Ritchie Bros. formed a new dedicated energy team to support oil and gas customers with a suite of transaction solutions, services and insights. Kelly Kittson, director of strategic accounts for Ritchie Bros., will lead the new team.

Ritchie Bros. has a long history of serving the oil and gas industry, with its first energy auctions conducted in the 1960s. For the last several years, some of the company’s oil and gas equipment auctions have been held under the Kruse Energy brand, with online bidding available through IronPlanet.

“Oil and gas companies want the same level of choice as any other consignor,” Ann Fandozzi, CEO of Ritchie Bros., said. “With Kruse, we offered a one-size-fits-all solution. With Ritchie Bros. Energy, we can offer unreserved auctions, weekly featured online events, a daily reserved marketplace for premium assets and a listing service. We can also offer oil and gas customers a variety of value-added services and data solutions, along with access to unmatched global reach and buyer demand.”

Ritchie Bros. held its final Kruse Energy auction last week, attracting approximately 3,500 bidders. The first Ritchie Bros. Energy event will be held in September in conjunction with Ritchie Bros.’ Fort Worth, TX, auction, which typically attracts more than 12,000 bidders from more than 60 countries.

“This is all about providing more options for our sellers and selection for buyers,” Kittson said. “For our buyers, we will be leveraging teams globally to find more supply. For sellers, our Fort Worth ‘energy days’ will attract more bidders than we ever could with the Kruse Energy brand, driving stronger prices for your used equipment and surplus assets.”
There will be five Fort Worth, TX, energy day events held annually. Bidding will be available online in real time at rbauction.com and via Ritchie Bros.’ mobile application, which wasn’t available at Kruse events.

“We’ve recently seen a dramatic price increase for drill pipe, up approximately 20-30% in the last quarter. We’ve also seen an uptick in demand for drilling rigs,” Kittson said. “Please contact us today so we can start marketing your equipment to the world.”