People, Companies & Products
Mey is Atwood Oceanics’ new senior VP, CFO
Mark Mey has joined Atwood Oceanics as senior vice president and chief financial officer. He will oversee Atwood’s financial function, investor relations and global supply chain.
Mr Mey has more than 20 years of experience in the energy and financial services industries in the United States and South Africa. He was most recently senior vice president, chief financial officer and director of Scorpion Offshore. Previously, he was at Noble Corp for 12 years, most recently as vice president and treasurer.
He holds an advanced diploma in accounting and a bachelor of commerce degree from the University of Port Elizabeth, South Africa. He’s also a chartered accountant and attended the Harvard Business School Executive MBA Advanced Management Program.
Separately, Ronald (Ronnie) Hall, Atwood vice president operations, has announced that he will retire from the company effective 15 December 2010. Mr Hall joined Atwood in February 1995 and has served in his current position since 2008.
Kumar re-elected president of Petrotech Society
Naresh Kumar, managing director, Jindal Drilling & Industries, has been re-elected to serve his fourth consecutive term as president of Petrotech Society. The group works to further education and awareness in India’s oil industry to help the country achieve energy independence. Mr Kumar is also a member of the IADC Executive Committee and served as the first vice chairman of the association’s South Central Asia Chapter.
Cudd opens Pennsylvania office to support Marcellus Shale
Cudd Energy Services has opened a new office in Canton, Penn., to support activity in the Marcellus Shale play. The company will offer stimulation, both frac and acidizing, coiled tubing, nitrogen, hydraulic workover and wireline services out of the new facility.
Board, senior management changes at Transocean
Transocean’s board of directors has named J Michael Talbert as non-executive vice chairman of the board, Arnaud AY Bobillier as executive VP, asset and performance, and Ihab Toma as executive VP, global business, effective immediately. Mr Talbert is expected to succeed Robert E Rose as chairman of the board when Mr Rose retires at the end of his current term. Mr Bobillier was previously the company’s executive VP, assets, and Mr Toma previously served as senior VP, marking and planning.
Axon gets new sales VP, president for RCD subsidiary
Axon Energy Products has appointed Tony Benich as VP of sales, surface pressure products, and Donna Adame as president of subsidiary Axon Rig Concept and Design (RCD). Mr Benich will oversee sales on BOPs, valves, choke manifolds and surface control units. Ms Adame was previously VP of sales and marketing for Axon Pressure Products.
Patterson-UTI expands pressure-pumping services with Key Energy acquisitions
A Patterson-UTI Energy subsidiary will acquire pressure pumping and wireline assets from subsidiaries of Key Energy Services. This will expand Patterson-UTI’s pressure-pumping capabilities to the Barnett Shale, Eagle Ford Shale and the Permian Basin region. Approximately 80% of the fracturing horsepower acquired are quintuplex pumps suitable for shale frac work.
Nabors to acquire Superior Well Services
Nabors Industries has entered a definitive merger agreement to acquire Superior Well Services. Gene Isenberg, Nabors chairman and CEO, commented that the acquisition will help Nabors to expand outside North America and to integrate pumping services with Nabors’ drilling and workover offerings.
Matt Simmons passes away
Noted oilfield analyst and investment banker Matthew R Simmons, founder and former chairman of Simmons & Co International, died suddenly on 8 August 2010 of an apparent heart attack. He was 67 years old.
Mr Simmons was a frequent speaker at IADC conferences over the years. He was also a proponent of “peak oil” and believed that the world’s production would soon begin diminishing.
Mr Simmons founded the Ocean Energy Research Institute in Rockland, Maine. He is survived by his wife, Ellen, and their five daughters.
McNally to be Precision executive VP, CFO
Precision Drilling has appointed Robert McNally as executive vice president and chief financial officer. Doug Strong, currently CFO, will become president, completion and production services. Both appointments were effective as of mid-July.
Lieungh to replace Lenning as Odfjell CEO
Simen Lieungh will take over as CEO of Odfjell Drilling on 1 October 2010. He was previously CEO of Aker Solutions and replaces Ketil Lenning, who has been Odfjell CEO since 2001.
