Although a growing number of equipment manufacturers and service companies are focusing their research and product development efforts on the subsea, perhaps the best known bellwether is Statoil. In fact, the company considers the subsea factory strategy so important to its future, that it has trademarked the name "Statoil Subsea Factory." Statoil's initial subsea factory unit is scheduled to debut by 2020, Fig. 1. Margareth Ovrum, executive V.P.-Technology, Projects and Drilling for Statoil, has stated publicly that she will not leave until the factory is a reality.
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