COMPANY MILESTONES
Edward Heath was Prime Minister,
the Olympic Games were in Munich and Mobil’s Beryl
field had just been discovered when, the story goes, two
businessmen met in Aberdeen airport in 1972.
The oil industry was in its infancy and as they whiled away the time waiting
for take off they decided it would be a good idea if both their companies invested
in the future of the North Sea by establishing a service company.
One of the men was from Homco International, a Louisiana based company which
specialised in tool rental to the oil industry. The other was from the P&O
Shipping company which at that time had a burgeoning number of companies involved
in the oil business under the Sea Oil banner.
That airport meeting, legend has it, resulted in the birth of Sea Oil Homco (now
Premier Oilfield Rentals) which has traded successfully for 35 years and is looking
ahead to a period of continued growth and development.
The man Homco chose to head up the operation was Roger Eason, who regularly crossed
the Atlantic in the early days to supervise progress. His first member of staff
was Bob Smith, initially employed as a contract hire but was to spend a quarter
of a century helping build the company after being given a full time job.
Sea Oil Homco’s first base was a small yard at Waterloo Quay and the equipment
used to supply the North Sea rigs was shipped over from Homco, which had a 40%
share in the company.
P&O, owning 60%, provided the North Sea contacts and distribution network.
Hard work and long hours by a small, dedicated workforce combined with astute
purchasing brought significant rewards.
The forward thinking company invested in drilling jars when they were still on
the drawing board and could hardly cope with the demand when the new equipment
joined the rental fleet.
The requirement for larger premises became a priority as the company’s
inventory increased, and 1981 saw Sea Oil Homco relocate to an extensive custom-built
facility in Dyce, the growing industrial hub on the outskirts of Aberdeen.
As the company grew, so did the team behind it and it is a measure of the quality
of the company that several of those hired in the Sea Oil Homco days are still
with the organisation, including Russell Crofts who has over 25 years’ service
and was appointed Managing Director last year.
In the early days the direction of the company was dictated by Homco and the
equipment they could offer, but gradually, as the management’s knowledge
of the North Sea market developed, they bought their own equipment and took the
strategic decision to move from drilling jars to casing handling tools and specialist
drill pipe.
A major focus for the company was offering clients tubular inspection services.
With a fleet of Homco vans, the inspectors travelled around Aberdeen, across
the UK and even to Sweden and France to inspect drill pipe at clients’ premises.
Inspection of the company’s own tubulars took place at its Dyce pipeyard,
then moved indoors with the addition of a new warehouse, one of many development
phases over the years. Choosing to concentrate on inspection and quality of its
own stock, the company discontinued third party inspection and tubular management
services in the nineties.
In 1993 Homco was bought by Weatherford, gaining a 40% interest in Sea Oil Homco.
The subsequent sale of these shares to P&O transferred ownership and resulted
in the renaming of the company to P&O Oilfield Services.
Although the company’s success continued it did not fit into P&O’s
changing portfolio and in 1996 there was a management buyout backed by Royal
Bank Development Capital. The restructured company became Premier Oilfield Services.
A period of expansion commenced in 2001 with the establishment of the facility
in Great Yarmouth to support the Southern North Sea sector. The following year
saw the opening of the Dutch and Middle East bases to further enhance the service
to these areas.
In 2002, Premier confirmed its commitment to quality with re-approval of the
company’s quality management system to ISO 9001:2000 from the original
ISO 9002 standard, attained some years prior. This achievement was quickly followed
by registration of the health and safety management system to OHSAS 18001 the
following year.
Quality, health, safety and environmental (QHSE) management is inherent in the
company’s culture and has always been high on its business agenda across
all regions. Operating an integrated business management system allows the company
to deliver its QHSE objectives in a simple, efficient manner. Each employee takes
ownership of QHSE and promotes the safety culture in everything they do, both
internally and beyond Premier.
The company was bought by Superior Energy Services Inc, a single source provider
of specialised oilfield services based in the USA, in 2003. At this time Superior
had been looking to make their first acquisition in the Eastern Hemisphere and
Premier was seen as a good fit for the group.
The purchase of Premier by Superior has served both well. Superior has gained
valuable footholds in the Eastern Hemisphere capitalising on Premier’s
international operating bases, while Premier has benefited from the group’s
buying power and the introduction of advanced drill pipe technology pioneered
in the Gulf of Mexico.
Since then rapid growth has been experienced and Premier Oilfield Rentals, as
it was renamed, has re-affirmed its position as a leading provider of rental
equipment. Its reputation for quality, service and reliability spread further
across Europe, the Middle East and into West Africa, with the Nigerian base opening
in 2004. Meanwhile, the Aberdeen headquarters expanded once more, this time to
accommodate sister company Stabil Drill, a provider of stabilizers, hole openers
and other bottom hole assembly equipment.
Recent years have seen significant investment in ‘Next Generation’ drill
pipe with high strength tool joint connections, new material grades and optimised
tool joint geometries for increased hydraulic performance. For this year alone
Premier can draw from Superior’s committed capital of $67 million for new
drill pipe and on additional resources from sister companies to satisfy client
requirements and maximise rental asset utilisation across the group.
The offer of the applications engineering service has also been pivotal in ensuring
the company maintains its competitive edge. Experienced engineers work with clients
from the early stages of a project to review requirements and recommend tubulars
for drilling programmes. With the use of industry recognised software applications,
engineers can provide clients with detailed torque and drag analyses in addition
to hydraulics optimisation modelling.
As the industry moves into ever more challenging drilling environments with demanding
deepwater and extended reach wells, it is Premier’s ability to support
its clients with specialist equipment and engineering services that will see
the company grow and expand into new markets in 2007 and beyond.
“In 1972 the company philosophy was to gain a reputation for first class
quality, service and reliability,” comments Russell. “Thirty-five
years on, these principles remain key drivers for our business. Our reputation
precedes us in many locations and our focus remains firmly on ensuring complete
customer satisfaction.
“Our 35 years have seen ups and downs in the industry but we have never
been a company to shy away from a challenge and this has helped Premier grow
and develop into the highly regarded company it is today.” |
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