UK: TCO Acquires i-Quip Technology

TCO AS and TCO UK, a provider of well completion technologies to the global oil & gas industry, has announced the acquisition of UK firm i-Quip Technology for an undisclosed sum.

This acquisition alone is estimated to give an additional turnover of £2million in 2013 to approximately £9million in 2015. The company currently has a turnover of £15million which is expected to double next year. It will also result in up to 15 new employees for the firm in Aberdeen and I-Quip Technology and TCO UK will merge into the same office and workshop premises as part of the acquisition deal.

Founded in Norway in 2001, TCO has 55 staff based in Bergen and Stavanger, eight in Aberdeen and bases in Russia and Angola. The firm specialises in the design, manufacture and installation of glass barrier plugs and the provision of Tubing Conveyed Perforating (TCP) equipment and services.

i-Quip Technology is based in Altens, Aberdeen, and will give TCO extensive knowledge and expertise with its high-end chemical injection technology. Mr Woodford has over 30 years of experience in the areas of well control, intervention and pressure control.

Rune Moan, managing director, TCO UK, said: “We are delighted to be announcing the acquisition of i-Quip Technology. The joining of the two teams will provide a market leading range of products and services within the innovative well completion sector. It is a natural step for us to significantly increase our capability – adding the chemical injection offering to our portfolio will provide our global customers with a package of qualified products and applications support that is not currently available within the sector.”

“We anticipate substantial growth in the well completion market both in the UK, Norway and in key global regions including Gulf of Mexico, West Africa, Australia, Asia and South America. Our aim is to carry out a recruitment campaign to aid our growth over the next 18 months and we look forward to an exciting future for TCO in both Europe and worldwide.”

Keith Woodford added: “I am delighted that my team and I will be joining TCO and adding our chemical injection expertise to their existing knowledge. I look forward to a successful future and on-going growth both in the UK, Norway and overseas.”

In February 2011, TCO acquired Bergen CNC which now houses TCO’s Research & Development department and represents 20% of the TCO workforce. The department has developed a number of innovative technologies including third generation TDP (TDP3) and the newest product Disappearing Tubing Hanger Plug (DTHP) which was nominated for the Innovation Award at this year’s ONS.

Earlier this year, TCO was awarded the contract for ConocoPhillips’s Plug & Abandonment (P&A) Tubing Conveyed Perforating (TCP) scope of work. The company’s Disappearing Tubing Hanger Plug (DTHP) product has the potential to save the operator between 3 to 10 rig days for subsea completions. With the rig rate at approximately $650,000, this is an incredibly cost effective solution for an operator.

TCO delivers products and services to many of the major oil and gas operators across the globe including Total, Statoil, BP, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Shell, Apache, Chevron, Marathon, Dong, GDF Suez, Talisman, Perenco and Petrobras.

Last year, TCO UK completed a UK industry first with the remote opening of a subsea well in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) using its own patented technology, the TDP-2 Glass Plug.

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Press Release, October 10, 2012