Reactive Downhole Tools, a specialist in well completion and swellable rubber technologies, established its Middle East presence in 2015. Over the past decade, it has become the company’s largest operation, driven by R&D investment, local expertise and strong regional demand.
NIALL URQUHART, Reactive Downhole Tools
Industrial transformation in the Middle East began more than 70 years ago. Powered by the region’s strong energy production record, visionary leaders, and strategic collaborations, the area’s world-class operators have shaped the Middle East’s ongoing industrial revolution.
Naturally, the oil industry has seen significant changes over the course of seven decades. Political regimes, global unrest, and, more recently, the emergence of renewable energy sources have all influenced decision-making. Despite this, oil production within the Middle East is still pushing on, with five of the world’s top ten producing countries based in the region, and accounting for 26% of global oil production.
Reserves, innovation and regional policies have contributed to this, as has the growth of government-led national oil companies (NOCs), which have been instrumental in the Middle East’s expanding global influence, pushing back against more traditional independent firms.
BALANCING SUPPLY AND DEMAND
In the UAE, ADNOC has set sights on reaching 5-MMbpd crude production by 2027. A sizeable number that demonstrates the country’s increased capacity to deliver, it’s also a necessary figure, given the increase in demand both locally and globally. Abu Dhabi, where Reactive Downhole Tools’ Middle East entity is based, is experiencing the demand for increased production capacity. Aided by the latest technologies, Abu Dhabi’s operators have prioritized enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and other methods of production stimulation to optimize existing oil fields and enable long-term output.
This focus on optimizing production has positioned the UAE and Saudi Arabia as frontrunners to achieve targets for regional crude supply growth over the next 10 years, Fig. 1. This is as much a testament to both countries' capacity for production, as it is to others’ documented difficulties in sustaining growth, due to a myriad of factors outside their control—whether political and regional volatility or different investment models and restrictions.
While other regional producers have both the ambition and expertise to boost output, their growth potential isn’t as assured as that of Saudi Arabia or the UAE. This puts additional pressure on those two nations to meet global demand, especially amid Europe’s growing reliance on Middle Eastern oil.
However, the needs of countries abroad cannot replace those in the Middle East. It’s essential to meet international demand without risking impacting the needs of those closer to home, where growth plans and trajectory are dependent on home-grown energy. While being among the biggest producers, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are also both energy-intensive economies. The increase in production will be mirrored by the increase in regional demand, where consumption patterns are expected to rise over the next five years.
This balance between local and global demand places renewed trust—and pressure—on the supply chain that populates the region to lend their expertise, services and technologies to keep production running smoothly. Success is a game of collaboration, so achieving the state's aims of 5 MMbpd depends on the parties involved working together.
REACTIVE: A BLUEPRINT FOR REGIONAL GROWTH
For a decade, Reactive has supported production, here in the UAE, and throughout the Middle East. After originally moving from Scotland to the UAE in 2014, I joined Reactive 10 years ago, becoming the company’s first employee in the region. Since then, thanks to a growing team, Reactive has achieved several milestones, both in the Middle East and across our global operations.
Within the Middle East, success has been achieved, thanks to our endorsement of local resources, expertise and affiliates, alongside market conditions that have enabled consistent growth. Collaboration with our network of partners and technology supporters has been crucial, allowing us to consistently evolve and focus on delivering full-package solutions. When we first launched in the region 10 years ago, this strategy made perfect sense, and it's one that has guided us since.
We’ve now expanded our resource pool, grown our in-country connections, and established a reputation that has opened doors of opportunity for other companies setting up in-country by making key introductions and giving advice, all while achieving internal and industry breakthroughs of our own. Milestones have included the expansion of our industry-accredited Abu Dhabi facility and a full in-country team supporting multiple industry fronts, including research and development (R&D) functions to better address common wellbore challenges.
Reactive's R&D model is centered on the drive to deliver local results quickly and more efficiently than previously possible in the region. Our facility has been paramount, offering various testing capabilities to find new ways to address in-country challenges. This includes:
Rubber compatibility testing to simulate harsh downhole conditions and ensure long-term material resilience.
Dedicated swell testing to provide accurate run-in-hole data, enabling precise deployment and predictable performance in varied well environments.
Full-scale pressure differential testing to validate the mechanical integrity and sealing efficiency of the packers under realistic operational loads.
Overall, an integrated approach that includes R&D and testing simultaneously ensures that each solution offered is optimized for performance, durability and safety in the region’s demanding oil and gas applications.
Our R&D functionality has resulted in Reactive pursuing opportunities to strengthen and drive swellable-specific qualification standards that have been adopted across the industry—something that didn’t exist a decade ago. On this journey, swellable world records have been set, and we’ve introduced new solutions that were previously unavailable.
