Rockwell Automation entering into $400 million oil and gas joint venture with a French company

Milwaukee-based Rockwell Automation, one of the world's largest industrial automation companies, says it's forming a $400 million joint venture with a French oil and gas exploration and production firm. 

Named Sensia, it will bring Rockwell technology to Schlumberger Ltd., based in Paris, which had nearly $33 billion in revenue in 2018.

As part of the transaction, Rockwell says it will make a $250 million cash payment to Schlumberger at the closing of the deal this summer. 

Under the terms of the agreement, Sensia will operate as an independent entity, with Rockwell owning 53 percent and Schlumberger owning 47 percent. 

Sensia is expected to generate $400 million in annual revenue and will employ approximately 1,000 people serving customers in more than 80 countries, Rockwell said in a news release.

The joint venture will be based in Houston, where Rockwell has about 300 employees.

"Oilfield operators strive to maximize the value of their investments by safely reducing the time from drilling to production, optimizing output of conventional and unconventional wells, and extending well life," Blake Moret, Rockwell chairman and CEO, said in a statement.

"Currently, no single provider exists that offers the end-to-end solutions and technology platform that address these challenges," Moret said.

Sensia's management team will be led by Allan Rentcome, currently director of Global Technology—Systems and Solutions Business at Rockwell.

"This joint venture is the next step in our vision to offer our customers smart, connected devices with rich diagnostic capabilities, coupled with measurement, automation and analytics that improve oilfield operations, facilitate business decisions and reduce total cost of ownership throughout the life of a (oil and gas) field," Schumberger chairman and CEO Paal Kibsgaard said in a statement.