Tuboscope Acquires Oilfield Service Businesses; Adds Rig Instrumentation and Gumbo Chains to Solids Control Product Line

Tuboscope Inc. (Houston, Texas) this week announced its acquisition of two oilfield service businesses to complement its own Solids Control Products & Services line. Tuboscope acquired the stock of WMCO Instruments, Inc. and WMCO Equipment, Inc. of Lafayette, La., which rent drilling instrumentation systems to oil and gas operators on the Gulf Coast.

Tuboscope also acquired the assets and business of Nu-Tec Inc.'s Solids Control Division, a provider of proprietary tools and technologies to remove gumbo, a sticky shale that is particularly troublesome for drillers, from drilling fluids. Nu-Tec's gumbo removal equipment, introduced 3 years ago, is installed on approximately 80 offshore drilling rigs.

"WMCO's AccuScan computerized gas detection and mud pit monitoring systems and Nu-Tec's proprietary Gumbo Chain, Gumbo Box, and Scalper products will help our customers drill more safely and efficiently," said John F. Lauletta, president and CEO of Tuboscope. Lauletta underscored the importance of reliable rig instrumentation to drilling operations, a service which WMCO has provided for over forty years. WMCO has rental equipment on approximately 84 rigs on the Gulf Coast.