By setting new benchmarks in international well completion standards, we’ve been able to positively influence Middle East operators in their mission to stabilize home-grown demand with global opportunities.
CASE STUDY: RECORD-BREAKING INSTALLATIONS
Within typical operations, swellable packers are required to swell swiftly upon deployment. In specialized circumstances, though, some types of applications can require an extended delay before activating. Applications, such as extended reach drilling (ERD), demonstrate the benefits delayed activation.
Although technically challenging, ERD campaigns are often a rewarding method of field development. With a long horizontal departure from a short vertical drop, ERD wells allow operators to maximize reservoir contact area while minimizing the costly upper cemented sections and surface architecture. Additionally, and crucially, ERD campaigns empower operators to maximize production, proving effective for accessing deposits in far-reaching and impractical locations.
This makes ERD campaigns popular in the Middle East, and particularly in the UAE, where large-scale development plans targeting vast deposits are common. And with the blend of local and international demand to contend with, operators must choose the right strategy to maximize recovery cost-effectively and efficiently. Early in my time with Reactive, we demonstrated our capabilities in ERD and the potential of our swellable technologies in an at-the-time record-breaking project.
Conducting an ERD campaign with a slotted liner and swellable packer completion design, a Middle East operator needed to push the well depths further. However, the combination of well length and completion type required a completely new packer design. As well as the liner deployment, the slotted design meant that an addition to the swell window was needed to run an inner string and complete annular circulation before the packers made open hole contact. Including contingency time, the requirement was a 21-day delay for the packer.
By drawing on our extensive catalogue of proprietary base compounds, we were able to develop a completely new packer design, tested to ensure it provided full compatibility with downhole fluid rheology and the provision of a seal, including any washed-out section of the wellbore, all within the critical deployment window, Fig. 2. The superior performance of the packer made it possible to reduce the running diameter from that previously used by the operator, while still providing enough swell performance to allow the packer to seal as required. This benefits ERD wells, as this reduction decreases the contact time of the rubber and the open hole, minimizing friction and making deployment easier.
Our approach to the packer design ensured that the operator could drill deeper and further than had previously been achieved. At the time of completion, the liner installed was the longest of its kind anywhere in the world. Despite this extremely long horizontal departure, the installation confirmed that the reduced running diameter of the packers resulted in some of the lowest friction factors seen in the EDR campaign. Additionally, circulation from the inner string was deployed on day 19 after the first packer was installed—proving that the required 21-day deployment window had been achieved.
SUPPORTING A CHANGING MARKET
From this starting point, Reactive has continued to reach new heights, going on to break this record several times since. We now have a reputation as a global technical leader in swellable products, and the key lessons we’ve learned over the past decade have led us to rolling out supporting technologies, including the creation of wellbore cleanup product lines and completion solutions.
This hasn’t been a luxury, but rather a necessity. From our experience in the Middle East, operators are increasingly seeking entire completion packages, rather than sourcing individual products from various suppliers. Expanding our technology portfolio to address the full spectrum of wellbore completion challenges will help us stay ahead, as we enter the next phase of our regional growth—driven in part by ADNOC’s 5-MMbpd production target over the next five to 10 years.
With the market continuing to evolve, it's important to transition alongside it. We aim to position ourselves to deliver all the expertise and tools that a customer needs, including technologies that can run alongside—and complement—our swellable solutions. Satisfying this change is critical for local success, as is the ability to produce specialized solutions for various requirements. Rather than having wholesale tools and technology sitting on the shelf, the focus has changed to tailored solutions and tools that meet diverse client needs.
ACHIEVING SUCCESS IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Expansion and growth in a new region has not always been smooth sailing. Along the way, several lessons have been learned, and adjustments have been made.
Strategic collaboration. Building success in the Middle East from the ground up can’t be done without the right support. One of the most important realizations has been in building awareness to identify and collaborate with the right local partners. Having a network with expanded expertise is critical in navigating the unique business landscape. Equally, possessing a deep understanding of the market is essential for building trust and credibility, meaning a familiarity with the regulatory environment, customer expectations and competitive dynamics is a must.
Patience and persistence have also been key lessons learned, as the sales cycle in the region’s oil and gas sector is often longer than anticipated, measured in years rather than months. This requires consistent engagement, relationship-building and value demonstration.
Collectively, these lessons have reinforced the company’s commitment to a strategic, localized and relationship-driven approach to doing business in the UAE. WO
NIALL URQUHART is Chief Operating Officer of Reactive Downhole Tools and was the company’s first employee within the Middle East. With a background in engineering and the complexities of well completion design, Mr. Urquhart has used his expertise to support Reactive in its R&D functions, while he has used his business acumen to target new growth opportunities in his decade at the company.