John Wood Group PLC ("Wood Group") acquisition of Duval Lease Services and Freer Iron Works ("Duval"), increases presence in US Eagle Ford shale region

HOUSTON, Aug. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Wood Group has acquired Duval, a provider of maintenance, installation and fabrication services in the Eagle Ford shale region of Texas.  

Duval, which during the year to December 2011 generated sales of approximately $32m, will operate as Wood Group Duval within Wood Group PSN, and will complement the division's existing onshore US production facilities support services.  Duval has approximately 300 personnel and will continue to be led by the existing management team.  As at April 2012, Duval held gross assets of $14.0m

"The acquisition of Duval provides us with a robust platform for growth in the key Eagle Ford shale region and increases our overall exposure to the US onshore unconventional oil & gas markets," said Derek Blackwood, president-Americas of Wood Group PSN. "Duval's values are similar to Wood Group's, with a strong focus on safety, customers and employees."

Rene Casas, president of Wood Group Duval, said "We are pleased to be joining Wood Group. Duval has achieved strong growth over recent years, and we anticipate the strong shale market, momentum in our business and the support of Wood Group will enable continued growth."

Notes to Editors

Wood Group is an international energy services company with $6.0bn sales, employing more than 41,000 people worldwide and operating in 50 countries. The Group has three businesses – Engineering, Wood Group PSN and Wood Group GTS - providing a range of engineering, production support, maintenance management and industrial gas turbine overhaul and repair services to the oil & gas, and power generation industries worldwide. www.woodgroup.com

Wood Group PSN is a global provider of pre-operations, hook up & commissioning, operations & maintenance, engineering, construction, project management, training and decommissioning services to the energy industry. Employing over 26,000 people in more than 35 countries, Wood Group PSN offers high integrity, brownfield services that support customers to optimise performance, maintain production, reduce operating costs and provide integrity assurance. www.woodgroup-psn.com

Wood Group Duval, founded in Freer, Texas, in 1982, provides maintenance, installation and fabrication services to the South Texas onshore oil & gas market, notably to operators in the Eagle Ford shale region. Duval employs approximately 300 personnel.

The Eagle Ford Shale is a hydrocarbon producing formation rich in oil and natural gas fields. The shale play area extends 400 miles from the Texas-Mexico border toward East Texas. It is 50 miles wide and an average of 250 feet thick at a depth between 4,000 and 12,000 feet. Oil reserves are estimated at 3 billion barrels with potential output of 420,000 barrels a day. The region has grown from 40 producing oil leases and 158 producing gas wells in 2009 to approximately 370 producing oil leases and 550 producing gas wells in 2011.

SOURCE Wood Group