Sulzer buys Advanced Separation Co., ProLabNL

Sulzer has now acquired Advanced Separation Co. (ASCOM) B.V., one of the leading providers of oil, water and gas separation equipment as well as ProLabNL B.V., an independent company, which has unique capabilities to test equipment in actual oil field conditions. 

Both companies are located in Arnhem, The Netherlands. These acquisitions expand the offering of the division Sulzer Chemtech for gas-liquid and liquid-liquid separation technologies and position it as a major player in the market, according to company officials.

“With ASCOM technologies and ProLabNL unique testing capabilities, we will enable our customers to realize CAPEX savings, which are orders of magnitude larger than the cost for ASCOM products,” said Oliver Bailer, president of Sulzer Chemtech. 

ASCOM’s portfolio covers gas-liquid separation, liquid-liquid separation, produced water treatment, solids handling and gas treatment. Building on its technologies validated by major oil companies and its expertise in process design, ASCOM offers advanced separation solutions for both traditional vessel-based and compact inline separation. 

Application of ASCOM technologies can enable de-bottlenecking of aging oilfield process systems. Applied to new investment, it can significantly reduce CAPEX and OPEX of off-shore, floating and on-shore processing facilities, according to Sulzer officials, who say the advanced technology has also been fully validated for subsea processing.

ProLabNL offers one of the more advanced multiphase flow loops worldwide, simulating real oilfield conditions under high or low pressure conditions. World leading oil and gas companies are using ProLabNL extensively for conventional and subsea technology qualification programs.

The integration will start after closing, which is expected end of September 2014. All employees will be retained, assuring ongoing customer dedication and quality commitment.

“Combining our offering with Sulzer, and using their global platform, we will have unique capabilities in the market and will significantly accelerate our company development, for the benefit of our customers," said Rombout Swanborn, chairman and majority shareholder of ASCOM and ProLabNL.