HOUSTON, Oct. 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Produced Water Absorbents, Inc. (PWA) has entered into an agreement to acquire assets related to the global operations of oil and gas technology company ProSep Inc., which has its main offices in the United States and Malaysia.
The $9.2 million acquisition will see PWA - which provides produced water treatment solutions and services to the oil and gas industry - relocate its headquarters from Wooster, Ohio to Houston, Texas as part of a domestic and international expansion drive.
The acquisition is expected to be completed in November subject to customary closing conditions.
The deal will complement PWA's existing services enabling it to offer the most comprehensive portfolio of patented solutions to treat oil, natural gas and produced water.
Neil Poxon, CEO of PWA said: "We identified strong synergies with our Osorb Media technology and ProSep's produced water services and have plans to develop this unique offering to target the challenges being experienced by oil and gas operators around the world. We have ambitions to grow our presence in Houston and significantly invest in research and development."
Upon completion of the acquisition, PWA will be headquartered in Houston with a supporting 55,000 sq ft manufacturing and assembly facility and additional offices in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Aberdeen, UK. The company will employ around 90 people in total with plans to hire additional employees in the first 18 months.
ProSep designs, develops, manufactures and commercializes technologies to separate oil, water and gas. The manufacturing operation in Houston is the company's centre of excellence for gas membranes, primary separation, heavy crude oil treatment and conventional produced water treatment systems and packages.
The acquisition will enable PWA to offer a complete solution for oil and gas industry oilfield water and gas streams. PWA as an emerging company in the industry contributes its proprietary technology selling skills, leasing experience and its focus on innovation to the acquisition. The assets acquired from ProSep offer a strong, established presence in the Americas, fabrication facilities, geographic spread and wide product portfolio. Following the closing of the acquisition, PWA will be in a position to offer unparalleled water treatment solutions to the oil and gas industry.
The global quantity of produced water volumes is likely to increase into the hundreds of billions of barrels per year, presenting an ever-growing challenge in how to manage and remain in compliance with constantly evolving environmental regulations.
In May this year PWA launched to market its revolutionary re-generable absorption media used for the management of oilfield water and gas streams. Osorb Media allows clients to meet and surpass stringent new environmental and discharge regulations.
Mr Poxon added: "The regeneration capability of the Osorb Media sets it apart from other water treatment techniques by drastically reducing the costs of media replacement and also decreasing the amount of waste to be transported and disposed. We firmly believe the combination of ground-breaking technologies and our new full service capability will be of great interest to global oil and gas operators and we have plans to grow our business in the Americas, Far East and Middle East."
The acquisition was financed in part by PWA's existing investors led by Energy Ventures with offices in Norway, Aberdeen, and Houston, Texas and Harris and Harris Group, Inc. with offices in New York City and Palo Alto, California.
Kristian Lier with Energy Ventures said: "We are excited to be part of building a leading, global company within fluid processing. This transaction brings a truly unique combination of worldwide reach and an innovative technology offering together."
"We are confident that the combined product portfolio will result in a strengthened and accelerated market uptake." added Einar Gamman, partner with Energy Ventures.
