Texas Company Buys Ventura Oil Services Firm

Oil services company Weatherford International Inc. has acquired Ventura-based Oil Country Manufacturing Inc. in a deal that will add to Weatherford’s drilling equipment business.

Houston-based Weatherford, the fifth-largest provider of services and products for oil drilling, finalized the deal with Oil Country, which manufactures rigs and other drilling equipment, on Dec. 11. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Weatherford plans to hire a significant but undisclosed number of employees at its manufacturing facility in Ventura over the next six months to a year, said Mark Shappee, managing principal at Venture Management Inc., the investment banking firm that handled the transaction.

Meanwhile, Weatherford plans to relocate its manufacturing operations in Houston and Hannover, Germany, to OCM’s Ventura facility in the next six to 12 months.

“The acquisition of OCM will better position Weatherford to handle our customers’ growing requirements for well-service applications,” said Gary Warren, president of Weatherford’s drilling and intervention services division.

The oil services industry, which has experienced major consolidation in the last decade, has seen a dramatic uptick in activity over the last 18 months as higher demand for oil and natural gas has spurred exploration, said Mark Kellstrom, oil services analyst for Jefferies & Co. in New York. There was a 50% jump in rig activity in 2000 compared with the previous year, he said.

“Even if consumers are unhappy about high prices of natural gas, the rig companies are out there looking for it,” Kellstrom said. “Based on higher demand, oil drilling companies are out there looking for new supplies.”

Privately held Oil Country has more than 100 employees, mostly at its Ventura facility. It also has sales and service offices in Bakersfield; Edmonton, Canada; Houston and Odessa, Texas.

Shares of Weatherford rose 38 cents to close at $47.25 on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday.