Costain buys oil and gas business

Contractor Costain has acquired engineering firm EPC Offshore for £9.6m, a purchase which enables it to launch an oil and gas production and exploration services business.

EPC Offshore is a project management specialist providing advice to north Sea Oil clients since 2009, with turnover of £11.7m and earnings before tax and debt amortization of £2m.

In addition to the £9.6m purchase price, Costain has paid £1m for surplus cash in the company. Costain said the purchase would be earnings enhancing in the first year.

Costain will merge the firm with its existing Oil and Gas support services business Clerk Maxwell, bought in 2011, to form Costain Upstream, led by EPC Offshore chief executive Keith Wallace.

‘Upstream’ is the name given to the part of the petroleum industry devoted to the exploration and production of oil and gas.

Andrew Wyllie, CEO of Costain, said he was “delighted” with the purchase, and that it will “accelerate our stated strategy of broadening our range of capabilities in response to the requirements of major blue chip customers.

“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.”