The Chouest Group, Cut Off, La., on Thursday announced it has acquired Champagne Energy Solutions (CES), Houma, La., a provider of offshore decommissioning, plug and abandonment, and environmental services in the U.S. Gulf. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The transaction marks the first acquisition in the Chouest Group's expansion into the offshore decommissioning sector, the company said, noting that "additional strategic acquisitions [are] expected in the near term as the company builds a fully integrated platform in this space."
CES, previously known as Champagne Energy & Environmental Services, provides diving and pipeline installation and removal solutions in the Gulf of Mexico, renamed under the Trump administration as the Gulf of America. The company's website lists a fleet of four dive support vessels and a pipelay barge.
By integrating CES into its portfolio, the Chouest Group said it enhances its ability to deliver end-to-end decommissioning solutions, including plug-and-abandonment, subsea intervention, environmental compliance, marine logistics support, make-safe operations, demolition, and recycling.
"We see decommissioning as one of the most important and fastest-growing segments of the offshore energy market," said Dino Chouest, executive vice president of the Chouest Group. "The addition of CES allows us to offer a fully integrated solution, leveraging the diverse technical expertise and operational scale found across the entire Chouest Group. This acquisition is a natural expansion of our broader service platform, creating meaningful value for our customers."
The decommissioning and plug-and-abandonment market represents a multi-billion-dollar global opportunity over the next decade, with thousands of assets worldwide requiring safe and efficient retirement, according to industry analysts. The Gulf of Mexico has a significant backlog of aging platforms and subsea infrastructure requiring decommissioning.
CES will continue to operate with its existing leadership and team, ensuring continuity for customers and ongoing projects while benefiting from the Chouest Group's scale and capabilities, according to the company.
Jefferies acted as financial advisor to CES. Johnson Rice & Company acted as financial advisor to the Chouest Group.
