Chesapeake, Southwestern Energy agree to merge

Chesapeake Energy Corp and Southwestern Energy have agreed to be combined in an all-stock transaction valued at $7.4 billion. The combined $24 billion natural gas company, which will assume a new name at closing, will pull together large-scale acreage in Appalachia and the Haynesville Shale. Together, the companies’ assets have a current net production of approximately 7.9 billion cu ft/day, with more than 5,000 gross locations.

Mike Wichterich will serve as Non-Executive Chairman and Nick Dell’Osso as President and CEO. The combined company anticipates it will retain Chesapeake’s headquarters in Oklahoma City but will also maintain “a material presence in Houston.”

According to Wood Mackenzie, the merger will create a company that produces 3.3 billion cu ft/day, owns over 20% of Haynesville production and controls over 600,000 net acres.

Arabian Drilling orders additional top drives from Kenera

Kenera has secured a contract to deliver five top drives and five iron roughnecks to Arabian Drilling for newbuild rigs to be operated in Saudi Arabia. The order follows a previous contract for five top drives awarded in September 2023.

Kenera’s Bentec business unit will deliver the top drives, which will offer remote monitoring and troubleshooting through Bentec’s digital service platform, rigCARE, to optimize the drilling process and reduce well delivery times.

KCA Deutag, Pruitt join forces to provide MPD solutions

KCA Deutag and Pruitt have signed an exclusive partnership agreement to collaborate globally on managed pressure drilling (MPD) opportunities.

The partnership provides Pruitt with access to KCA Deutag’s resources, rig engineering, and supply and manufacturing bases in Europe and the Middle East, while KCA Deutag will benefit from the inclusion of Pruitt’s MPD solutions in its drilling operations.

Halliburton partners with Oil States on MPD solutions

Halliburton and Oil States Industries are collaborating to develop managed pressure drilling (MPD) solutions that provide improved control in narrow pressure windows in deepwater. The collaboration will provide operators and drilling contractors with an MPD product-service combination to safely access greater operational efficiencies like ease of handling and streamlined installation. 

Mark Moffat takes reins from Darren Roos as IFS CEO

IFS has promoted Mark Moffat to CEO, taking over from Darren Roos, who has been appointed as the company’s Chair of the Board. Mr Moffat was previously IFS’ Chief Customer Officer and held several senior positions at PwC before joining IFS.

Mark Ritchie heads up Enteq’s new Aberdeen office

Enteq Technologies has opened a new office in Aberdeen that will function as the company’s support services headquarters. Mark Ritchie, Enteq’s recently appointed CFO, will head up this UK office.

Research project targets extended-reach needles

Aker BP and Fishbones have begun a technology development project focusing on extended-reach needles, small-diameter laterals that penetrate reservoirs to increase recovery. The aim is to extend the reach of existing Fishbones needles by 50%, from 12 m to 18 m, which will enable the efficiency of the company’s lateral stimulation technology. The Research Council of Norway is backing the project with a NOK 1.25 million grant.

BIO-UV to supply ballast water system for drillships

BIO-UV Group has received an order from an offshore drilling contractor based in the United Arab Emirates to supply the BIO-SEA ballast water treatment system to a pair of drillships. The order calls for the delivery of a modular version of the system, and the units will provide for flow capacities up to 750 cu m/hr.

Pipe manufacturing plant wins LEED certification

Tenaris’ Bay City, Texas, plant has received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification – the first pipe manufacturing facility in the US to achieve this designation. 

The US Green Building Council has recorded fewer than 10 LEED-certified industrial projects in the US since 2010.

ABL secures rig moving deal with Velesto Drilling

ABL has been awarded a contract by Velesto Drilling to provide marine warranty survey services relating to rig moves offshore Malaysia. ABL will also support Velesto with rig moves to adjacent countries, including Vietnam, Indonesia or Thailand, over a one-year period. ABL is expected to survey and approve 14-16 rig moves offshore Malaysia for Velesto’s six-rig fleet during the period. 