UniversalPegasus to provide automation, engineering for Parker’s Arctic projects
Parker Drilling has selected UniversalPegasus International to provide automation and electrical engineering for several Arctic oil and gas field development projects. The company has provided Parker with electrical, automation and mechanical engineering services in support of the design and construction of offshore drilling packages near Russia and the Alaskan North Slope.
Harris named president of Foster Marketing
Tiffany Harris has been named president of Foster Marketing Communications, succeeding company founder George Foster, who will remain as CEO. Ms Harris joined the company in 1995 as account assistant.
Drillmec opens Houston plant
To strengthen its US market presence, Drillmec has opened a new plant in Houston. The new facility will also allow the company to serve the Central and South America markets. Its focus will be on advanced technology, engineering and customer care. Drillmec is maker of the HH-series automated hydraulic-design drilling rig.
Collins joins Nautronix board
Nautronix Group has appointed Jay Collins as a non-executive board member. He also serves as president, CEO and director of the board of Oceaneering International. Nautronix was recently acquired by SCF Partners.
PRODUCTS
Weatherford UniSlips tool reduces need to change slips
Weatherford International has launched the UniSlips tool, a rotary-mounted, multifunctional slip for casing, tubing or drill pipe operations. It handles all tubulars within its size range without changing slips. A power-grip feature counteracts torque, eliminating the need for manual backup tongs.
New swivel allows 360° rotation while under tension
InterMoor has developed the Inter-M Swivel, which joins chains of the same or dissimilar sizes together to allow for 360° rotation while under tension. It does not require any kenters or joining shackles because it connects directly into studless or common stud-link chain. Each swivel has been proof load-tested to 4,731 kN (1,064 kips).
Bit process allows selective leaching of PDC cutters
Encore Bits has received a patent for a process that selectively leaches PDC cutters. It involves coating the entire PDC cutter with an acid-resistant film and removing the film from portions of the cutter where leaching is preferred. The cutter is then bathed in acid to remove the cobalt-catalyzing material. Leaching the entire cutter face makes the bit more susceptible to dynamic loading, but the new process allows Encore Bits to only leach the drilling edge of the cutter. The company plans to field-test the drill bits with the new technology by Q3 2010.
New hydraulic fracturing fluid additive systems released
Schlumberger has launched its OpenFRAC family of hydraulic fracturing fluid additive systems for fracturing-stimulation treatments. Three fluid variants are available; all are water-based and viscosified fluids. The OpenFRAC SW formulation is used for slickwater fracturing, where drag reduction and less complex fluid systems are desired. OpenFRAC WF is the linear gel variant, offering improved proppant transport characteristics. For crosslinking, OpenFRAC XL offers the advantages of the other two fluids while creating wider fractures to enable high proppant concentrations and generate high fracture conductivity.
Water jacket AC drilling motor cooled by circulating water
GE Transportation’s new water jacket AC drilling motor is a completely enclosed, water-cooled and flameproof AC motor for drawworks and top drive applications on drilling rigs. The motor is cooled by circulating water instead of using a blower. It is cooled through the shaft of the units, as well as the frame. The enclosure blocks moisture and air circulation.
Caterpillar’s IMO II-compliant MaK M 20 C engine available
Caterpillar Motoren, the manufacturing group of Caterpillar that manages the MaK engines, has made available the IMO II-compliant configuration of the M 20 C medium-speed engine. It is available in six- and eight-cylinder configurations. This development comes in advance of the 1 January 2011 enactment of IMO II regulations for the marine industry. The company continues to work on its other three medium-speed engines.
Based on the configuration, the M 20 C engine will produce between 1020-1520 kW at 900-1000 rpm and is capable of operating on heavy fuel oil (HFO) or marine diesel oil (MDO).
The focus of the design changes to the engine is the injector pump, depending on the application. It was redesigned with a new plunger for emission optimization in alignment with new timing for fuel injection, combustion inlet and exhaust outlet. Additionally, the IMO II-compliant configuration uses redesigned gas piping to optimize the flow of exhaust gas.
A retrofit kit is available for existing six- or eight-cylinder M 20 C customers looking to meet the IMO II regulatory requirements.
The other MaK medium-speed engine series are in the testing phase, and Caterpillar expects them to be IMO II-compliant by the end of 2010.
