Parker Drilling, subsidiaries rebrand as Parker Wellbore

Parker Wellbore – an integrated company comprised of Parker Drilling and its subsidiaries Quail Tools and iTS Energy Services – was launched on 28 September. The alignment of the three companies under a fully integrated global structure empowers the delivery of a comprehensive range of global technology-enabled products and services, according to the company. This is expected to optimize performance and minimize risk to both traditional hydrocarbon and energy transition applications, including geothermal, well abandonment, and the carbon capture and storage sectors.

The company plans to expand into new markets, geographies and sectors to provide advanced subsurface wellbore construction solutions for transitioning energy markets.

“The time is right to consolidate our combined offering so that new and existing customers across the subsurface energy landscape fully benefit from the broad scale of our integrated capabilities in wellbore construction,” said Parker Wellbore CEO Sandy Esslemont.

Parker Wellbore, which currently operates in more than 20 countries, anticipates creating 500-700 new jobs.

ADNOC to acquire 8 H&P FlexRigs under strategic alliance

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and its subsidiary ADNOC Drilling, along with Helmerich & Payne (H&P), jointly announced a strategic alliance under which ADNOC Drilling will acquire eight FlexRigs from H&P for $86.5 million. Following this transaction, H&P will make a $100 million investment into ADNOC Drilling’s recently announced IPO.

The strategic alliance and rig acquisitions will support ADNOC’s target of reaching 5 million bbl/day production capacity and gas self-sufficiency for the UAE by 2030, along with plans to unlock its unconventional oil and gas resources.

For H&P, these agreements help facilitate its goal of allocating capital internationally, particularly in the MENA region. 

MTU gas generators selected for Liberty’s digiFrac pumps

Liberty Oilfield Services has selected Rolls-Royce’s MTU gas generator sets to power digiFrac, Liberty’s fully integrated electric frac pumps. The MTU gas generator sets will be used to power digiFrac pumps with continuous-duty power that can withstand intense pressure-pumping applications. 

Using a natural gas-fueled genset, digiFrac will have at least 25% lower emissions compared with other off-grid power sources. The continuous-duty MTU gas gensets, which are already being utilized in stationary oil and gas applications, can be powered with LNG, CNG or field gas, resulting in significant fuel savings. The first systems from Rolls Royce will be purchased by Liberty in 2022 in conjunction with the commercialization of digiFrac.

Tenaris to provide Petrobras with tubular solutions

Tenaris has been awarded a contract to supply a complete package of products, technologies and services for the Libra offshore exploratory block – renamed Mero 3 – for Petrobras in’s Brazil pre-salt offshore.

The supply encompasses seamless casing in high collapse and sour service steel grades plus Chrome 13 alloys and TenarisHydril Blue Heavy Wall, Blue Max, Wedge 513 and Wedge 623 premium connections, all with the Dopeless technology. 

The pipe supply will be complemented with Rig Direct services, whereby Tenaris will support the customer from mill to well, including accessories and a wide range of ancillary services, plus the customer’s adoption of the pipe-by-pipe identification app PipeTracer.

Burke steps down at Valaris; Dibowitz fills interim role

Tom Burke has stepped down as President and CEO and member of the Board of Directors of Valaris, effective 2 September. Anton Dibowitz, a current Board member, has been appointed as interim President and CEO, effective 3 September. Mr Burke will continue to support Valaris for a period of time to ensure a smooth transition. He will also remain on the Board of Directors of ARO Drilling, a 50/50 joint venture between Valaris and Saudi Aramco. 

Shell to sell Permian assets to ConocoPhillips for $9.5B 

Shell has reached an agreement for the sale of its Permian business to ConocoPhillips for $9.5 billion in cash.

Shell’s Permian business includes ownership in approximately 225,000 net acres, with current production of around 175,000 barrels equivalent per day.

The majority of Midland-based Permian employees and many Houston-based employees will be offered employment by ConocoPhillips with effect upon closing, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the transaction.

