Surtech, which has a fleet of 23 vehicles across Australia, with main bases in Perth and Brisbane, provides downhole geophysical measurements and its facilities and expertise will be used by Qteq to collect accurate data on the composition and behaviour of subsurface rocks.

"We will build on our shared vision to offer the most innovative subsurface services and technology in Australia, across all georesources," Surtech founder and managing director Martin Mulliner said commenting on the change of ownership.

Qteq chief executive and chair, Simon Ashton, said of the move: "It is a complementary acquisition which greatly enhances our service capability, with operational bases now established in Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland.

"It will accelerate the market adoption of our BMR (borehole magnetic resonance), spectroscopy and LWD (logging-while-drilling) services that we are currently developing," he concluded.