Oilfield Service Companies: Precision Drilling

Precision Drilling Corporation is the largest drilling rig contractor in Canada, also providing oil field rental and supplies. Operations expanded from 3 drilling rigs in 1984 to over 240+ drilling rigs and worldwide operations (Mexico, North Africa, Middle East, Kazakhstan, India, etc.)

Business units

• Precision Drilling Ltd - contracting of drilling rigs
• Precision Rentals - oilfield and onshore equipment rentals
• Precision Well Servicing - completion and workovers for oil wells
• Rostel Industries Ltd - manufacturing and repair services for oilfield equipment
• LRG Catering Ltd - camp and catering company
• Live Well Service Ltd - supplier of snubbing services for completions
• Columbia Oilfield Supply Ltd - general supply store to the oilfield service industry
• Grey Wolf Drilling - U.S. drilling contractor with 122 rigs (merged in 2008)

*Precision Energy (including Computalog Ltd and Reeves Wireline) was sold to Weatherford International in 2005.

[edit]History

Early years

• 1951 Precision Drilling Ltd. begins operations as an oil-and-gas contractor.
• 1969 Precision Drilling Ltd. is incorporated and acquires the affiliate Precision Drilling Co. Ltd.
• 1984 Precision Drilling Ltd. purchases 3 rigs from Capri Drilling.

Reverse takeover and growth

• 1987 In a reverse takeover, Cypress Drilling Ltd acquires Precision Drilling Ltd. and begins operation as Precision Drilling (1987) Ltd. The size of the company grows to 19 rigs.
• 1988 Acquisition of Spartan Drilling. The rig fleet grows to 35.
• 1990 The company designs and builds a land slant/drilling rig that is capable of drilling to 2,500 meters. This rig generates about $10 million in revenue.
• 1992 The company creates Montero Resources Corp. with focus on exploration-and-production. International drilling operations begin. Precision Drilling (1987) Ltd. changes its name to Precision Drilling Corporation ("Precision"). Precision buys Sierra Drilling, increasing the rig count to 39. Precision also purchases 50% of Sierra Drill Manufacturing.
• 1993 Precision acquires interest in Taro Drilling Partnership and buys rigs from Duranco Drilling. Precision acquires Arrowstar Drilling Corporation. Precision purchases LRG Oilfield Services Ltd., which owns seven camps and a catering business.
• 1994 Geosearch Drilling is acquired, adding 21 rigs and six additional camps for LRG Catering. Precision builds six more slant drilling rigs, bringing its rig total to 83.
• 1995 construction on four new slant rigs, which will double Precision's slant rig fleet to a total of eight rigs.

Diversification

• 1996 Precision acquires EnServ Corporation (adiversified energy services company) for $229 million. Acquisition of 12 well servicing rigs from Gram Well Servicing.
• 1997 Precision purchases Brelco Drilling Ltd., adding 17 rigs and increasing its participation in the deep-gas drilling market. Precision adds the wellsite trailer rental and downhole tool business of Ducharme Oilfield Rentals Ltd. Precision buys Kenting Energy Services Inc., including Lynx, adding 94 rigs to its Canadian fleet. The purchase includes two joint ventures in Azerbaijan and Oman, along with an Argentina-based operation consisting of six drilling and six workover rigs. Precision acquires Columbia Oilfield Supply Ltd. and Capital Oilfield Equipment Ltd. Precision builds 12 new rigs for a total rig count of 207. Live Well Service expands into the international arena with jobs in Spain and Sicily.
• 1998 Precision acquires seven rigs from Brinkerhoff Drilling. Precision reorganizes. Its 214 Canadian-based drilling rigs are now owned and operated by Precision Drilling Limited Partnership. Precision acquires Northland Energy Corporation and Inter Tech Drilling Solutions Ltd., positioning Precision as a world leader in underbalanced drilling technology. Precision creates an Oilfield Specialty Services segment. Precision acquires 16 service rigs from Widney Well Servicing. Precision now owns 76 service rigs and 21 snubbing units.
• 1999 Precision acquires Computalog Ltd., which includes MWD services and cased and open-hole wireline logging. The purchase of Underbalanced Drilling Systems Ltd. adds to Precision's underbalanced drilling services.
• 2000 Computalog Ltd. field-tests a revolutionary integrated data acquisition, processing and delivery system. Precision Drilling International is awarded a contract to drill in Kazakhstan. Precision acquires AQRIT Industries Ltd., which successfully developed patented technology that measures formation fluid rates and reservoir deliverability. Precision acquires Plains Energy Services Ltd. (an oilfield service company). Precision buys CenAlta Energy Services Inc., which operates a fleet of 164 workover and 10 drilling rigs in western Canada.

