• "Our revenues and Adjusted EBITDA continued to grow in the third quarter, underpinned by higher sequential demand for downhole tools, drill pipe, and wellsite services in support of drilling operations globally," commented Clay Williams, Chairman, President, and CEO. "However, the slowdown in North American completions activity late in the period led to lower sequential well-stimulation equipment sales. This together with weaker demand for offshore equipment offset some of our sequential revenue gains.

    We believe the industry is poised to achieve higher levels of activity in 2019 as it works through near-term logistical challenges in North American unconventional basins, navigates end-of-year budget constraints, and sanctions more offshore projects. During the third quarter we saw rising demand for conductor pipe connections—a leading indicator of future offshore wells—as well as increased inquiries around offshore rig reactivations, pointing to more offshore activity ahead. We also see pockets of demand strengthening in certain international land markets, as operators respond to generally higher commodity prices. In the meantime, we continue to develop and deliver technology that helps lower the industry’s marginal production costs and position our business as a leading innovator and provider of critical well construction tools. National Oilwell Varco is well-positioned to capitalize on the opportunities that lie ahead."

    NOV reported third quarter 2018 revenues of $2.15 billion, an increase of two percent compared to the second quarter of 2018 and an increase of 17 percent from the third quarter of 2017. Operating profit for the third quarter of 2018 was $73 million, or 3.4 percent of sales, Adjusted EBITDA (operating profit excluding depreciation and amortization) was $245 million, or 11.4 percent of sales, and net income was $1 million.

    NOV had several significant achievements this quarter:

    • NOV completed the first commercial field trial of the Vector™ SelectShift™ downhole adjustable motor in West Texas, bringing the field trial tally up to 13 in total. The SelectShift tool has drilled over 45,000 ft to date, with more than 500 drilling and circulating hours and over 100 bend angle shifts downhole.
    • NOV's highly engineered drill bits with 3D shaped cutter technology helped a prominent operator in the Permian Basin drill their wells 6.5 days faster. The shaped cutters provided a 14% increase in ROP in the 12¼-in. intermediate, a 44% increase in ROP in the 8¾-in. intermediate, and a 47% increase in ROP in the 6-in. horizontal intervals. The operator also realized a more than 200% improvement in footage per 6-in. bit, allowing them to drill their 6-in. horizontal sections with 1.8 bits per well on average compared to 5.8 bits per well with other products.
    • NOV recently completed several successful installations of its packer-setting system, which features the latest product from its d-Solve™ dissolvable platform, the i-Seat ball, with a major North Sea operator. The integrated system reduced the necessary amount of rig time by six days on average versus traditional packer-setting operations.
    • NOV achieved several wins in its directional measurement and steerable technologies business. In Russia, a customer used the VectorZIEL RSS to drill a 1,610-ft long horizontal section, with the tool maintaining target inclination and azimuth within 0.3° and 2.5°, respectively, across the entire section, leading to two tool sales. NOV also received, in Russia, the first order for its SPR LWD tool.
    • NOV, in consortium with Subsea 7, was awarded an engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) contract by Tullow Oil. NOV will provide Tullow with an oil offloading system using its buoy turret loading (BTL) system, which will be retrofitted to the Kwame Nkrumah FPSO located in the Jubilee field offshore Ghana.
    • NOV's drill bits helped a major operator in Oman set a new drilling record in their 12¼-in. section. The 12¼-in. TK66 drill bit with ION™ 3D cutters achieved a normalized average ROP through the section of 28.8 m/hr, more than a meter per hour ahead of the closest competitor bit and previous record holder.
    • NOV customers continue to see the benefits of using Agitator™ systems in conjunction with an RSS in global operations. On a project in the Middle East, a customer using a 6¾-in. Agitator system in their RSS BHA recorded a 66% reduction in vibration, significantly reducing their risk of tool failure. In Asia, an operator ran a 4¾-in. Agitator system with an international directional company's RSS and MWD systems, reducing the stick-slip shock count and severity levels induced by BHA/string interaction with the borehole by over 50%.
    • NOV's eVolve™ optimization and automation services recently completed the ninth successful well for a major independent operator in the Permian running drilling automation services. The project has so far reduced total bit runs and overall failures per well, and the operator has extended the eVolve contract to an additional rig.
    • NOV's MPowerD™ MPD group delivered an integrated MPowerD MPD control system on a Cyberbase drilling control system for a deepwater drillship. This is the first completely integrated MPD control system installed on an offshore drilling rig, and the drilling contractor can now offer MPD as an integrated service to their customers. In addition, NOV booked 10 land MPD projects for a large independent operator in the Mid Continent.

    You can view the full press release here.

    Published Date: 2018-10-26
    Source: National Oilwell Varco