Aberdeen oil and gas group Centurion swoops on US firm

Centurion has made its fourth acquisition in 12 months by snapping up Texas firm Totalfrac. Picture: Contributed

Centurion Group, which supplies critical rental, infrastructure and support services to the energy industries, has acquired Totalfrac, a valve technology company based in the US.

The deal, for an undisclosed sum, will allow Centurion to grow its drilling, completions and production arm and enhance its services to operators in shale basins in the US.

It marks the latest in a string of acquisitions by the Aberdeen-headquartered group, which has snapped up four companies in the last 12 months as it seeks to position itself as a leader in the US fracking industry.

The move comes as Centurion, which employs around 300 people in Scotland and approximately 1,200 worldwide, unveiled its latest financial results.

Revenues at the group increased to $442 million (£350m) in the year to 31 December, jumping from $323m in 2017.

Ebitda (earnings before interest, expenses, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) more than doubled to $71m, up from $34m in the previous year.

The latest figures mark the first time that Centurion has published its results as a combined group, after owner SCF brought together four established services companies in 2017:

Centurion in Aberdeen, Oil Patch in the US and Site Energy Services and WTS Rentals in Canada.

Last month the group extended its revolving credit facility by $60m, in a move which saw Royal Bank of Scotland join the group’s seven-bank funding club.

Fernando Assing, chief executive of Centurion, said: “Drilling, completions and production services are of critical importance to us, and for our customers, and we are pleased to be able to expand, and enhance, our flowback and well testing product lines.“Our strong performance in 2018 has been led by organic growth across our three business segments, supplemented by value enhancing bolt-on acquisitions that have added new capabilities and new customers into the group. “The breadth of our equipment and service offering, combined with the expertise and focus on safety and service quality, are major competitive strengths for Centurion.”

Derek Elzner, president of Centurion US Land, added: “We are excited to announce the addition of Totalfrac to Centurion. “The addition of their high-quality valves, designed to be low maintenance, will provide higher uptime for clients. “This is yet another example of Centurion’s strategy to diversify product and service offerings, while providing our customers the highest quality products.”