Tag: subsea

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Schlumberger Angles for Growth with Bid for Cameron

Business Growth

Changes in the outlook for the upstream oil and gas industry have led Schlumberger to launch a convincing bid for Houston-based oilfield equipment supplier and current joint-venture partner Cameron Int’l. The richly valued deal implies a price for Cameron’s stock of just over $66 per share, a 56% premium over its pre-announcement close.  With the assumption of $1.1 billion of Cameron debt, the deal’s total price approaches $15 billion.

This is not the first time in recent memory Schlumberger has sought to acquire an existing partner.  In 2010, it purchased Smith Int’l to gain needed Continue reading “Schlumberger Angles for Growth with Bid for Cameron”

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FMC Technologies An Oil Equipment Company To Watch

telescope

FMC Technologies, a leading oil equipment company, consistently outranks its peer-group average in EnergyPoint Research’s customer satisfaction surveys. The company has grown into a dominant player over the years partly on the strength of a vigorous research and development program that began bearing fruit in time for today’s exuberant revival of subsea drilling and development.

Not a pure customer satisfaction winner, though, FMC’s ratings fall more in line with its oil equipment company cohorts in the subsea segment. Like many of its peers, the company draws lower ratings from some customers for both organizational and equipment performance. And in what might come as a surprise to some, the company rates lower in shelf and deepwater wells, which account for about two-thirds of its business, than for onshore applications. Continue reading “FMC Technologies An Oil Equipment Company To Watch”

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Cameron Int’l Making Its Way To New Depths

New Depths

Conceptualizing, fabricating and installing the labyrinth of integrated systems and equipment required for today’s massive subsea projects are some of the most complex tasks in the oil and gas industry. Without question, the daunting challenges at these depths contribute to the historically low customer satisfaction ratings for subsea products we have observed in our surveys over the years.

Although not the market-share leader in the space, Cameron International has recently been dynamic in its efforts related to increasing the profile of its subsea offerings, most notably advancing the depth and breadth of its capabilities via its OneSubsea joint venture with Schlumberger.

Continue reading “Cameron Int’l Making Its Way To New Depths”

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Cameron – Schlumberger JV Shifts Subsea Currents

Subsea Systems

Cameron and Schlumberger announced this morning the formation of OneSubsea, a 60/40 joint venture partnership that will focus on manufacturing and developing subsea products and services worldwide.

Cameron will contribute its existing subsea division and receive $600 million from Schlumberger. It will also act as operator. For its part, Schlumberger will contribute its Framo, Surveillance, Flow Assurance and Power and Controls businesses. Continue reading “Cameron – Schlumberger JV Shifts Subsea Currents”

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Wellheads & Trees: Consistency a Virtue, Reliability a Requirement

Wellhead and Tree Image

The father of modern scientific method, Sir Francis Bacon, believed consistency to be “the foundation of virtue.” Dramatist and poet Oscar Wilde, on the other hand, saw consistency as the “last refuge of the unimaginative.”

While we do not wish in any way to diminish Wilde’s esteemed position in literary circles, we do suppose it’s a good thing he made his living with a pen and not with the drill bit. Why? Because this much we know: consistency matters in the oil and gas industry.  In fact, it matters a lot. Continue reading “Wellheads & Trees: Consistency a Virtue, Reliability a Requirement”

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A Sea of Discontent

A Sea of Discontent

The wisdom of the masses is a concept that contends information gathered from a group is generally more reliable than information gathered from any single individual within that group.  If so, what is the industry saying en masse about the products used to develop offshore wells—particularly those at greater depths—in light of the Deepwater Horizon incident?

In short, EnergyPoint’s data suggest customers are significantly less satisfied with the equipment and materials available for subsea and deepwater projects than for land- and surface-based applications.  In fact, since 2005, subsea products received the lowest overall customer ratings of all product segments tracked in our surveys. Continue reading “A Sea of Discontent”

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GE’s Purchase of Vetco Gray: Examining the Impact

GE's Purchase of Vetco Gray (FI) v. 1.00

It would not be surprising if last month’s announcement that General Electric will purchase oilfield equipment maker Vetco Gray sent a collective shiver down the spines of Vetco competitors.

For years, competitors watched Vetco more or less tread water under the ownership of ABB. Private-equity bought the company in 2004 and seemed to hold to the traditional private-equity model of limiting investments to initiatives offering the highest returns and quickest payback. We suspect to see changes at the company now that it is in the hands of a longer-term, more growth-oriented owner. Continue reading “GE’s Purchase of Vetco Gray: Examining the Impact”