Fresh off its rebrand, SLB agreed on Oct. 26 to acquire Gyrodata Inc. for an undisclosed amount, ending the Houston-based drilling tech firm’s tenure as an independent company.

“After more than 42 years as an independent company, we are ecstatic about becoming a part of SLB,” Gyrodata President and CEO Robert Trainer said in a release.

Founded in 1980, Gyrodata specializes in gyroscopic wellbore positioning and survey technology. The company has approximately 1,000 employees operating in over 50 countries in virtually every energy market in the world, according to its website.

As part of the acquisition, SLB, formerly Schlumberger, said in an Oct. 26 release it plans to integrate Gyrodata’s wellbore placement and surveying technologies within SLB’s well construction business. The result, according to Jesus Lamas, president of SLB’s well construction group: bringing customers innovative drilling solutions.

“The integration of Gyrodata’s innovative sensors and proprietary technologies within SLB’s drilling and logging suites will result in the most accurate and highly optimized well placement services in the industry,” Lamas commented in the release.

“This will transform drilling technology designs while advancing SLB’s autonomous, self-steering capabilities,” he added.

Gyrodata SLB acquisition well construction business Rig Site with Subsurface View
Integrating Gyrodata’s unique sensor assemblies with SLB’s latest technological innovations is expected to enhance drilling trajectory accuracy, increase data acquisition speed, aid in drilling automation, and improve decision making processes. Pictured is a rig site with subsurface view. (Source: SLB)

Integrating Gyrodata’s three-axis solid state gyro measurements with the latest SLB technological innovations is expected to help ensure tighter trajectory control, reduce data acquisition time and improve the decision-making process—resulting in greater overall drilling efficiency, according to the SLB release.

The result will be improved wellbore quality and reduced drilling risk, which SLB said will unlock even the most remote and complex reservoirs

“Gyrodata technology has rapidly improved our clients’ choices of wellbore placement services, but we also understand the next step-change of this technology revolution is best accelerated by partnering with a truly unique technology leader. I am convinced we have found that partner,” Trainer said in a separate release.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close towards the end of 2022, the companies said.

TPH & Co., the energy business of Perella Weinberg Partners, is serving as exclusive financial adviser to Gyrodata and Locke Lord LLP is providing the company legal counsel. Goldman Sachs & Co. is serving as SLB’s exclusive financial adviser and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is the company’s legal counsel.

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