Oil prices help Complete Production IPO to $24/shr

NEW YORK, April 20 (Reuters) - Complete Production Services Inc.'s initial public offering on Thursday raised a higher-than-expected $624 million, according to an underwriter.

The 26 million share offering sold for $24 each, at the high end of a $22 to $24 forecast range. Complete Production originally planned to sell 21.7 million shares for about $573.97 million, according to data provider Dealogic.

Credit Suisse Securities LLC and UBS Securities Inc. were the lead underwriters.

The Houston, Texas-based company, which assists oil and gas companies in developing hydrocarbon reserves, reduction of operating costs and enhancement of production, said it plans to use the proceeds to pay down debt.

The Complete Production IPO comes during a week of record-high oil prices and against a backdrop of concern about a standoff between the West and Iran, the world's fourth largest oil exporter.

Oil prices have soared more than $10, or 16 percent, over the past four weeks, with costs nearly tripling since 2002, inching closer to the 1980 inflation-adjusted peak of $82 a barrel.

"They do production drilling. In the U.S. and Canada, when the price of oil goes up, it increases demand for their services," said Francis Gaskins, president of IPO Desktop of Marina Del Rey, California.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, U.S. crude for May settled down 22 cents at $71.95 Thursday, after hitting an all-time high of $72.49 in electronic trading overnight.

The U.S. government on Wednesday reported a larger-than-expected drop in gasoline inventories of over 5 million barrels, and gas prices hit the $3 mark this week in some U.S. cities.

Complete Production said it expects its shares to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "CPX."