Calfrac Well Services

Last updated
Calfrac Well Services Ltd.
TypePublic
TSX:  CFW
IndustryOilfield Services
Founded1999
Headquarters Calgary, Alberta. Denver, Colorado.
Key people
Chief Executive Officer: Pat Powell (From June 3, 2022)
Chief Financial Officer: Mike Olinek
Chairman: Ronald P. Mathison
Vice Chairman: Douglas Ramsay
Board of Directors: George Armoyan, Anuroop Duggal, Chetan Mehta, Charles Pellerin, Pat Powell
Divisions: Marco A. Aranguren (Director General, Latin American Operating Division) , Gordon Milgate (President, Canadian Operating Division), Mark D. Rosen (President, U.S. Operating Division)
ProductsOilfield services
Website www.calfrac.com

Calfrac Well Services Ltd. is an oilfield services company operating in Canada, the United States, and Argentina. Services include hydraulic fracturing, coiled tubing, cementing and other well stimulation techniques designed to help increase the production of oil and natural gas.

Contents

History

Calfrac Well Services Ltd. (CWS) was founded in June 1999 as a private corporation by Ronald P. Mathison, Douglas Ramsay, Gordon Dibb, and Robert (Robbie) Roberts. At that time, Calfrac had a single coiled tubing unit and was based in Medicine Hat, Alberta. In December 2000, Calfrac acquired Dynafrac Well Services Ltd. and with it a two-pumper fracturing spread, a shallow coiled tubing unit, a high rate nitrogen pumper and four acid pumpers. By the spring of 2001, Calfrac had acquired and constructed seven fracturing spreads plus other well stimulation equipment.

Early in 2002, CWS expanded to the U.S. Rocky Mountain region and started offering fracturing services through a field office in Platteville, Colorado. Calfrac continued to construct more fracturing spreads in 2002 and 2003, and had nine complete spreads by the start of 2004, where it became a publicly traded company on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). In addition to building fracturing spreads in 2003, CWS also purchased four shallow coiled tubing units from private companies to increase its fleet of coiled tubing units to eight.

In 2007, Calfrac entered the Latin American market. Between 2007 and 2013, the company continued to expand through organic growth and strategic acquisitions with 1 million horsepower.

In 2015, Calfrac became the first pressure pumping company to receive the American Petroleum Institute's (API) Specification Q2. Between 2015 and 2016, seven North American locations become certified under API Q2.

By 2018, Calfrac had pumped 3.9 million tons of proppant with 1.2 million horsepower across North American fracturing fleets. In 2017, Calfrac commenced operations in the Permian Basin with a base in Artesia, NM. In 2018, Calfrac opened a full service technology center in Houston, TX, the Grande Prairie, Alberta location became certified under API Q2.

Between 2019 and 2021, Calfrac was awarded Top Vendor of the Year by a leading independent natural gas and NGL producer for the second consecutive year (2019), along with a consolidated U.S. operating presence into Rockies and Marcellus. In 2021, Calfrac ended the year with Total Recordable Incident Frequency (TRIF) at 1.10 and the United States Division ends the year with TRIF at 0.62.

In June 2022, Pat Powell becomes Calfrac Well Services Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and updates brand promise to, "Do it Safely, Do it Right, Do it Profitably". Additionally, Calfrac grew active large fracturing fleet count from 13 to 15, with 6 coiled tubing units.

Into 2023, Calfrac continues to grow and excel in the oilfield services industry with fleet modernization program, deploying Tier IV DGB fracturing pumps into North America, with more coming in 2024. Additional new technology investments and asset enhancement commencing in 2023 and into 2024.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oil well</span> Well drilled to extract crude oil and/or gas

An oil well is a drillhole boring in Earth that is designed to bring petroleum oil hydrocarbons to the surface. Usually some natural gas is released as associated petroleum gas along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce only gas may be termed a gas well. Wells are created by drilling down into an oil or gas reserve that is then mounted with an extraction device such as a pumpjack which allows extraction from the reserve. Creating the wells can be an expensive process, costing at least hundreds of thousands of dollars, and costing much more when in hard to reach areas, e.g., when creating offshore oil platforms. The process of modern drilling for wells first started in the 19th century, but was made more efficient with advances to oil drilling rigs during the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Submersible pump</span> Pump designed to work submerged in fluid

A submersible pump is a device which has a hermetically sealed motor close-coupled to the pump body. The whole assembly is submerged in the fluid to be pumped. The main advantage of this type of pump is that it prevents pump cavitation, a problem associated with a high elevation difference between the pump and the fluid surface. Submersible pumps push fluid to the surface, rather than jet pumps, which create a vacuum and rely upon atmospheric pressure. Submersibles use pressurized fluid from the surface to drive a hydraulic motor downhole, rather than an electric motor, and are used in heavy oil applications with heated water as the motive fluid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pumpjack</span> Drive for a reciprocating piston pump in an oil well

A pumpjack is the overground drive for a reciprocating piston pump in an oil well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NOV Inc.</span> U.S. energy company

