Zenith Oilfield Technology Ltd. has confirmed today it is to be acquired by Lufkin Industries Holdings UK Limited, a subsiduary of Lufkin Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: LUFK)

Greg Davie, managing director of Zenith Oilfield Technology said: "This is an exciting deal for Zenith, its staff and customers. As a technology focused business, Zenith has built its international reputation through its commitment to research and development. As part of Lufkin, we will be able to combine R&D expertise to fast-track the development of new automated artificial lift technology in particular. Zenith will be able to benefit from Lufkin’s global selling infrastructure and broad product and service portfolio.

All the directors and staff will remain with the company and it will be business as usual for all our customers and suppliers."

Downhole monitoring specialist Zenith Oilfield Technology have launched a groundbreaking technology for the oil industry which will ensure operators never miss a beat during artificial lift using electrical submersible pumps (ESP).

Zenith revealed the new Ground Fault Immune ESP gauge at the European Artificial Lift Forum in Aberdeen, where a paper was presented on the results of a demonstration test.

The ESP gauge is immune to ground faults, a persistent problem with this type of artificial lift which affects more than 15% of downhole monitoring systems. Ground Fault Immune spells the end of system failure when a fault occurs on the ESP cable, giving operators the ability to maintain continuous surveillance.