PRODUCTS

PEOPLE & COMPANIES

DRILLINGCONTRACTOR

May/June 2004 D R I L L I N G C O N T R A C T O R 65

Fracturing fluids. Baker Oil Tools hasdeveloped B9 Emerald FRAQ™, thefirst fracturing fluid to combine superi-or performance with benign environ-mental effects such as low toxicity andbiodegradability, making the fluid idealfor offshore use. The company starteddevelopment of the fluid with a basicguar polymer similar to that used as athickening agent for foods such as hotsauce and ice cream. B9 emerald FRAQmeets and exceeds current Gulf of Mex-ico offshore permitted waste fluid dis-charge regulations for well treatmentfluid standards set by the Environmen-tal Protection Agency (EPA), specifiedin the Code of Federal Regulations, 40CFR Part 435. With less than 29 mg/l ofhexane extractable material (HEM), oil

and grease content, it satisfies theEPA's definition of "oil and gas free" forwell treating fluids. The EPA regula-tions do not establish a discharge per-mit standard for toxicity for well treat-ment fluids. However, with the B9Emerald FRAQ fluid systems very lowtoxicity (less than 3%) the fluid alsomeets and exceeds the 40 CFR Part 435standards set for drilling fluids. B9Emerald FRAQ fluid biodegrades tomore than 60% in 28 days as tested bythe OECD guidelines, meeting orexceeding this standard. The EPA regu-latory classifications for offshore welltreatment fluids do not specify a toxici-ty level or a requirement to bebiodegradable. n

GlobalSantaFe's Rose retires. RobertE Rose, Chairman ofGlobalSantaFe,retired from his roleas Chairman effec-tive March 31 but willremain as a non-executive Chairmanof the Board. "It hasbeen a privilege lead-ing the company," MrRose said. "As I entera new phase in mycareer I am confidentthat Jon Marshall,together with therest of Global-SantaFe's manage-ment and employees,all share a commit-ment to excellenceand are on track todeliver superior long-term shareholder value." Mr Rose engi-neered the merger of Global Marineand Santa Fe Corporation and hebecame Chairman of the combinedcompany upon the closing of thattransaction in November 2001.

Grant Prideco names Senior VicePresident. GrantPrideco appointedMatt Fitzgerald asSenior Vice Presi-dent and CFO. MrFitzgerald joined thecompany from Veri-tas DGC where hewas Executive VicePresident, CFO andTreasurer. Prior thatthat he was Vice President and Con-troller of BJ Services Company.

IDM modernizes drilling rigs. IDMEquipment Ltd recently entered into ajoint venture with Industrial ElectricRigs (IER) of Canada to re-power 12drilling rigs in Algeria. The rigs, part ofSonatrach's Enterprise Nationale desTravaux aux Puits, are to be modern-

Robert E Rose

Jon Marshall

nized with new power and control sys-tems. Each rig power package includesfour 1320 hp Caterpillar diesel engine-generators, a 320 KW emergency gen-erator and an electronic SCR powercontrol system. The project is worth$27.5 million.

ABB Vetco Gray sets record. ABBVetco Gray set a new water depthrecord for a marine drilling riser. A 21-in. HMF flanged connection drillingriser system was used by ChevronTex-aco to drill a well in 10,011 ft of waterin the Gulf of Mexico. The completemarine drilling riser system is a ClassF riser rated to 2.5 million lbs of ten-sile capacity and includes all compo-nents from the spider and gimbalassemblies, the 60-in CSO (CompleteShut-Off) diverter, the tensioner ring,flex joints and telescopic joints to theHD H-4 connector at the top of the BOPstack. The ABB Vetco Gray superheavy duty SHD H-4 hydraulic well-head connector, designed for deepwa-ter applications, was also used on thiswell.

Grant Prideco realigns unit. GrantPrideco realigned its Tubular Technol-ogy and Services business unit, inte-grating its MarineProducts and Ser-vices business unitand its XL Systemsproduct line as partof the company'sstrategy to focus onits core drill pipe,drill bit, and tubularbusinesses. DavidBlack was appointedPresident of Tubular Technology. Hewas formerly Vice President - Opera-tions for ReedHycalog since its acqui-sition by Grant Prideco in December2002. Mr Black replaces MarshallDanby, who is retiring as President ofTubular Technology, and Curtis Bur-ton, previously President of MarineProducts and Service, who left the com-pany.

BJ Tubular announces promotion.Gary Young was promoted to areaoperations manager - Latin Americafor BJ Tubular Services, responsiblefor overseeing all BJ Tubular Servicesactivities in the region including finan-cial, operational, quality assessmentmatters and managing the division'sbases in Trinidad, Macae and Rio deJaneiro, Brazil. He will also continuehis ongoing management of several ofthe division's contracts in Brazil andTrinidad. n

David Black

Matt Fitzgerald