Tesco Sells High-Tech Drilling Assets

Canadian oil service firm Tesco Corp. sold its new-technology drilling services division to Houston-based Weatherford International Inc. for $33 million.

Tesco officials said the company sold its specialized underbalanced drilling assets to the major U.S. oil field firm so it could focus on its main businesses, which include its top-drive equipment used to power drilling rigs and casing drilling technology, which speeds up the drilling of oil and gas wells.

With underbalanced technology, the pressure of the drilling fluid is kept below the pressure in the oil or gas reservoir to aid the flow of the hydrocarbons to the surface.

Weatherford said the assets dealt include eight drilling units, plus nitrogen-generating and pressure-control units as well as other equipment. — (Reuters)