EI invests in UOS

United Oilfield Services is a newly established Polish oil-services company, which is to provide seismic, drilling and completion services to companies involved in oil and gas exploration and production. UOS brings the most modern equipment and technology to the Polish market, which will be of particular interest to companies exploring for both conventional (e.g. tight gas) and unconventional hydrocarbon resources (e.g. shale gas). UOS will offer the technologies and skills needed to extract gas from shale reserves, such as drilling horizontal wells and unconventional well completion solutions. The company’s founders have many years of experience in the oil & gas service industry in the United States and a proven track record of building successful oilfield service companies. United Oilfield Services signed its first contract for geophysical services in March 2012 and expects to offer drilling and completion services by next year.

Poland is believed to have substantial shale gas reserves. A number of companies are investing in exploring for these reserves and need well-equipped services providers offering the best available technologies for non-conventional gas exploration, extraction and production. Shale formations started to be commercially exploited to great success beginning in the late 1990s in the United States and subsequently in other markets. The production of natural gas from shale formations has rejuvenated the natural gas industry where such technologies have been introduced, and the use of such technologies could have an equally significant and beneficial impact on Poland’s gas market.

“We appreciate the opportunity to become involved in United Oilfield Services. We believe a strong local company with access to the best equipment and technology is what the market needs to turn the promise of shale gas into reality,” said Michał Rusiecki, a managing partner at Enterprise Investors.

“We have been impressed with the experience and in-depth industry knowledge of the whole management team led by Dennis McKee, a veteran of the US shale gas revolution and an entrepreneur with an excellent track record in building companies. We like their business plan and are convinced they can be very successful,” added Jacek Woźniak, a partner at Enterprise Investors.

“We are more than happy to have gained Enterprise Investors as a co-sponsor for UOS. The new capital injection will partly finance our new, state-of-the-art completion equipment. We also hope to benefit from EI’s business experience and their knowledge of the Central and Eastern European markets,” said Dennis McKee, CEO of UOS.

“We are pleased to have established a partnership with Enterprise Investors. Together, with newly hired and trained Polish citizens, UOS aims to launch a broader effort to create a strong, local oilfield service industry in Poland”, said Charles Leykum, co-founder of UOS and founding partner of CSL Capital Management, an investment advisory firm based in the US.