Trinidad’s shifting demand for oilfield equipment

Trinidad and Tobago

Marc Sitaram, operations manager at Bandera Oil Tools, talks to The Energy Year about the company’s strategic approach to oilfield equipment supply in Trinidad and Tobago and the drivers behind the demand it sees. Bandera Oil Tools supplies oilfield equipment for onshore and offshore operations.

How would you describe your core activity and business model in Trinidad?
When Bandera established operations in Trinidad, we started by refurbishing drill bits for many of the land-based drilling operators. The company kept developing and we evolved into selling several other lines of products, in addition to supplying drill bits that are primarily manufactured in the USA. A few years ago, the company was acquired by Anfield Services, but our operations remain the same.
Land drilling operations are not as abundant as they were previously, but we still have the same clientele and our work level has remained constant. We are the agents for product lines such as Kingdream drill bits – a Sinopec oilfield equipment company. We are the sole agents for American Block flowline products in Trinidad, and the sole agents in Trinidad, Guyana and Suriname for Derrick shale shakers, BESTOLIFE thread compounds and Eneroil, which is one of the largest manufacturers of centralisers and float equipment for cementing. We supply Smith and Baker Hughes drill bits.

How would you describe the demand that you have been experiencing from the Trinidadian producers?
There is onshore drilling activity taking place in Trinidad, and Bandera has always held about 90% of the market share for drill bit sales in the Trinidadian onshore market. We supply companies such as Touchstone Exploration, who are actively drilling at this time on the Cascadura and Coora projects.
We also supply other companies with drill bits, such as Lease Operators, Heritage Petroleum and Petroleum Contracting Services, who are also actively working on onshore drilling projects. There is more drilling activity to be observed onshore in Trinidad than there is offshore, and the level of land-based activity happening is beneficial for us. There are many drilling projects in Trinidad planned for 2024, and that is where we expect to see the majority of contribution to our activity and business revenue come from for 2024.

Are there any key factors that influence the regularity of the demand for drill bits in your market share for onshore activity?
The demand we receive for drill bits depends on well design, the depth of the well and the brand of the bit. Sometimes demand is impacted by the land formation which dictates the life of a bit so operators may have to use more than one bit on a particular section of a well. The clients would order bits, thread compounds, or casing depending on what they assess as their needs when preparing to drill a well or during the process. We represent particular product lines and brands that they would use.
Demand varies based on the factors mentioned – sometimes drill bits may get damaged, or alternatively, they may withstand the drilling on one well and remain viable for use on another well. Some of the bits we carry include PDC [polycrystalline diamond compact] bits, mill tooth bits and tungsten carbide (TCI) bits. All the operators generally use the same types of bits. It’s very rare, but sometimes they may encounter a change in the formation and another more resilient bit might be required to continue drilling. There are interbedded formations in Trinidad where operators may be drilling easily until they hit a harder layer in the formation.
It is very rare for us to receive a request from an offshore operator because they work primarily with integrated service companies, but there have been instances where they required a particular type of bit that we were able to supply.

Are you currently supplying operators in the wider region, such as Guyana or Suriname?
In Guyana, you tend to find the major international services companies contracted for the work in that market. Companies such as SLB, Halliburton, Baker Hughes and EnerMech are the main services companies operating in Guyana. We are involved in that market to the extent that we provide thread compounds since we represent BESTOLIFE products in the region.
In Suriname, we have worked with Staatsolie over the years and we will continue to supply them with drill bits through 2024. Decker Petroleum & Marketing Company is another company drilling there who we have had a good relationship with. We supply them with various products from our portfolio.

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