by Silixa's management team in growing the company. We are delighted to have Statoil Technology Invest on board alongside Chevron Technology Ventures."