US shale gas services provider Gordon Technologies seeks Middle East expansion

Adnoc-backed company plans to establish joint venture to explore Saudi Arabia's unconventional drilling operations

A gas plant project in Saudi Arabia. AFP

Gordon Technologies, a US shale gas services provider that is majority-owned by Adnoc Drilling's Enersol, is aiming to expand its operations across the Middle East as regional countries tap into unconventional oil and gas deposits, its chief executive said.

The Middle East has long been known for its abundant, easily extracted conventional oil and gas, which has been central in driving the region's economies. Increasing domestic power demand and opportunities in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) market have now led countries such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia to accelerate the development of their unconventional gas resources, which are natural gas deposits trapped within rock formations.

Unlike with conventional drilling, in which wells are typically vertical and target easily accessible reservoirs, unconventional drilling requires advanced techniques such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, also called fracking, to extract oil and gas.

Gordon, which has been operating in the US shale industry since the firm was founded in 2014, specialises in measurement-while-drilling (MWD) technology. The company’s MWD tools transmit real-time drilling data, enabling precise navigation through rock formations.

Last year, Enersol, a joint venture between Adnoc Drilling and Alpha Dhabi Holding, became a majority shareholder in Gordon, after boosting its stake to about 67.2 per cent. Gordon is supporting another Adnoc Drilling subsidiary, Turnwell Industries, in the drilling of 144 unconventional oil and gas wells in the UAE.

“Unconventional shale play drilling is new to the world outside the US,” Terry Frith, chief executive of Gordon Technologies, told The National. “We're just beginning the process of hiring people and expanding our footprint in the UAE, but also discussing with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, and Turkey right now,” he said.

Saudi Aramco has been pouring billions of dollars into the massive Jafurah unconventional gas project, located east of Ghawar in Saudi Arabia's eastern province, to support the kingdom's efforts to curb liquid burning for power generation. Gordon has held talks with Saudi Arabia’s Industrialisation and Energy Services Company (Taqa), which operates unconventional wells in the kingdom, Mr Frith said.

“We know that Taqa has all the unconventional wells today … so, we are helping [the company] advance their portfolio of products. We will not sell them equipment; we will partner with them, so something like a joint venture may be on the table,” he added.

Gordon plans to start field tests in the second quarter of this year but will require approval from Aramco, which could be a lengthy process, Mr Frith said. Taqa holds a 51 per cent stake in the Saudi oilfield services firm Arabian Drilling, while Schlumberger owns the remaining share.

UAE expansion

The company currently has an operations facility in the UAE, focused on repair and maintenance. It can handle the support needs of about 40 drilling rigs, Mr Frith said. Gordon plans to work with NTS Amega Global, another Enersol subsidiary, to set up a manufacturing unit in the Emirates that will produce components for the company’s guidance system, including mechanical parts and some electronics, he added.

The company makes its own high-tech parts, especially the electronics that can handle intense heat. The process of making electronic circuitry that can withstand temperatures of 200°C is a “tightly held secret”, Mr Frith said. The UAE facility will handle all mechanical part production and final assembly, while the electronic circuitry, made in the UK, will be shipped to the Gulf country for integration, he said.

Enersol, Turnwell, and their associated businesses are crucial to Adnoc Drilling's goal of becoming a full-service oilfield provider. The Adnoc subsidiary’s oilfield services sector has grown since Baker Hughes took a 5 per cent stake in the company for $550 million in 2018. It was the first time Adnoc had sold a direct interest in one of its services units to an international company.

Adnoc Drilling’s oilfield services revenue more than doubled to $313 million in the fourth quarter, mainly because of increased activity in integrated drilling services, a one-off gain, and strong performance from its unconventional business. The Middle East's upstream capital expenditure is projected to rise to $65 billion in 2030, from $60 billion in 2023, a report by the International Energy Forum (IEF) and S&P Global Commodity Insights said last year.