OSLO, NORWAY: Energy and marine consultancy ABL Group (ABL) has acquired the operations of well control equipment specialists HOSE International.

The two companies have cooperated since 2019 to jointly provide rig and well control inspection services for the offshore industry. Going forward, HOSE International’s UK business will become part of ABL’s global operations. The two companies have agreed to not disclose the financial details of the transaction.

“We know the HOSE International team very well and are thrilled to be combining their expertise with that of our own on a continuous basis. This will allow us to further serve clients with the full scope of well control equipment assessment and rigs operations requirements,” says Steven Lee, director of offshore technical services at ABL Group.

HOSE International was established in 1994 and has built a 30-year reputation as independent third-party well control equipment subject matter and assurance service providers. The company’s services include well control equipment inspection, verification, assurance and project support during rig selection, intake and major maintenance periods.

During the past three decades, HOSE International has completed approximately 2,300 inspections on more than 700 drilling rigs. This includes numerous high-profile drilling well control equipment events front-line reactivations, overhauls and re-certification, end-of-well and between-well maintenance periods, drilling failure, modifications and upgrades.

“I am delighted to be formally joining ABL Group, having collaborated on many projects for a number of years now. HOSE International brings a wealth of specialist experience to the ABL team, and I’m excited to expand our scope even further”, says managing director of HOSE International, Richard Brennan, who now joins ABL as the group’s well control equipment manager.

ABL Group has extensive rigs inspection expertise including, rig selection, reactivation assurance, new-build delivery and preservation inspection. The company’s dedicated rig inspection team consists of multi-disciplined engineers with decades of practical rig inspection experience that helps to provide regulatory compliance and equipment operability assurance to rig owners and operators.