As Oil Transitions to “Energy,” OFS Firms Revisit Priorities and Positions

Feder, Judy (JPT Technology Editor)

OnePetro 

As the oilfield service sector emerges from a downturn and into a post-COVID-19 world, the companies that comprise it are repositioning them-selves along with their product and service portfolios to demonstrate their ability to sustainably support both new energy solutions and legacy oil and gas customers. This will mean charting new paths through a rapidly changing energy sector and protecting core competencies while entering new markets full of both opportunity and uncertainty. That is already happening among the sector’s heavyweights. While they still have large legacy businesses focused on hydrocarbons, some are adopting broader energy services business models to reflect the move toward cleaner fuels and renewables. And some are diversifying into new industries altogether, where they can leverage their assets’ competencies to expand their revenue base and potentially broaden their appeal to investors. Capital Discipline and Patience Sriram Srinivasan, Halliburton’s company’s senior vice president, global technology, said his company is pursuing a long-term journey of looking for solutions to control emissions across the entire upstream operations spread. “It’s no longer just about deciding where or when to turn pumps on and off or change a gear in the engine powering the pumps in a hydraulic fracturing spread to get improved downhole outcomes. It’s also about embedding energy considerations for emissions reduction across the board,” he said. “We have always designed for performance, cost, serviceability, and operability. Now we’ve added emissions sustainability.” He used artificial lift as an example. “Electrical submersible pumps (ESPs) are big consumers of electricity. Anything you can do to improve the energy efficiency of ESPs goes a long way toward reducing carbon footprint.” Most ESPs today are powered by electric induction motors. Halliburton is now looking at permanent magnet motors and associated electronic drives to maximize the efficiency of the motors, and thus, the pumps. The pump design can also be made more efficient by optimizing the design of the impeller blades. “Another challenge,” he continued, “is that when sand gets into the pumps, it degrades efficiency, so the pump becomes less efficient the longer it stays in the well. We need changes in coatings to prevent sand from agglomerating on the blades. How do you get a cheap coating that will protect from sand?” Srinivasan also pointed out that energy efficiency can be improved and carbon footprint reduced by spending less time drilling the same kinds of wells, noting that standardization, digitalization, and automation are key enablers. “The industry is still heavily manual, many people are involved, and there is still way too much paper,” he said, adding that there is huge potential for efficiency improvements and also real urgency around achieving efficiency in every aspect of the drilling operation.

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