Enteq Technologies, the energy services technology and equipment supplier, has opened its new technology centre in Andoversford, near Cheltenham, in the UK to drive the development of its innovative SABER Tool
The centre’s launch follows successful downhole and system testing of the new SABER Tool, an innovative alternative to traditional rotary steerable systems (RSS) for directional drilling. Housing a team of engineers, the dedicated technology centre will allow the company to continue development of the tool ahead of full commercialisation in 2022.
The SABER Tool is an evolution of the proof of concept, tested by Shell and licensed to Enteq, representing a step-change in directional drilling technology. The Enteq team, which has expanded rapidly in response to its product development and global growth ambitions, has re-engineered the concept resulting in a mechanically simple, plain collar and compact design that promises excellent control and new levels of reliability.
Andrew Law, Enteq CEO commented, “Once the SABER Tool outperformed our expectations in initial surface and downhole testing, we decided it was time to push forward with our plans for a new UK technology centre to support the tool’s further commercial development.
“Though our ambitions for SABER are global, the UK is our home as a company and an excellent base from which to conduct business worldwide, with a wealth of respected and relevant engineering talent. The area is known within the industry for being a hub of expertise for RSS development, so it was the logical that this should be the location of our UK technology centre.”
The centre will be started up by Marcus Quitsch, who was recently employed as the company’s reliability manager. Marcus brings nearly two decades of experience from companies including Baker Hughes and Weatherford.
Neil Bird, VP Advanced Drilling Systems at Enteq added, “I am looking forward to bringing the SABER Tool to market as a fully commercial directional drilling system in 2022, underpinned by this new appointment and facility expansion.”
Enteq showcased the new technology at ADIPEC in November 2021, where it attracted considerable interest.
Andrew Law commented, “We see a good future in the Middle East, for both technical and commercial reasons. On the technical side, the principle of the tool means that it has relevant applications in the Middle East, while on the commercial side, our role is to support independent regional service companies, so we provide this technology to them as our route to market. They are always looking for something that is reliable, robust and efficient, and this tool has been designed and developed with that in mind. It’s very exciting, given that the Middle East is a key market for us."
