O&GME Top 30 Oilfield Services Companies 2017: 1-5

In alignment with the global corporate push for operational excellence, Schlumberger seems to have put mergers and acquisitions (M&A) at the centre of its expansion strategy. The merger with Cameron last year, the purchase of Peak Well Systems in January this year, and the joint-venture with rival Weatherford (named OneStim) for the North American market, are among the significant acquisitions Schlumberger has made in recent times, ensuring that the company increases its reach in the global oilfield services market with every addition to its portfolio.

The standard of products and services within a company’s portfolio figures heavily in where oilfield services players stand in the market. Schlumberger has been producing pioneering products for decades now, most of which are in operation in the regional industry. The OptiDrill real-time drilling intelligence service is one such highlight in its portfolio, helping mitigate risk and increase efficiency during drilling. The system offers early detection of hazards and drillers receive quick guidance on how to mitigate severe downhole dynamics.

Highlight: Schlumberger operates in over 85 countries and employs about 100,000 people of 140 nationalities.

2. Baker Hughes by GE Oil & Gas

Making global headlines this year is the recent acquisition of Baker Hughes by GE Oil & Gas. The mega-merger has created an oilfield services giant that boasts of a ‘fullstream’ portfolio, making Baker Hughes, a GE Company (BHGE) the world’s second largest oilfield services provider.

The merged organisation has a legacy of working with almost every major NOC and IOC in the Middle East and North Africa region for about 80 years, and boasts a regional workforce of 6,000.

The company has been solving complex issues faced by its customers in the Middle East, for example by successfully enabling production in a well that had not produced since its initial completion several years ago. BHGE worked with the operator to develop a solution using its proprietary PulsFrac dynamic event modelling software and perforating services to re-complete this challenging well, getting it back online to start producing thousands of barrels of oil equivalent a day.

Highlight: BHGE is working on a multi-million dollar drilling services award from a major operator in Oman. The award includes directional drilling, measurement-while-drilling, and logging-while-drilling services, cementing BHGE’s position in the Omani market.

3. Halliburton

Clinching the third position in the rankings is US major, Halliburton. In an interview with O&GME earlier this year, Ahmed Kenawi, Halliburton’s senior VP for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) said the company’s regional strategy is aligned with the global three-pronged policy – to bank on the company’s core strength of working on mature fields, unconventional and deepwater projects.

Since deepwater projects are uncommon in the MENA region, barring a few in Egypt, Halliburton’s principal focus is delivering on mature fields.

The company, which has delivered multiple EOR projects globally and regionally, is currently working on a couple of projects in the GCC. Its subsidiary company, Landmark, is working on a digital EOR project in the GCC, where it is controlling the asset’s processes and workflows to achieve field optimisation. 

More recently, Halliburton has also started work on an unconventional project in Oman, where the company ousted a major competitor that had been incumbent on the project for seven years. At the time, Kenawi also revealed that Halliburton was set to begin work on three new project management contracts this year, including work on six additional rigs with full lump sum turnkey deals in Iraq.

Given the specialised work that Halliburton delivers, the company says technical innovation is  key to maintaining its efficient oilfield services portfolio.

Highlight: Halliburton is  presently promoting its Acoustic Conformance Xaminer (ACX) tool – a system that that uses hydrophone array technology to locate and describe communication paths and flow areas in the wellbore area, vertically and radially, in real time.

4. Weatherford

Securing the fourth spot in the O&GME ranking this year is another Houston-based oilfield services   leader. Weatherford has had a presence in the Middle East for more than 40 years, and its operations in Egypt and Abu Dhabi date back to the 1970s. 

Today, the region is home to one of the company’s largest manufacturing centres, as well as a Global Technology and Training Centre, both of which are located in the UAE. The Abu Dhabi Manufacturing Centre supplies a wide range of equipment to more than 150 companies in over 40 countries worldwide. 

When it comes to its operations within the Middle East, Weatherford has been invited to participate in a number of turnkey projects for a major regional NOC. The company won a turnkey project related to rigless well testing operations and successfully mobilised operations in June this year.

As a global leader in managed pressure drilling (MPD) technologies, Weatherford has deployed its flagship offering throughout the Middle East region, to maximise drilling productivity and, more importantly, to prevent the risk of catastrophic well-control incidents.

Highlight: Recently, Weatherford helped one of its customers in the Middle East save a $19mn well from abandonment and drilled to section depth using MPD, ending almost a month of conventional drilling attempts.

5. Weir Oil & Gas

The acquisition of KOP Surface Products in June this year has significantly enhanced Weir Oil & Gas’ upstream portfolio and its capability to cater to its impressive clientele in  the EMEA region. The company’s offering of products and services is distinctly segregated into three key segments of oilfield services: pressure control, rotating equipment, and operations & maintenance. With its regional base in Dubai and with manufacturing and service units in key locations across the Middle East, Weir Oil & Gas has been successfully serving major customers – with recent examples being its wellhead equipment supply contract to KOC, and a maintenance contract with SNOC – and is in a firm position to consolidate its hold and expand in the region.

[Coming up: Read about the other companies that have made it to the top 10 – rankings 6-10…]