Bosses at multinational energy services firm Expro have insisted its takeover of Aberdeen company DeltaTek Global is a “platform for growth”.
Expro, which employs 740 people in the Granite City, among a 7,600-strong global workforce, has declined to say how much it is paying for DeltaTek.
This is an exciting transaction for Expro that we believe will deliver real value to our combined customer base.”
Steve Russell, chief technology officer, Expro
Asked about the impact on jobs and whether there were any overlapping operations in the north-east, Expro chief operating officer Alistair Geddes said: “This acquisition is about providing a platform for growth.
“DeltaTek brings to Expro an exciting technology range that is complementary to our existing cementing capabilities.
“The team at DeltaTek have developed and deployed this technology and their people are core to helping achieve the growth we expect across our combined customer base.”
DeltaTek founded in 2015
Well construction specialist DeltaTek, formerly Deepwater Tools, is run from premises on Howemoss Drive, Dyce.
It has a team of 15 employees based in Aberdeen.
Chief executive Tristam Horn launched the business in 2015 in response to growing demand for intelligent, cost-saving and risk-reducing oil field technology.
Oil and gas industry veterans Dave Shand and Steve Bruce came on board in 2018 to support its growth plans. They were also shareholders in the business, alongside Mr Horn.
DeltaTek’s operations span the UK, Norway, the Gulf of Mexico, West Africa and Asia Pacific.
Expro is now headquartered in Houston, in the US, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange, following a “merger” with Netherlands’s based Frank’s International in 2021.
Announcing its acquisition of DeltaTek, Expro said the move gave it a broader offering, capabilities and technology portfolio in the well construction cementing sector, while also helping to accelerate the Aberdeen firm’s “international deployment ambitions”.
‘Exciting transaction’
Expro’s chief technology officer Steve Russell said: “This is an exciting transaction for Expro that we believe will deliver real value to our combined customer base.
“The DeltaTek range of low-risk, open water cementing solutions increases clients’ operational efficiency, delivers rig time and cost savings, and improves the quality of cementing operations for our clients.”
Mr Horn said: “To join Expro, a leader in the industry, is a monumental moment for the company, our existing clients and the wider industry as we continue to innovate.
“With Expro’s global footprint and strong customer base, we expect to deliver our technology to all operators across the entire well construction market through existing Expro channels, simplifying the global adoption of our value-adding services for our customers.”
Asked if DeltaTek will continue to operate as a standalone business, a spokesman for Expro said: “The focus will be on continuing to deliver for our combined customer base and building on the strengths and successes of the DeltaTek brand as we transition through this acquisition.”
Office locations are part of the integration planning, the spokesman said, adding: “We will be communicating updates with employees as decisions are agreed upon.”
Expro’s roots
Expro provides a wide range of services and products that measure, improve, control and process flow from high-value oil and gas wells, from exploration and appraisal through to mature field production optimisation and enhancement.
The group was founded by John Trewhella, Jim Ross and Humphrey Green as Exploration and Production Services (North Sea) in Great Yarmouth in 1973 and helped produce the UK’s first oil from the Argyll field on June 11 1975.
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