AGR lands new contract in Guinea-Bissau

AGR has secured a contract with Apus Energia Guinea-Bissau for a deepwater exploration well. AGR will provide consultancy in well construction, drilling engineering, procurement, supply chain management and operational supervision of the drilling. 

PRODUCTS

Native capabilities added to Industrial Work Surface

Kongsberg Digital has added the advanced K-Spice and LedaFlow simulation technology natively to its Industrial Work Surface. These tools can now be fully automated with a collaborative and open environment. This integration allows for simulation in the context of all other work tasks, enabling users to leverage the value of simulation in real time.

Users can now easily link simulations to time-series data, ensuring their simulations match reality. By performing simulations on real-time data, the Kognitwin platform generates accurate digital replicas of assets, which can be leveraged for near-infinite virtual insights. These insights include virtual sensors, equipment performance analyses and sub-system optimizations. The cloud-based platform allows for the scalability of simulations.

Users can present simulation results in the context where they are most relevant. Other data sources can be compared and leveraged to quickly evaluate simulation results, providing a comprehensive understanding of asset performance. Additionally, simulations can be triggered as part of events or workflows, enabling forecasting and look-ahead simulations for daily reporting or shift handovers. 

Improved mixing technology receives new US patent

ProSep recently received official acknowledgment from the US Patent Office for improvements made to its Annual Injection Mixer, resulting in a new patent being issued.

The mixer provides an alternative to traditional injection quills and static mixers. The improvements noted in the patent optimize the energy transfer of the process fluid to the injected phase, leading to enhanced additive dispersion throughout the process stream. As a result, there is a greater surface area of the additive to be used, reducing the need for overdosing. Field data indicates additive savings of 20% to 60% are possible.

App helps to streamline wellsite personnel management

Intelligent Wellhead Systems has launched Wellsite Watch, an application providing digital and simplified personnel management for wellsite operations personnel. It can be accessed via personal devices or tablets with an intelligent digital sign-in either directly via the application or by scanning a QR code. Digital check-in and -out replaces clipboards and paper. Data is handled electronically with cloud backup and maintenance to provide a consistently up-to-date roster. 

The app also incorporates digital HSE information and acknowledgement forms for easy sign-off. Digital injury and hazard identification is also available through Wellsite Watch.

New completion tools target efficiency, cost savings

KLX Energy Services has introduced its VISION Suite of downhole completions tools, delivering advanced engineering and customized solutions for downhole operations. The suite includes OraclE-SRT (smart reach tool), Spectra PDC and PhantM dissolvable frac plugs.

Spectra PDC, KLX’s downhole thru tubing motor system, is designed to eliminate nonproductive time on long lateral runs. The motor bearing pack’s design utilizes PDC inserts with significantly fewer parts than a traditional ball bearing pack.

The OracleE-SRT is a downhole thru tubing extended-reach tool that can be fully manipulated from the surface to turn on and off. The PhantM dissolvable frac plugs are designed to minimize the need for interventions.

Solution makes treating produced water easier

Adaptive Process Solutions (APS) has introduced its Microbubble Infusion Unit (MiFU) to address challenges related to aging assets and reservoirs to efficiently and effectively clean produced water so that it meets regulatory standards before it can be discharged back into the sea.

The APS MiFU is capable of processing between 1,000 and 100,000 bbl/day of water and can remove up to 90% of oil and contaminants from produced water without the need for downstream filtration.

New snapback technology adds to mooring systems

Samson has launched Defender Fuse, a product designed to complement standard mooring systems. It is an advanced overload warning system engineered to mitigate snapback situations and can be added to any mooring system without line replacement. The product’s trigger deploys at a specific percentage of the ship design MBL (MBLsd). The catch material will continue to elongate until it reaches its final length, up to 150% more than its original, before complete rupture.