Despite recovering market, MPD growth could be hindered by capital discipline

Oil prices and drilling activity have recovered from the depths of the COVID downturn. However, with operators focused on capital discipline instead of chasing growth, the trickle-down impact of the market recovery may be slow to come for some parts of the industry. This could impact the adoption of managed pressure drilling (MPD) services across the industry, said Jacob Taylor, VP – Head of Commercial, International Division at Maersk Drilling, which has since completed its merger with Noble. In this interview with DC from the 2022 SPE/IADC Managed Pressure Drilling and Underbalanced Operations Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 28 September, Mr Taylor gives his thoughts on why the current market cycle is unlike previous cycles. He also discusses potential financial constraints drilling contractors may face in scaling MPD systems among their rig fleets.