Expro completes merger with Frank’s International

Expro Group has completed its previously announced merger with Frank’s International. The combined company, whose portfolio spans well construction, well flow management, subsea well access, and well integrity and intervention, has assumed the Expro Group name.

Chesapeake names Dell’Osso as new President and CEO

Chesapeake Energy has appointed Domenic “Nick” Dell’Osso as President and CEO and a member of its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Mr Dell’Osso had served as the company’s Executive VP and CFO since 2010. Mike Wichterich, who served as Interim CEO, will assume the role of Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. 

PRODUCTS

Autonomous directional drilling launched

Schlumberger recently introduced autonomous directional drilling, which includes solutions to steer autonomously through any section of the wellbore. To achieve downhole automation, Schlumberger introduced a downhole automated control system – an advanced and intelligent closed-loop control unit – that acquires, interprets and acts upon data to drill better and faster wells. Click here to watch DC’s video interview with Raul Suarez, Well Construction Product Manager at Schlumberger, to learn more.

Ingersoll Rand introduces new subsea hydraulic hoist

Ingersoll Rand has released its Subsea Hydraulic Hoist for ship repair and ship husbandry, salvage and recovery operations, subsea maintenance and repair operations, and decommissioning subsea structures. It can be used at depths of up to 30 m underwater. The tool allows people to make underwater repairs at dock or while at sea. This can result in cost savings by avoiding the time and expense of pulling a ship into a dry dock for repairs or maintenance.

The Subsea Hydraulic Hoist’s standard features are designed to meet submerged conditions in temperatures as low as -20°C. The diver-friendly pendant controller can be operated with one hand so that the other hand can be free to control and direct the load underwater.

NOV offers portable treatment unit for oil-based waste

NOV has introduced the iNOVaTHERM portable treatment unit that efficiently treats oil-based drilling waste on both onshore and offshore locations, eliminating costly waste transport while meeting all environmental discharge requirements. As a multi-energy source indirect thermal treatment unit, the iNOVaTHERM system processes various drilling wastes, including contaminated drill cuttings, oil-based muds, oily sludges and slops. It recovers oil and water from the drilling waste, delivering as low as 0.1% oil on cuttings for safe disposal, eliminating the need for dedicated supply vessels to ship waste containers for onshore treatment. 

Unlike other technologies, the portable treatment unit uses non-frictional indirect heating to maintain constant temperatures with lower energy requirements, which improves efficiency with quicker startup and shutdown times. The unit offers simple mobilization and installation while providing a reduced footprint and deck loading. 

Dropsafe enhances design of steel wire mesh net

Dropsafe has launched an upgraded version of its steel wire mesh net. The new design adds the Trisafe Carabiner, which features an innovative “triple action” mechanism to prevent accidental opening. It also incorporates an auto-locking spring to enable easy one-handed use and significantly reduce human error. The new net also includes an updated choke plate with an embedded RFID chip. This digital integration provides safety teams with increased visibility of their nets.

New cement system reduces sustained casing pressure

Halliburton has introduced IsoBond, a cement system that reduces sustained casing pressure at its source to deliver a barrier that minimizes fluid loss, shortens transition time, and improves shear bonding. With rapid gel strength development and short slurry transition time, IsoBond lessens annular flow through cement and increases the anchoring force to the casing and formation by up to 40% compared with traditional systems. This improved shear bonding results in a cement sheath that is more resistant to degradation from corrosive fluids.

This cement system’s transition time to prevent gas migration is greatly reduced and the cement’s permeability can be reduced by up to 75% compared with other cement systems.

Halliburton has pumped over 15,000 barrels of IsoBond across multiple wells in North America and Latin America. The cement system will be available globally by the end of 2021.

Safety cages aim to protect offshore technicians

Logan Industries has completed the design, fabrication and delivery of a set of safety cages to keep offshore technicians safe while inspecting subsea connectors on BOP stacks while on deck. The cage is designed to protect the safety of technicians working near the BOP, in the rare event that the load accidentally drops. The cage is designed to absorb and stop a falling load of up to 450,000 lbs.