Aberdeenshire-headquartered drilling tech company Coretax has been acquired by energy services firm Expro in a $210 million (£165.87m) deal.

With a headcount of 320, Coretax has been majority owned by private equity group Buckthorn Partners since 2018. The company specialises in performance drilling tools and wellbore cleanup, well integrity and production optimisation solutions.

The acquisition of Coretrax is set to enable Expro to expand its portfolio of cost-effective, technology enabled Well Construction and Well Intervention and Integrity solutions, particularly across the North and Latin America (NLA), Europe  and Sub-Saharan Africa (ESSA) and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions.

Building on Coretrax’s 15-year history, the acquisition will accelerate the availability of the company’s innovative tools by leveraging Expro’s global operating footprint.

Within Well Construction, the combination of Coretrax’s field proven technology offering with Expro’s existing drilling optimisation portfolio provides a comprehensive solutions toolbox.

These solutions include the DAV-MX downhole circulation tool, the HyPR Holesaver hydraulic pipe recovery system, and the Activated Drilling Scrapper (ADS) debris recovery system. Within Well Intervention & Integrity, Coretrax’s brings its best-in-class expandables business, which includes the only expandables solution that can be deployed on any of three conveyance systems (coil tubing, wireline or drill pipe).

Michael Jardon, Expro chief executive officer, said: “We are thrilled to announce our proposed acquisition of Coretrax, and look forward to welcoming John Fraser and his teammates to the Expro family.

“Coretrax has a complementary offering to Expro with little overlap and will bolster the portfolio of technology-enabled services and solutions offered through our Well Construction and Well Intervention & Integrity product lines, adding significant value to our clients from innovative technologies that reduce risk and cost, optimize drilling efficiency, extend the life of existing well stock, and optimise production.

“The integration of Coretrax’s leading technologies will strengthen our foothold in ESSA and MENA where both companies have strong, established positions, and is expected to open new avenues for growth in NLA and Asia-Pacific. We look forward to leveraging the complementary capabilities and customer relationships of Expro and Coretrax to deliver additional value to our customers and other stakeholders.”

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John Fraser, CEO at Coretrax said: “I’m excited about the opportunities the acquisition brings for Coretrax and our team. The synergies between our respective technology portfolios will enable us to grow our market share while significantly increasing our capabilities to tackle the most complex well challenges.

“We are proud of the innovation-led approach, strong customer base and performance history that we developed over the last 15 years, and we look forward to joining forces with Expro to create greater value for our customers globally.”