'Changing the Game' in the Utica Play

ZELIENOPLE, Pa. - Dec. 18, 2014 - PRLog -- Deep Well Services (DWS) is again expanding its fleet of state-of-the-art equipment, investing in more standalone snub units and an additional service rig ─ all designed to make the region's increasingly high-pressure wells safer.

Wrapping up a record-breaking year of growth and job creation, the Butler County company already plans to add one additional 285K standalone snubbing unit,  a 15k- 250 standalone snubbing unit and another service rig to its fleet in 2015. The expanded fleet also means the company will add another 65 jobs by May of next year.

Since DWS brought in its first 285K snubbing unit in 2014, the equipment has been in such high demand that it paid for itself in less than six months, CEO Mark Marmo says.

"Our customer base has been ecstatic over the performance of the unit and the crews that operate it," he says. "We recognize that the market and our customers need this type of equipment, and we have the opportunity to grow and increase safety for these high-pressure wells in the Utica play."

DWS has been involved in multiple record-breaking Utica wells this year. The "next generation" 285K unit will be available in January and will be safer, faster and have a smaller footprint on the well pad than rig assist work.

"The new unit will be a game changer in the Utica play," Marmo says. "We can now handle our customers' most complex well completion needs in less time and in a safer environment than our competition."

The 250K unit is expected to be available in May and will feature 15k BOP’s.

"We believe it will be the only 15,000 psi-rated standalone unit in the Marcellus and Utica shale plays," he says. "That increases the safety factor for those high-pressure wells we see coming online in the Utica."

DWS also is adding a fourth service rig ─ one with a 112-foot, 265,000-pound mast ─ in January, a sign of the company's overall growth. In 2014, DWS surpassed its former all-time high of $14.2 million in revenues to achieve $27 million, which Marmo attributes to extraordinary employees who keep safety at the forefront on each of the company's jobs.

"It's really our employees who have allowed us to grow," he says. "It is because of the talent we have in the field."

DWS is the only snubbing company headquartered in Pennsylvania, and the majority of its employees are Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia residents. The company furnishes service rigs and rig assist/standalone snubbing units and has a roustabout line of business in the Appalachia region. More information is available at deepwellservices.com.