A Norwegian consortium has invested £18.5million to acquire Aberdeen-based oil and gas downhole technology specialist Read Well Services (RWS).
The group, led by venture capitalist Energy Ventures and which includes Norwegian fund manager Viking Venture, life insurer KLP and the management team of RWS, will own 100% of RWS following the transaction.
RWS was established in 1990 as a downhole technology service provider of cased-hole logging and well construction and tubing/casing repair services.
It was a subsidiary of Norwegian group Read, which has several other lines of business including seismic services and permanent monitoring, which will not be part of the transaction.
RWS, operating in the North Sea, has developed a portfolio of patented products for downhole well construction and repair which are hydraulically expandable. This is said to create superior sealing quality while being cost-effective and reliable.
The business employs 67 people and recorded revenue of £8.6million last year.
Helge Tveit, a partner with Energy Ventures, which has offices in Stavanger, Aberdeen and Houston, said: “RWS’s high-quality service combined with its unique product portfolio and a strong management team creates a great platform for growth. We are delighted to partner with the management team, Viking Venture and KLP in realising this potential.”
Fraser Louden, chief executive of RWS, said: “This change will provide an excellent opportunity for Read to grow our cased-hole service offerings and accelerate the delivery of expandable solutions to a wider geographical market.
“I look forward to a dynamic and rapid future growth at Read Well Services.”
Ola Krohn-Fagervoll, chairman of Read, added: “We strongly believe Energy Ventures will be a good owner in driving continued technology development and commercial growth for RWS. Energy Ventures has the right combination of oil and gas techn-ology expertise and upstream investment experience and capacity to build a first-class oil service company.”