NOV Inc., formerly National Oilwell Varco, is an American multinational corporation based in Houston, Texas. It is a worldwide provider of equipment and components used in oil and gas drilling and production operations, oilfield services, and supply chain integration services to the upstream oil and gas industry. The company conducts operations in more than 500 locations across six continents, operating through three reporting segments: Rig Technologies, Wellbore Technologies, and Completion & Production Solutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coiled tubing</span> Long metal pipe used in oil and gas wells

In the oil and gas industry, coiled tubing refers to a long metal pipe, normally 1 to 3.25 in in diameter which is supplied spooled on a large reel. It is used for interventions in oil and gas wells and sometimes as production tubing in depleted gas wells. Coiled tubing is often used to carry out operations similar to wirelining. The main benefits over wireline are the ability to pump chemicals through the coil and the ability to push it into the hole rather than relying on gravity. Pumping can be fairly self-contained, almost a closed system, since the tube is continuous instead of jointed pipe. For offshore operations, the 'footprint' for a coiled tubing operation is generally larger than a wireline spread, which can limit the number of installations where coiled tubing can be performed and make the operation more costly. A coiled tubing operation is normally performed through the drilling derrick on the oil platform, which is used to support the surface equipment, although on platforms with no drilling facilities a self-supporting tower can be used instead. For coiled tubing operations on sub-sea wells a mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU) e.g. semi-submersible, drillship etc. has to be utilized to support all the surface equipment and personnel, whereas wireline can be carried out from a smaller and cheaper intervention vessel. Onshore, they can be run using smaller service rigs, and for light operations a mobile self-contained coiled tubing rig can be used.

Qserv Ltd. specialised in oil-well services operations, including slickline, coiled tubing and pumping services. In July 2008, the company was acquired by Aker Solutions and it was acquired by EQT Partners in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Well intervention</span> Any operation during/at the end of life

A well intervention, or well work, is any operation carried out on an oil or gas well during, or at the end of, its productive life that alters the state of the well or well geometry, provides well diagnostics, or manages the production of the well.

A production packer is a standard component of the completion hardware of oil or gas wells used to provide a seal between the outside of the production tubing and the inside of the casing, liner, or wellbore wall.

A well kill is the operation of placing a column of special fluids of the required density into a well bore in order to prevent the flow of reservoir fluids without the need for pressure control equipment at the surface. It works on the principle that the hydrostatic head of the "kill fluid" or "kill mud" will be enough to suppress the pressure of the formation fluids. Well kills may be planned in the case of advanced interventions such as workovers, or be contingency operations. The situation calling for a well kill will dictate the method taken.

Kodiak Coil Tubing was an oilfield service company headquartered in Brooks, Alberta. It operated a fleet of ten coil tubing units from operational bases in Brooks, Medicine Hat and Three Hills, all in Southern Alberta. On March 31, 2006, it was acquired by Avenir for C$22.25 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BJ Energy Solutions</span> American energy company

BJ Energy Solutions was founded in 1872 as the Byron Jackson Company in Woodland, California, by inventor Byron Jackson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stewart & Stevenson</span> American industrial manufacturer and distributor since 1902

Stewart & Stevenson is a manufacturer and distributor of products and services for the oil and gas, marine, construction, power generation, transportation, mining and agricultural industries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Completion (oil and gas wells)</span> Last operation for oil and gas wells

Well completion is the process of making a well ready for production after drilling operations. This principally involves preparing the bottom of the hole to the required specifications, running in the production tubing and its associated down hole tools as well as perforating and stimulating as required. Sometimes, the process of running in and cementing the casing is also included. After a well has been drilled, should the drilling fluids be removed, the well would eventually close in upon itself. Casing ensures that this will not happen while also protecting the wellstream from outside incumbents, like water or sand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Well stimulation</span>

Well stimulation is a well intervention performed on an oil or gas well to increase production by improving the flow of hydrocarbons from the reservoir into the well bore. It may be done using a well stimulator structure or using off shore ships / drilling vessels, also known as "Well stimulation vessels".

Trican Well Service Ltd. is a provider of oilfield services, including acidizing, coiled tubing, fracturing, nitrogen pumping, cementing, microseismic, and industrial services. It is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with operations in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, as well as in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Key Energy Services</span> American oilfield services company

Key Energy Services is an American oilfield services company.

Oilfield terminology refers to the jargon used by those working in fields within and related to the upstream segment of the petroleum industry. It includes words and phrases describing professions, equipment, and procedures specific to the industry. It may also include slang terms used by oilfield workers to describe the same.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norris Production Solutions</span>

Dover Artificial Lift is an oilfield services company headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas. The company provides products and services for artificial lift during production of petroleum and natural gas. Dover Artificial Lift was a member of Dover Corporation until 2018, when it was spun off as part of Apergy Energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ENSP Group - National Well Services Company</span>

National Well Services Company (ENSP), in Arabic المؤسسة الوطنية لخدمات الأبار, is an Algerian oilfield services company created in 1981 and a subsidiary of Sonatrach.

References