Aberdeen oil and project management company EPC Offshore has been bought by engineering group Costain.
The deal will see EPC combined with ClerkMaxwell, bought by Costain two years ago, to form Costain Upstream.
The initial price is £9.6million, plus £1million for cash in the EPC business, and Costain could pay up to an additional £14.4million depending on the future financial performance of the EPC operation and the retention of certain key employees.
EPC was set up five years ago by Keith Wallace, previous co-founder of CSL, who will lead the new Costain Upstream unit. EPC managing director Peter Kirkbride, along with ClerkMaxwell managing director John Wilson and Alistair Dornan will provide strategic support.
“The combination of EPC’s successful field development and project management capabilities with ClerkMaxwell’s high-end engineering and asset support services provides a formidable combination and one which gives us much confidence for the future,” said Mr Wallace.
“Bringing together the complementary services of both companies will allow us as a group to compete for larger projects and be able to command and deliver more of the project along its life cycle.
“We have ambitious plans and aim to be a significant entity in our sector, creating opportunity and value for all stakeholders as we continue to grow moving forward.”
The new division will employ more than 350 people and provide lifecycle upstream services, engineering and support across four areas – field development, subsea facilities, topside facilities and floating systems.
It will operate out of Aberdeen, with support offices in Manchester, Teeside, Maidenhead and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
“The formation of Costain Upstream will significantly enhance our position in this sector, and the acquisition of EPC Offshore will boost its growth, complementing the front-end engineering and operations capabilities we acquired with ClerkMaxwell two years ago,” said Costain chief executive Andrew Wyllie.
“There is a sizeable addressable market for these highly complex services and we see further compelling opportunities to grow our oil and gas footprint both in the UK and internationally.”