Baker Hughes scoops Aramco coiled tubing drilling contract

Baker Hughes has won a contract from Aramco to expand its integrated underbalanced coiled tubing drilling (UBCTD) operations across Saudi Arabia’s natural gas fields

Under the multi-year agreement, scheduled to commence in 2026, Baker Hughes will expand its current UBCTD fleet from four to 10 units for re-entry and greenfield drilling projects across fields in the Kingdom. The company will provide integrated solutions to manage all aspects of the UBCTD operations, including coiled tubing drilling units, underbalanced drilling services, operational management, well construction, and geosciences to scale and accelerate their access to gas from new and established fields.

“This project is the result of nearly two decades of successful collaboration between Baker Hughes and Aramco, which have set the standard for UBCTD,” said Amerino Gatti, executive vice president of Oilfield Services & Equipment at Baker Hughes. “By combining advanced technologies with a holistic, integrated approach, we can support Aramco to more efficiently access bypassed and hard-to-reach hydrocarbons and produce the resources that help the Kingdom thrive. This expansion sets the stage for further innovation in UBCTD, which has the potential to shape how oil and gas are produced around the world.”

Baker Hughes’ integrated approach to UBCTD includes the industry-leading CoilTrak bottomhole assembly (BHA) system and enhanced reservoir analysis driven by GaffneyCline energy advisory. This unique pairing of technology and insight allows operators to more effectively navigate the subsurface environment during horizontal drilling and re-entry operations. By combining these solutions with holistic project management services, Baker Hughes will enhance production efficiency, speed and safety while mitigating reservoir damage when compared to traditional development methods.
Baker Hughes entered the UBCTD market in 2008.

The award comes as Saud Arabia is significantly expanding its gas business, including the development of its unconventional gas resources, with the target of increasing its gas production capacity by more than 60% by 2030 compared to 2021 production levels and investing in additional infrastructure to meet the large and growing domestic demand and to displace oil in power generation.