American Oil and Gas Reporter - July 2016 - 46

SpecialReport: Private Equity Strategies

This fully composite fracturing plug from Choice Completion Systems can reduce drillout times and debris as much as 80 percent. The company says it is one of many products designed by a team that has won awards for engineering innovation.

running tools designed to reduce torque
and drag during well construction operations.
"That transaction was driven by Tercel's
portfolio of innovative and differentiated
products, talented people, and global infrastructure," he remarks. "Tercel has 23
locations, including manufacturing centers
on four continents and a back-office staff
capable of supporting a much bigger
business."
To illustrate the quality of Tercel's portfolio, Reeves points to the SwivelMASTER®, a work string-deployed tool that
allows the upper string to be rotated
without rotating or transferring torque to
the string below. "It is used in virtually
every extended-reach and highly complex
offshore well because it enables customers to run complex casing, liner and
completion strings to bottom in environments where high torque and drag otherwise would make this virtually impossible," he reports.
Since buying Tercel, Reeves says Rubicon has acquired two smaller well construction product suppliers. "We look for
companies that are built around differentiated, value-creating products; have a core
of high-energy, team-oriented people who
are willing to be part of something bigger;
and that can use our global platform to accelerate their growth," he comments.
"In the short term, we are focusing on
drilling and completion products," he
says. "But we believe we also can deliver clear value in well intervention, produc46 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

tion and abandonment activities, and are
seeking opportunities to build our product
portfolio in these areas, too."
According to Reeves, that broad scope
will benefit customers. "A global, integrated organization can work hand-in-hand
with customers to solve challenging problems," he says. "We have the capacity to
understand and respond quickly to immediate problems, while having the time horizon and financial strength to invest in
longer term technology development.
"With a broad portfolio, we will be able
to approach customers from a 'solution'
perspective," he adds. "Instead of selling
one or two products, we can assess the customer's situation, work with it to determine
the root causes of a problem, and deploy
the product or combination of products that
delivers the most value."
Completion Tools
According to Wes Pixley, COO of
completion tools provider Choice Completion Systems, successful businesses recognize a timeless truth. "Employees are the
best asset a company has," he outlines.
"Treat the employees well, and they will
give the customer top-quality service."
Treating employees well goes beyond
compensation and benefits, Pixley contends. "It means listening to the employees, because they are the ones who hear
and see what the customers need," he says.
"If we use the feedback they give us to develop tools and solutions that better serve
our customers, our employees will take

ownership of the product and the company as a whole. They'll work harder and
keep passing on what they learn, creating
a feedback loop where everyone's needs
get met."
That loop can be effective only if
Choice has employees who understand the
industry, work hard, and keep their eyes and
ears open, Pixley says. "One of the benefits of starting the company in the middle
of a downturn is that there were quality
people looking for work," he remarks.
The feedback it gets from employees
will only matter if the company has an engineering team capable of developing effective solutions quickly and consistently, Pixley continues. "Our team is among
the best in the industry," he says, noting
that its members have earned six U.S.
patents and have 13 pending. They also
have been honored with two awards for engineering innovation.
"We saw a huge need for a fully composite frac plug, so that is one of the first
tools we are introducing," Pixley says.
"The plug has one-fifth the material volume of a standard composite plug, so it reduces drill-out times and debris as much
as 80 percent."
Choice also provides toe actuator
sleeves, which Pixley notes enable operators to conduct a casing test and initiate
fracs without a coiled tubing unit. Its other products include cemented frac sleeves,
cement retainers, packers, and related
well completion accessories. Future product development will include liner hanger systems, Pixley adds.
Choice has offices in West Texas,
South Texas and East Texas, he says. Over
the next two years, the company plans to
expand into every major U.S. basin as industry activity rebounds. "We are going to
continue to hire employees who value their
relationships with customers and are committed to solving problems no matter
when the call comes in," Pixley says. "As
we do that, we will provide good service
and our bottom line will take care of itself."
Artificial Lift Experts
Epic Lift Systems is one of many private equity-backed companies that started when a field technician saw a way to
improve the technology he worked with.
"It was formed by Schuyler Kuykendall,
a plunger lift technician who saw ways to
improve both the product quality and

American Oil and Gas Reporter - July 2016

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