Pittsburgh’s Deep Well Services to begin work in Canadian Duvernay

PITTSBURGH - July 30, 2015 - PRLog -- Deep Well Services (DWS) will head North of the border in August as the Pittsburgh-based oilfield service company begins work in the Duvernay formation in Alberta, Canada.

    The Canadian venture represents the latest in a line of innovative developments and expansion for DWS in the past year. The 50- to 80-day project will utilize high-grade Canadian talent among three crews comprised of six men each.

    “We will be snubbing in and drilling out composite frac plugs with a drill string in a single bit run, pulling out the work string and installing production tubing,” said Colby Debolt, Deep Well Services’ Canadian Field Superintendent. “Our 4-post standalone snubbing unit is highly specialized and modified specifically for drilling out and completing multistage extended reach horizontal wells in extreme pressure conditions, and we can rig it up in less than eight hours.”

    DWS will conduct its operations near the Canadian town of Fox Creek, Alberta.

    DWS has the capability to efficiently perform shadow plug work to drill out the clogged plugs. DWS is able to rotate the tubing and apply more weight and a higher rpm on the bit.

    The company’s versatility and advanced technology will make a significant impact in the Duvernay, the most productive and active play in Canada. The Duvernay is comparable to the Utica and Marcellus plays in the United States.

    “The best thing about our equipment is we can get deeper and do it quicker and more efficiently at higher pressures. We can do it safer than others can,” Debolt said. “At the same time, we can add efficiencies like installing production tubing after drilling out the plugs.”

    “There is no other four-post standalone in Canada that can rig up, rig down and rig over on multi-well pads in the time efficiency we can,” he added. “The times for the rig-in and rig-out as well as trip times are even quicker than most 2 post 120k standalones. Our last pad, we had the hanger landed and ready to pressure test on the next well within two hours.”

    Deep Well Services has established a reputation as a productive and successful company which has added workers and equipment at a time when some large oil and gas contractors have made cuts in their workforce.

    DWS is up to 151 employees from 125 in November 2014. The number will increase once the work in Alberta begins.

    In June, DWS added a state-of-the-art 15K, 250 jack snubbing unit that enabled the company to better prepare wells to produce oil and natural gas after the Frac is complete.

    “This addition enabled us to handle even higher pressure wells that are out there throughout the basin,” said John Sabo, Chief Operating Officer at DWS.

    DWS consistently has raised the bar. In May, the company invested in a 35-foot, standalone snubbing unit. “This unit increased safety and efficiency substantially on multi-stage longer lateral jobs with faster rig up, powerful rotary and swivel gallery system for drill out efficiencies, single pick between wells, and top tier talent,” Sabo said of the 35-foot standalone.

    The company also recently added a snubbing simulator to improve preparedness, safety and education about the benefits of snubbing.

    In February, DWS added a 10K 285 standalone snubbing unit and a 112-foot, 265,000-pull service rig.

    The company anticipates the revenue for 2015 to be $42 million and for profits to increase by 90 percent over 2014, DWS President Mark Marmo said.

    “We strive to build upon our role as an industry leader,” Marmo said. “We invest in innovative and efficient equipment and strive to hire and train quality employees. Our goal is to fabricate and facilitate the completion of Marcellus and Utica wells as the only snubbing company headquartered in Pennsylvania.

    “We are extremely excited about our commitment to working the Duvernay play in Canada,” Marmo added.

    DWS intends to build on its reputation of an efficient and safety-conscious operation.

    “There are two reasons why we have been so successful -- the equipment and the men,” Debolt said. “State of the art would be an understatement as far as our equipment. Unlike any other snubbing jack in Canada, our 4 post standalones incorporate a slip gallery, meaning we can efficiently rotate tubing every stroke from the first plug to the toe and not have to disconnect slip hoses before rotating. Our baskets are over twice the size of a standard snubbing jack meaning more room to move, increasing efficiency.”

    “Our men are second to none,” Debolt continued. “At Deep Well, our motto is: ‘Safety first - one team, one family.’ And, we mean it. While everybody else is slowing down, Deep Well Services is still flat out. This, paired with the excellent quality of life in the greater Pittsburgh area, has allowed us to attract some of the greatest snubbing talent worldwide, including our own region, Texas and Canada. Both our American and Canadian divisions have such stacked crews that the competition just simply cannot compete.”