Swire Oilfield Services has acquired Gator Tank Rentals, a leader in tank, container, basket and mud skip rentals, operating throughout the Gulf of Mexico (GoM).

Founded over eight years ago, Gator is one of the Gulf’s oldest and most reliable cargo carrying unit (CCU) rental companies and has established a solid reputation in the marketplace for highest quality service and technology-led innovations, with GPS devices on all its equipment.

The latest acquisition complements that of Circulation Tools (CT), based in Houma Louisiana, which joined the Swire Oilfield Services group in 2007. CT operates an extensive range of tanks, pump and filtration units, and has recently added a substantial fleet of DNV-certified CCUs. The enlarged group will formally be known as Swire Oilfield Services LLC.

Swire Oilfield Services, part of the London-based, Swire Group, is the world’s largest supplier of specialty offshore cargo carrying units to the global energy industry and is a leading specialist in fitted-out (pressurised) units, helicopter fuel systems and chemical handling services. Established in 1979, it provides standard, specialised or tailored products certified to DNV 2.7-1 or EN12079 to customers anywhere around the globe. Its extensive hire fleet allows immediate access, 24hr a day, to a comprehensive range of products.

Swire chief operating officer, Rupert Bray said: “When coupled with our new ventures in Brazil, India and Singapore the Swire footprint now covers all the major oil and gas activity zones. The combined Swire US fleet is the largest in the Gulf of Mexico region and Swire US are the only company to offer the full range of DNV products to the Gulf market. It puts us in a strong position to leverage the upturn when it comes and also to expand into greater North America from our bases in Louisiana.”

Operating in over 30 countries worldwide, Swire Oilfield Services core North Sea market operates from eleven bases in Northern Europe spread through the UK, Norway, Denmark and Netherlands. Swire also has its own operations in the US, Australia, Angola, Nigeria, Russia, Brazil, India and New Zealand. Through partnerships, it also has operating bases in Ghana, Qatar and Trinidad.

Steve Hardwick, president North America for Swire Oilfield Services, said: “We are in the process of further expansion with new bases being built in Fourchon, Louisiana, as well as Galveston, Texas, as we continue to seek ways to service our customer base as the quality leader in CCUs and related rental equipment. We are also actively moving into the onshore pump and filtration business, leveraging the strong skills that the existing teams have developed over many years.”