U.S. shale plays may be creating a novel way to measure the new breed of top oil companies. The standard yardstick of worldwide barrels produced per day still evokes names of familiar global players such as Exxon Mobil, Shell and BP, as well as state-owned entities like Saudi Aramco and Petrobras. When gauged by innovation on the frontier of enhanced oil recovery, however, a host of more narrowly focused companies enter the conversation.
The sheer volume of extractable petroleum, and the related economic potential, justifiably dominate shale discussions. The Bakken Shale helped reinvigorate domestic oil drilling, and the Eagle Ford Shale promises to make Texas the eighth largest producer of crude in the world by the end of this year. EOG Resources, a gas company turned top shale-oil producer, has plans to drill 425 wells this year in Eagle Ford. These shales are incubators where today’s new type of top oil company is changing the way we extract hydrocarbons.
Unconventional plays opened by enhanced fracking and horizontal drilling revealed vast new playing fields for the oilfield suppliers that have made the Shale Revolution possible. Opportunity from this trailblazing group of top oil companies has fostered exponential growth openings for the entire segment, but especially so for the most reputable and capable of suppliers.
Not a drop of the estimated 2.75 million barrels a day of crude in the Eagle Ford Shale will surface without the novel techniques and products first developed by oilfield suppliers. Since integrated service provider Halliburton’s and Lyco Energy’s first fracked well in Bakken’s Elm Coulee Field play proved profitable in 2003, the service and supply companies have been at the cutting edge of unconventional land drilling and development in this region.
Oilfield providers from newcomers to yesteryear’s pioneers are refining the techniques that are fast becoming the standard for enhanced oil recovery. Fracking, a complex and collaborative process, demands oilfield service and equipment suppliers push innovation as they stake claims in an open market. Integrated providers such as Schlumberger have developed suites of products forged in the shale, adding to the more than 7,000 patents filed for unconventional drilling products. New industry sub-segments (e.g., water transfer, micro-seismic, etc.) are also emerging and growing quickly.
Those who’ve answered the call with sound execution and quality have become the new standard bearers. The most highly regarded oilfield suppliers have begun reaping the ensuing repeat business as their sectors grow. EnergyPoint Research’s customer satisfaction surveys have uncovered some of them.
Top oil companies manage demanding relationships with service providers as much as they manage natural resources. Operators are looking for the most efficient processes, the most reliable equipment, and the best downhole data. And they want it now, while the getting’s good.
For suppliers and the companies that employ their service, the getting may get much better. Firms that establish their brands in the American shale stand to meet yet more opportunity as the world opens itself to enhanced oil recovery.