People, Companies & Products
Trey Adams takes on new role as President at H&P
H&P named Raymond John (“Trey”) Adams III as its new President, leading all the company’s revenue-generating business units. Senior executives reporting to Mr Adams will include Mike Lennox, who has been promoted to Executive Vice President (EVP) of Western Hemisphere Land operations; and John Bell, who has been promoted to EVP of Eastern Hemisphere Land operations.
Mr Adams will divide his time among North America, the UK and the Middle East, with an early focus on embedding H&P’s capabilities into Middle East markets.
Mr Lennox most recently oversaw the integration of H&P and KCA Deutag operations in South America. Mr Bell spearheaded H&P’s FlexRig operations in the Middle East and played a central role in H&P’s acquisition of KCA Deutag.
Ford, Stahl appointed to new executive roles at Precision
Precision Drilling appointed Carey Ford as President and CEO. He succeeds Kevin Neveu, who has retired after serving as President, CEO and a member of the Board since 2007. Mr Neveu, who has also served as IADC Chairman in 2019 and 2025, will continue at Precision in an advisory role.
Mr Ford joined Precision in 2011 and has served as CFO since 2016. He has also led all finance, capital markets and corporate development activities and multiple operational support functions. Dustin Honing will now serve as CFO. Mr Honing most recently served as Vice President, Operations Finance.
Additionally, Gene Stahl has been appointed COO of Precision. Mr Stahl has more than 28 years of experience with Precision and currently serves as Division VP North America Onshore of IADC.
Archer to acquire Premium Oilfield in $20 million deal
Norway-based drilling and well services provider Archer entered into an agreement to acquire US-based Premium Oilfield Services, a provider of fishing and services related to well plugging and abandonment operations. The acquisition is valued at $20 million. Since 2023, Archer has invested approximately $90 million in accretive, bolt-on M&As.
Cactus Drilling acquires Unit Drilling for $120 million
Unit Corp signed and closed a definitive agreement to sell its contract drilling subsidiary, Unit Drilling, to Cactus Drilling in an all-cash deal for $120 million. Unit Corp will continue to operate its upstream oil and gas segment.
Ian Perks takes over as new CEO of Tullow Oil
Tullow Oil appointed Ian Perks as its new CEO. Richard Miller, who had served as interim CEO, returned to his existing role as CFO. Mr Perks has over 30 years of experience in the upstream oil and gas business and has worked extensively in Africa and other locations. He has held senior roles at BG Group, Anadarko and Total.
Chevron, TotalEnergies name new executives to lead exploration efforts
Chevron announced Kevin McLachlan will become Vice President of Exploration, effective 1 November. Mr McLachlan joins the company from TotalEnergies, where he had been Senior VP of Exploration since 2015. He is succeeding Liz Schwarze, who is retiring after 36 years with Chevron.
TotalEnergies has appointed Nicola Mavilla as Senior VP Exploration, replacing Mr McLachlan, effective 1 November. Mr Mavilla has served as Head of Exploration Projects at Eni since 2024.
OSSO to support geothermal project in Germany
OSSO, a provider of fluid temperature control and separation solutions, secured a geothermal contract in Central Europe. Under the agreement, OSSO will provide its mud-cooling technology to support a six-well, three-rig drilling campaign in Germany’s Upper Rhine region.
SLB wins completions contract with Petrobras
SLB secured a major contract from Petrobras to provide services and technology for up to 35 ultra-deepwater wells in the Santos Basin, part of the development of the Atapu and Sepia fields. SLB will deploy advanced electric completions technologies and digital solutions starting in mid-2026.
Bishop Lifting, a distributor of lifting products and solutions, named Grant Garrett as CEO. Mr Garrett most recently served as CEO of M&D Distributors.
Equinor, Shell name CEO and Chair for Adura JV
Equinor and Shell appointed Neil McCulloch as CEO and Nicoletta Giadrossi as Chair of their offshore UK incorporated joint venture, Adura. Mr McCulloch is currently CEO of Spirit Energy and will bring more than 30 years of experience to Adura. Ms Giadrossi is currently chairing MSX International. Adura’s creation was announced in December 2024, with Equinor and Shell combining their UK offshore oil and gas assets.
