People, Companies and Products
Jackson takes CEO spot at Seadrill, replacing Dibowitz
Stuart Jackson has been appointed as CEO of Seadrill, succeeding Anton Dibowitz. Mr Jackson previously served as the company’s CFO. The role and responsibilities of CFO will be divided into two new roles: Grant Creed will become Chief Restructuring Officer, and Neil Gilliver will become Chief Accounting Officer.
“We are in a new market, and we must adapt and adjust,” Mr Jackson said. “This means eliminating the carrying costs of assets which will never return to the market, addressing the cost base of productive assets and all delivered within a simplified organizational structure. Achieving this, alongside establishing a long-term, sustainable capital structure will see Seadrill well placed to participate in the industry consolidation that is well overdue. We are looking forward to tomorrow but recognize the challenge of today.”
IOGP appoints Iman Hill as new executive director
The International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP) has appointed Iman Hill as its new Executive Director, effective 1 December 2020. She will succeed Gordon Ballard, who will step down at the end of 2020 following his five-year tenure.
Ms Hill is a petroleum engineer with 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. She began her career with BP and has also worked for Shell and BG Group, among others. She has experience in the oilfield in the Middle East, North and West Africa, South America, the Far East and the North Sea.
Before joining IOGP, she was Chief Operating Officer of Energean.
eDrilling Research to focus on disruptive technologies
eDrilling has established eDrilling Research, with the initial goal of consolidating and accelerating the company’s research on disruptive technologies and products that can significantly reduce operational and embodied carbon in well construction and drilling operations. eDrilling Research will work with research and academic institutions to pursue product innovation and fundamental applied research.
Weatherford names new CEO, signs MOU with Safe Influx
Weatherford has appointed Girish K. Saligram as President and CEO, which took effect 14 October. Mr Saligram joins the company from Exterran, a midstream-focused company, where he served as CEO. With this new role, he will also serve as a member of Weatherford’s Board of Directors.
Prior to Exterran, he spent 20 years with GE in positions of increasing responsibility.
Karl Blanchard, who had been serving as Weatherford’s Interim CEO, resumed his role as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.
In separate news, Weatherford recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Safe Influx where the companies will integrate managed pressure drilling (MPD) solutions and automated well control technology. Under the MOU, Safe Influx will combine its Automated Well Control technology with Weatherford’s MPD products and services; the resulting offering will automate the mitigation of drilling hazards while ensuring efficient drilling.
OneStim business sold to Liberty Oilfield Services
Schlumberger has traded OneStim, its onshore hydraulic fracturing business in the US and Canada, with Liberty Oilfield Services in exchange for a 37% equity interest in the combined company. The transaction is expected to close in Q4 2020 and is subject to Liberty stockholder approval, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
vSM adds metal additive manufacturing machine
To support growing demand, voestalpine Specialty Metals (vSM) has installed and commissioned its second metal additive manufacturing machine in Houston. The new equipment allows vSM to print parts in a variety of materials, including cobalt chrome, maraging steels, nickel alloys and titanium.
Contract extension for Unity in northern North Sea
Aberdeen-based Unity has been awarded a three-year contract extension by a UK oil and gas operator to continue its work on three northern North Sea platforms. The contract has two additional one-year extension options. Unity provides well integrity, wellhead maintenance and associated support services for the three assets. This includes surface wellhead and Xmas tree integrity services.
Vallourec adds new capabilities in Singapore
Partnering with Baker Hughes, Vallourec recently announced that its teams can now carry out the threading of its VAM connections in a new threading cell, located at Baker Hughes’ facilities in Singapore. The threading was previously performed by the customer under license.
Pure Safety Group names Jeff Ward as new CEO
Pure Safety Group, a fall protection company, has named Jeff Ward as CEO. He previously served as CEO of Centurion Safety Products and as Director of the British Safety Industry Federation.
