Bloomberg reports that Sentinel Energy announced it will buy Strike LLC, a company that specializes in repairing old pipelines, for $854m.
Building brand new pipelines is expensive, so it only makes sense that the market would come about; the question is, what took the industry so long?
Just slap some duct tape on it and call it a day
The US oil and gas business is one of the oldest in the world, and with more than half of the US oil pipeline networks dating from the ’60s or earlier, the pipes aren’t getting any younger.
According to the Association of Oil Pipelines, America’s older crude oil and refined product pipelines make up a staggering amount of leaks that can lead to massive environmental and life-threatening implications.
Now, with new tech comes a new market, and companies are getting their pocketbooks ready to invest in companies that upgrade oil infrastructure.
Everyone’s doin’ it
Back in July, First Reserve Corp., a private equity giant specializing in energy, purchased Dresser Natural Gas Solutions, a company that makes natural gas meters and pipeline-repair equipment (First Reserve’s 6th investment in the energy infrastructure integrity space).
Once the deal between Sentinel and Strike is complete (expected to occur during Q1 of 2019), it’s expected to go public at Strike Inc. on the NYSE.