Helmerich & Payne Inc. (NYSE: HP) said Dec. 8 it acquired Magnetic Variation Services LLC (MagVAR), a firm focused on enhancing the accuracy of directional drilling and wellbore optimization.

The Tulsa, Okla.-based company, also known as H&P, didn't disclose the financial terms of the acquisition.

MagVAR was founded in 2010 by Stefan Maus, a senior scientist at the University of Colorado. Through comprehensive 3-D geomagnetic reference modeling, the company provides measurement while drilling (MWD) survey corrections by identifying and quantifying MWD tool measurement errors in real time.

As the industry continues to drill longer laterals, John Lindsay, H&P president and CEO, said he believes well placement becomes increasingly important to maximize field economics and MagVAR’s technology will help achieve this.

“Adding MagVAR’s capability to MOTIVE’s unique directional drilling technology generates a powerful software platform that creates a compelling value opportunity for E&P companies,” Lindsay said in a statement. “As part of H&P, we believe an official partnership with MagVAR creates a unique and desirable service offering that brings directional drilling accuracy to a new level in the oil and gas industry.”

Maus, MagVAR’s founder and CEO, said in a statement, “Joining forces with H&P and MOTIVE means our technology will have even greater potential to reduce positional uncertainty in the drilling process. This is an exciting development in addressing the critical need to achieve economic value in shale and tight oil plays.”

H&P closed its acquisition of MOTIVE Drilling Technologies Inc. in June 2017.

MagVAR's technology has been successfully deployed in both onshore and offshore fields in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Australia and Asia, according to the H&P release. The company will maintain its headquarters in Westminster, Colo.

In connection with the transaction and in part as consideration for MagVAR equity owned by certain of its management members, H&P granted restricted stock awards covering 213,904 shares of its common stock in the aggregate—163,993 shares to Maus and 49,911 shares to Shawn DeVerse.

H&P said the restricted stock awards are not part of any existing equity incentive plan at the company, but are an inducement for the management members to assume and continue employment with H&P. Such restricted stock awards vest in three equal annual installments, generally subject to continued employment, with accelerated vesting occurring upon certain specified events, according to the release.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Vinson & Elkins LLP were legal advisers to H&P and Duff & Phelps LLC was its financial adviser for the transaction. Bryan Cave LLP was MagVAR's legal adviser.