Incorporation and world expansion

• Precision incorporates
• Precision becomes the majority shareholder in United Diamond Ltd., which designs, manufactures, rents and sells polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) drill bits. Precision acquires Geoservices' global directional drilling and electromagnetic (EM) measurement-while-drilling (MWD) assets. Precision also receives an exclusive, worldwide license to Georservices' EM-MWD technology, using it extensively with the Computalog subsidiary.
• 2001 Computalog U.S.A., Inc. acquires all shares of Premium Pump Services Inc., which provides pressure-pumping services like cementing, fracturing and other stimulation services. Precision Drilling Limited Partnership (PDLP) is dissolved into Precision Limited Partnership.
• Computalog Ltd. changes its name to Precision Drilling Technology Services Group Inc. Computalog Ltd. acquires BecField Drilling Services, which provides directional and measurement-while-drilling services in Europe and the Middle East, having offices in Germany, Abu Dhabi and Syria. Precision Drilling Corporation brands the following companies as the Technology Services Group; Challenger/Silverline, Computalog, Fleet Cementers, Northland Energy, Plains Perforating, Polar Completions, and United Diamond.United Diamond Ltd. celebrates one-year anniversary of its steel body PDC drill bits capturing 20% of the Canadian market, drilling more than 1200 wells.
• 2002 Precision Drilling Corporation is awarded a long-term contract from Canadian Nexen Petroleum Yemen to provide wireline services to support their Masila Block operations in Yemen.
• 2003 Precision Drilling Corporation sells Energy Industries Inc. to Toromont Industries Ltd. PD Mexicana, a jointly owned company between Precision Drilling Corporation and BJ Services Company, is awarded an extension of its multi well integrated services contract by Pemex. Precision Drilling International was awarded a contract to fabricate, mobilize and operate and new-build platform drilling rig offshore India. Precision Drilling Corporation combined its oilfield rental companies into one entity. Former business units Smoky Oilfield Rentals, Big D Rentals and Ducharme Oilfield Rentals joined together and now operate as Precision Rentals Ltd. Plains Perforating and Computalog Wireline Services combined to operate as Precision Wireline Technologies. Precision Drilling Corporation was awarded a four-year, $40-million contact extension to provide underbalanced drilling technology and services to Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), a joint venture with Shell.
• 2004 Precision Drilling Corporation unveils its new global oilfield services brand, Precision Energy Services. Precision Drilling Corporation closes purchase of land drilling business from GlobalSantaFe. (including 31 land rigs located in the Middle East, North Africa and South America, specialized rig transport equipment in Kuwait and the Kuwaiti-Saudi Arabian portioned neutral zone). Precision Drilling Corporation acquires Reeves Oilfield Services Limited (wireline and pipe conveyed logging systems. Precision Drilling Corporation introduces the Super Single Light drilling rig, a scaled-down version of its Super Single rig, as a safe and cost-effective alternative to coiled tubing drilling. Precision Drilling Corporation announces it has successfully operated its HEL MWD and PrecisionLWD tools.
• 2005 Precision Drilling Corporation sells its Energy Services and International Drilling divisions toWeatherford International Ltd. for 26,000,000 common shares of Weatherford and $1 CAD.
• Precision Drilling Corporation announces the sale of CEDA International Corporation for a price of approximately $274 million CAD.

Trust and stock market

• Precision Drilling Corporation and Precision Drilling Trust jointly announce the successful completion of the reorganization into a Trust, commencing trading on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange on November 7, 2005.