High Arctic Energy Services, an underbalanced oilfield drilling and production services company, has announced the official opening of its AED 13 million (US $3.5 million) facility in Sharjah’s Hamriyah Free Zone. The facility will design, develop and build combination drilling, workover and snubbing rigs.
“Our commitment to the GCC is evident from our investment activity in the region and is a product of our growing business interests,” said Jed Wood, President and CEO of High Arctic. “We made a strategic decision six years ago to locate our international headquarters in Dubai, which has become our launching pad into the markets of Africa, the Central European States and Asia.”
“Hamriyah is a perfect solution for us to grow our business. We have already decided to double our existing facility by buying and setting up on an adjacent plot of land, and have already shipped our first RAPAD rig, worth some AED 37 million (US $10 million), to a client in Thailand,” he added. Revenue from the GCC is expected to reach AED 88 million (US $24 million) by the start of 2007, which accounts for 20% of the company’s total global revenues of AED 440 million (US $120 million), according to Wood, who made the announcement during his visit to inaugurate the facility.
“Our forecasts project that 50% of our global revenue could be generated from the GCC in 2009. The growth markets include Oman, Yemen, the UAE, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in the GCC, Ukraine and Armenia in the CES and East Asia and Papua New Guinea in Australasia.” Wood continued. “With renowned expertise in underbalanced drilling, we have been able to service international oil and gas giants such as Aramco, BP, Shell and Nexon.”
Underbalanced drilling involves drilling a well with borehole pressure less than the formation bore pressure, allowing fluid to flow more freely into the wellbore while managing the hydrocarbons and associated pressures with surface support equipment. It has become an increasingly important technique in the international oil and natural gas sector, particularly in maturing production areas.
Follow us on