Marwell announces two new senior hires
Stavanger-based Marwell recently announced two new senior appointments – Øystein Eide and Petter Rommetvedt. Mr Eide will lead the drilling and well construction segment, and Mr Rommetvedt will head up completions.
PRODUCTS
Sandvik launches new Sanicro 35 Super-Austenitic Grade
Sandvik, a developer and producer of advanced stainless steels, special alloys, titanium and other high-performance materials, has launched Sanicro 35 to bridge the performance gap between stainless steels and higher-cost nickel alloys.
Designed for extremely corrosive environments and seawater applications, it is ideal for heat exchangers and hydraulic and instrumentation tubing. The new alloy features high mechanical yield strength, corrosion resistance and structural stability.
Corva platform to facilitate development of oil & gas apps
Corva has launched the Corva Dev Center, an app development solution for oil and gas companies offering a library of app templates, visualization components, algorithms and data integrations. This means apps don’t have to be created from scratch. At the same time, Corva has announced or expanded:
- Well Design, a suite of engineering apps to minimize the time required to create complex drilling programs;
- Directional Drilling guidance for analyzing bit divergence and automatically generating optimal drilling steps back to plan;
- Well control, a suite of apps to prevent kicks and lost-circulation events; and
- Formation evaluation, offering well log visualization and analysis.
12-minute COVID test kit could help oil and gas workers
TAC Healthcare Group.
To deliver fast, accurate results to essential workers like offshore oil and gas rig crews, Aberdeen-based TAC Healthcare has rolled out new test kits that can detect the COVID-19 antigen protein from a nasal swab and produce results in just 12 minutes. This is a significant improvement on existing devices, which provide results from lab-based tests in up to 12 hours. Thirty of the rapid-testing instruments have been delivered to TAC’s test center in the North East of Scotland.
Crush & shear hybrid drill bit saves $120,000+ in Midcon
Halliburton has introduced its Crush & Shear Hybrid Drill Bit, which combines the efficiency of traditional PDC cutters with the torque-reducing capabilities of rolling elements to increase drilling efficiency and maximize bit stability through changing formations.
The technology places roller cones in the bit’s center for efficient crushing of the formation and moves the cutters to the shoulder for maximal rock shearing. As a result, the bit increases control and durability and achieves a higher rate of penetration.
Each bit also leverages the “design at the customer interface process,” Halliburton’s local network of drill bit experts who collaborate with operators to customize bits for basin-specific applications. In the Midcon region, the Crush and Shear bit helped an operator successfully complete their curve section in just one run. This saved the customer more than $120,000.
Weir extends seat, valve life with new innovation
Weir Oil & Gas has launched its new SPM EdgeX Valve and Carbide Seat, featuring patented tungsten carbide insert technology. It increases seat life an average of six times and doubles valve life compared with conventional valves and seats. This will allow operators to push their frac fleets harder while reducing maintenance costs for valves and seats.
Red Wing Shoe Co has introduced EXOS Lite, the lightest work boot in the company’s history. The boots are designed for indoor and outdoor medium-duty jobs.
PIT VIPER reduces risks in offshore mud pit cleaning
The Pit Viper System, a remotely operated technology for mud pit cleaning on offshore drilling assets, is approaching its first anniversary of operation throughout the Gulf of Mexico, according to Ecoserv. The system decreases risk to workers by replacing confined space entry required during high-risk mud removal activities.
To enhance reservoir surveillance, Tracerco has launched the Tracerco Insights Platform utilizing rapid tracer interpretation and cloud-based reporting. The data that’s generated allows operators to fully quantify oil, gas and water production contribution from along a wellbore.
Coriolois flow meter with improved accuracy
Emerson has introduced the new Micro Motion Coriolis HPC015 flow meter, designed for high-pressure hydrogen dispensing and chemical injection applications. It is capable of a flow accuracy margin of 0.5% for gas and 0.1% for liquid mass flow measurement, a significant improvement over existing meters.
