Proserv Group Ushers in New Era with Intervale Capital Acquisition on August 10, 2009
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August 10th 2009 spelt a new era in Proserv Group’s history when a significant new investor, Intervale Capital, a US-based private equity fund acquired it.
In addition to Proserv, Intervale’s portfolio comprises of companies that are active in various key segments in the oilfield services industry, including drill bits, subsea technology, wireline services, completion services and products, as well as fluid activities, controls and specialty oilfield technology. Intervale Capital currently owns approximately 45 per cent of Proserv, and is working closely with management and other shareholders to accelerate growth on a global basis.
“We are excited by the opportunity to back Proserv Group,” managing partner at Intervale, Charles Cherington, commented following the acquisition. “The company is poised to expand its global footprint as it continues to work closely with customers to provide first-rate products and services. We believe that Intervale’s involvement and the strengthening of Proserv’s capital base will help accelerate this process.” In conjunction with the Intervale transaction, the company has also raised the equity of NOK 120 million (approximately $20 million) to restructure and strengthen its balance sheet to support growth.
With operations across the globe, Proserv Group is a leader in providing innovative engineering solutions and technically specialised services for the oil and gas industry. This Norwegian-based company’s portfolio covers well abandonment and decommissioning, test and control systems, instrumentation and calibration, oil and gas sampling, as well as speciality machining. Made up of 24 companies within the group, Proserv prides itself in its quality control process and has a quality assurance system in accordance to ISO 9001 standard. High quality is Proserv’s brand and it doesn’t believe in compromises. This sentiment is shared throughout the organisation and one such company to echo this ethos is Proserv Offshore.
Having grown as a company through the acquisition and organic growth of several niche oil and gas service companies from around the world, Proserv Offshore operates in the UK, Scandinavia, the US, the Far East and the Middle East. Its ambitious growth strategy aims to both develop and grow the regions where business is already established, as well as utilising its international resources to take advantage of new opportunities in emerging markets throughout the world.
Despite the challenges within the industry, Proserv Energy was recently contracted to provide complete turnkey services for the abandonment and removal of St Mary Land & Exploration’s Gulf of Mexico Vermillion area platform, pipelines and wells destroyed during Hurricane Ike. The president of Proserv Energy, Ron Twachtman believes the company was awarded the project because of its abilities to assume asset ownership, and the risk and responsibilities for planning, project management, budgeting, expenses and project execution within timelines approved by the Mineral Management Service. According to Ron, the contract is a result of the company’s marketing strategy that was introduced earlier this year to give operators a risk-free alternative for removing non-producing assets thus freeing up operating capital and lines of credit.
Proserv Energy offers full-service, fit-for-purpose abandonment and decommissioning solutions to operators wanting to transfer non-producing offshore liabilities of its balance sheets without associated personnel, bonding, insurance, legal and administrative costs. As it is an affiliate of Proserv Offshore, the company is backed by more than 20 years of experience and 600 decommissioning projects worldwide.
Very recently, Proserv Offshore secured a significant project with PT Global Industries Asia Pacific, a division of Global Industries Ltd for pipeline coating removal, which is currently underway in Indonesia. The project called for the removal of 94 mm of concrete with a tri-layer of 2.1 mm PE, from eight sections of 3.2 metres each from a 28-inch diameter pipeline that runs between Sumatra and Singapore. Working from a Dive Support Vessel, Proserv Offshore will remove the coating from the eight sections to allow for hot tapping.
Demonstrating its global infrastructure, Proserv Offshore utilised equipment from its base on Batam Island, Indonesia and personnel from Australia and the UK, while the project is being managed from the regional office in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. This project marks what Proserv Offshore hopes will be the first of many in this region, and demonstrates both their competitive and aggressive grasp of what is still a young market for the company.
This year has seen a number of developments within Proserv Offshore including its plan to launch a new risk-free decommissioning service, Proserv Energy, at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC). Initially targeted at the US market, Proserv Offshore believes this new service will be particularly welcomed in the current financial climate. David Dent, sales and marketing VP of Proserv Offshore, comments on the benefits this new service will bring especially to small to medium-sized producers, in particular, as they are keen to free up operating capital by disposing of non-productive liabilities. They are also concerned about recruiting the necessary manpower to project manage a decommissioning project, not forgetting raising the finance to meet all the environmental, legal and insurance requirements.
Ron Twachtman explains: “Once a producer has identified a lease to decommission, Proserv Energy will submit its total cost. The lease is then assigned to Proserv Energy, and we take on the asset with all the liabilities, including plugging the wells, abandonment of pipeline and removal of structures and any debris.”
With all the developments that the company is experiencing, Proserv Offshore is still driven with its vision to continue building its international oilfield service company. This includes both its regional growth as well as within the scope of engineering services it provides, without compromising its integrity. It endeavours to provide its customers with a tailored engineering service, offering innovative technology whilst always remaining competitive.
Proserv Offshore
Services: Decommissioning and inspection, repair & maintenance services