Gulf Capital, a leading private equity firm in the Middle East, said it had invested in a significant majority stake of OCB Oilfield Services, a major oil and gas crew supply and related logistics provider in the Middle East, South East Asia and Africa.
OCB is specialized in supplying rig crews to offshore oil and gas drilling companies, including in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the the UAE.
Gulf Capital has invested in acquiring a controlling stake in OCB, exceeding 51 percent. This latest investment is part of Gulf Capital’s increasing focus on the offshore oil and gas industry, a fast growing sector where it is actively involved.
Karim El-Solh, CEO of Gulf Capital, said: “This strategic acquisition in an oil and gas services market leader, with significant prospects for growth organically and in new markets, is in line with Gulf Capital’s strategy of investing in market leaders in defensive and fast growing sectors in the region.”
With operations in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei, Singapore, Mozambique and Cameroon, OCB provides its clients with fully outsourced human resource solutions, including hiring and managing all personnel on a rig, managing payroll, performing medical check ups, providing training, supplying working gear, obtaining work permits, travel visas, insurance, organising air travel and other logistical services.
Vaibhav Kanade, founder and CEO of OCB, said: “I look forward to Gulf Capital’s active participation on our Board and to its contribution to the company’s strategy, operational improvements, financing and regional expansion.”
Richard Dallas, managing director, private equity at Gulf Capital, said: “We will be working with the management team at OCB to diversify the company’s contract mix beyond its existing focus on jack-up rigs.
, and to expand its offerings to ancillary services including catering services, crew training and crew management for offshore production, storage, and construction platforms, onshore Oil & Gas drilling operators, and onshore production and construction platforms.”
