Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) said July 24 it entered the reactive chemistry space through the acquisition of Athlon Solutions LLC.

Athlon, which Halliburton acquired for an undisclosed amount, provides specialty water and process treatment chemicals, customized engineering solutions and services for global customers as well as all major refinery and petrochemical areas in the U.S. The company is based in Houston and has 250 employees.

Halliburton has aimed to grow artificial lift in production chemicals and the acquisition of Athlon is an execution of that plan, President and CEO Jeff Miller said during the company's earnings call on July 23.

"This acquisition is the first step in developing our reactive chemistry capability in North America and complements our ongoing efforts to manufacture chemicals in international markets," Miller said.

Athlon will become part of the Halliburton Multi-Chem business line that provides specialty oilfield chemicals for stimulation, midstream and production customers. The acquisition also provides Halliburton with its first chemical manufacturing plant with full reaction and blending capabilities.

Miller described the acquisition of Athlon as small but added that Halliburton plans to grow the business organically.

Halliburton also recently reported its second-quarter earnings that narrowly beat analysts' estimates with a 24% increase in quarterly revenue.

The company said July 23 revenue totaled $6.15 billion for the second quarter, up from $4.96 billion a year ago and surpassing analysts' estimates of $6.11 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.