Wood Group buys Australian engineering consultancy

Oil and gas services company Wood Group has acquired SVT Engineering Consultants (SVT), an engineering consultancy with capability in acoustics, vibration, corrosion and pressure, based in Australia.

Wood Group explained on Tuesday that this acquisition marked a step for Wood Group in providing a global vibration, dynamics and noise (VDN) engineering service line.

SVT, a privately-owned company with headquarters in Perth, provides piping and rotating equipment vibration, noise, integrity engineering and asset integrity services.

Wood Group noted that the company was formed to pioneer the application of sound and vibration technology in the Australian resource sector, and SVT’s client base now covers the onshore and offshore oil and gas market including Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), as well as mining, power and utilities sectors.

Managing director Stewart Wharton will continue to lead the team of 110 personnel across SVT’s offices in Perth and Brisbane. SVT will operate within the Wood Group Kenny business.

According to Wood Group, SVT further expands the global technical expertise, which Wood Group established with the acquisition of Calgary-based BETA Machinery Analysis in June 2015 and augmented by a team which was established in Southampton, UK, at the end of 2015. The acquisition also enhances the geographic footprint of Wood Group’s VDN service, the company added.

Bob MacDonald, CEO of Wood Group Kenny, said: “Australia is one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of minerals and is on the cusp of becoming the world’s largest LNG producer. SVT builds on our asset integrity management service line as part of our strategy to enhance our vibration, dynamics and noise capability to support the operational phase of Australia’s LNG and mining infrastructure for decades to come. SVT is a natural strategic fit augmenting, yet broadening, our existing spectrum of specialist technical services to the energy, industrial and renewable markets, where we have an industry leading capability.”

Stewart Wharton, managing director of SVT, said: “Joining Wood Group means we can offer our specialist services to an enhanced global client base and we look forward to being part of the company’s international network. The depth of expertise Wood Group has in vibration, dynamics and noise, including specialist tools and software for data analytics, will open up new opportunities for our services. We are focused on solving difficult problems in the oil and gas, mining and utilities sectors and we share Wood Group’s culture and values which strongly emphasise safety.”