Strata Energy Services Inc, the leading oilfield services provider headquartered in Alberta, Canada have signed a joint venture agreement with the Shoaibi Group to provide integrated performance drilling services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), and its territorial waters.
The joint venture company Strata Energy Services Saudi Arabia Limited (SESSAL) will be headquartered in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, and plans to offer fully integrated oilfield services and with a special focus on Underbalanced Drilling and Managed Pressure Drilling. The joint venture will also offer the complete line of patented Rotating Flow Diverters (RFD) for all drilling applications, Surface Recovery and Separation, Light Snubbing services, Well Design and project management as well as any additional equipment required to perform the same.
Performance Drilling is the application of modern drilling techniques used in difficult operational situations where traditional drilling techniques could be prohibitively costly – either in terms of upfront costs, lost time (NPT) or in terms of lost production due to formation or wellbore damage.
Underbalanced Drilling and Managed Pressure Drilling are alternative methods of drilling, where the wellbore pressure is maintained at equilibrium to or lower than the formation while drilling, can result in reduced overall drilling costs, and increased ultimate oil recovery. Underbalanced Drilling or Managed Pressure Drilling also mitigates or eliminates the risk of formation damage, but also enables oilfield operators to overcome several common drilling problems like lost circulation or differential sticking. These techniques can even allow operators to evaluate the oil reservoir while drilling.
Faisal Al Shoaibi, Shoaibi Group director said: “With Strata Energy’s reservoir optimisation technologies and skills combined with Shoaibi Group’s regional market expertise, I am confident that SESSAL will capture the fast growing demand for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) technologies in KSA, and expand its business in due time across to Bahrain and Algeria.”
Paul Cockerill, Shoaibi Group Oil & Gas Services director, added: “Strata Energy Services is an exceptional addition to Shoaibi Group’s growing upstream portfolio. SESSAL perfectly complements existing technologies within the group, which in turn facilitates a long term strategy of offering integrated services to our customers and allows Shoaibi Group and our partners to compete with conventional service companies.”
If the price of oil continues to rise in the long term, EOR projects can benefit from low economic risk, and can compete with conventional developments. Considering the normal decline in producing fields, about 64 million barrels per day must be added to meet that forecast demand by 2030; it is anticipated that some 5 million barrels per day will be obtained from additional EOR production.
Ken Travis, chief executive officer, Strata Energy Services Inc. Said: “We see the Shoaibi Group as exceptional partner for the region and recognise this partnership as being instrumental in establishing our service offering with the KSA. In addition to strong market knowledge and relationships, the Shoaibi Group brings a strong portfolio of companies with synergistic value that will help ensure success for all.”
Strata Energy Services is a fully integrated provider of oilfield services with a special focus on Managed Pressure and Underbalanced Drilling. Based in Alberta, Strata Energy is a global contractor for oilfield services.The company has been involved in the underbalanced drilling of over 500 wells.