Halliburton, VoltaGrid to partner on data centers
VoltaGrid and Halliburton are entering a strategic collaboration focused on delivering distributed power generation solutions for data centers. Under this agreement, they will develop sustainable power systems utilizing turbines, reciprocating engines and VoltaGrid’s QPac platform.
OTC, ModuSpec enter R&D agreement for well control
Offshore Technical Compliance (OTC) entered into an R&D agreement with ModuSpec to deliver a streamlined approach to well control system assurance.
The agreement expands upon an existing strategic alliance between OTC’s GreenLight, a digital pressure testing (DPT) software suite that conducts, analyzes and predicts the outcome of a variety of pressure tests, and ModuSpec’s RTM (real-time monitoring) service, which provides continuous insight into subsea and BOP system performance. Together, the two technologies offer a simplified solution for well control assurance. The collaboration provides integrated data intelligence, streamlined workflows and reduced nonproductive time, eliminating the need to manage multiple vendors.
The new agreement aims to enhance the combined RTM and DPT offering and further advance ModuSpec’s RTM capabilities.
IFS announced the acquisition of 7bridges, a supply chain management provider that uses AI simulation and analytics to automate logistics networks. The acquisition will allow IFS to scale 7bridges’ capabilities into asset and service-centric industries. In addition, it will enable IFS to accelerate the development of next-generation AI-enabled supply chain solutions.
PRODUCTS
Y-shaped drilling module now rated for 10,000 psi
GD Energy Products (GDEP) announced that its Y-shaped drilling module can now operate in pressures up to 10,000 psi.
Constructed from heat-treated, high-grade alloy steel, the Y-shape’s internal bore geometry reduces stress concentrations, extending the life of high-value parts and lowering total maintenance costs. In addition, the module’s API 7 standard-compliant valve assembly helps minimize fluid velocity, ensuring smoother flow and reduced wear.
The Y-shaped module’s two-piece design offers a practical solution for reducing maintenance costs. Operators can replace only the suction component, which sees the most wear, without the need to replace the entire module. This approach maximizes equipment longevity and minimizes downtime, while the discharge component continues to perform efficiently.
The module is compatible with GDEP’s PZ 1600 and PZ 2000 pump models.
Electro-hydraulic control system enhances smart completions capabilities
Halliburton launched the Turing electro-hydraulic control system, part of the company’s SmartWell intelligent completions technology portfolio. The new control system facilitates fast zonal optimization through integrated position sensors. It also offers a flexible design to reduce rig time, operational risk and production delays.
When paired with Halliburton’s Clariti digital reservoir management suite, the Turing system provides users with added insights and real-time advice on opportunities for well production and field optimization. The system can manage up to 12 zones with three control lines, two hydraulic and one single-wire tubing-encapsulated conductor (TEC). The TEC line communicates with downhole sensors through Halliburton’s DataSphere permanent monitoring suite to eliminate additional lines and reduce subsea infrastructure costs.
Weatherford unveils Industrial Intelligence portfolio
Weatherford Industrial Intelligence, a digital portfolio aiming to deliver actionable insights, was launched in October.
Part of the advancements is the integration of Modern Edge, providing operators with the ability to scale work processes efficiently.
Weatherford is also advancing its Synsera Unified Data Model, which normalizes multi-asset, multi-generation metadata across operations. By combining operational and financial analysis into an API-supported framework, the platform enables decision making and streamlined workflows across facilities.
In addition, the WFRD Software Launchpad gives users an industrial software-as-a-service platform that eliminates the complexity of navigating multiple systems and vendors. It provides a centralized point of access for all Weatherford and partner-built applications while also giving users the ability to publish their own applications to be consumed across the enterprise.
The Launchpad builds on the ForeSite suite, Centro well construction optimization platform, PetroVisor unified data platform and EcoVisor ESG platform, delivering an integrated portfolio.
