Two experienced industry figures have been appointed to the board at Paradigm Drilling Services in the wake of a £5m investment in the business.
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Nicholas Gee and Mike Hill have become directors at the drilling and intervention technology company following the injection of capital by Buckthorn Partners and Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures (SAEV), the corporate venturing subsidiary of Saudi Aramco.
Nicholas – previously executive vice president of strategy and development at Weatherford International – represents Buckthorn on the Paradigm Board. Mike, who has over 17 years’ investment experience in the oil and gas sector, represents SAEV.
Paradigm managing director Fraser Innes said: “It’s great to have people of the calibre of Nicholas and Mike on the board on behalf of our investment partners.
“They bring an immense amount of experience and knowledge to these roles and I’ve no doubt they will make a significant contribution as we pursue our growth objectives. Their respective talents and expertise add new dimensions to our capabilities.”
Nicholas said: “Paradigm’s strategy is focused upon extending its product base and geographical reach, and there are clearly big opportunities ahead for it to deliver on those goals. I look forward to playing my part in what I believe will be an exciting period of development for the business.”
Mike said: “The capabilities of the Paradigm team, allied to the strength of the company’s existing product portfolio and its plans to introduce new solutions, mean it’s ideally positioned to move to the next level. I’m delighted to join the Paradigm board and help the business realise its undoubted potential.”
Established in 2009, Paradigm designs, manufactures, sells and rents a number of new generation drilling and intervention technologies, used both in the conventional and unconventional oil and gas sectors. The Aberdeenshire-based company has three main groups of products and services: hole enlargement, horizontal drilling systems and drilling tools.
Employing 52 people – and with plans to recruit an additional 10 during 2015 – it operates from a 40,000 sq ft facility at Thainstone, near Inverurie. It plans to open another facility in Aberdeen to accommodate its drilling tools and R&D functions.
Further investment from the new partners could be made available as Paradigm looks to expand its portfolio of innovative technology: its R&D activities currently encompass plans to develop its Horizontal Drilling System that represents an entirely new approach to drilling operations in this specialist arena.
Earlier this month, Paradigm Drilling Services also announced a £3.25m ($5m) investment in the opening of a new operation in Mexico. The company has established a new subsidiary, Paradigm Drilling Services Mexico, in Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico.
The business is currently looking for premises to locate a large manufacturing and service facility in the city to support its operations. The company has also announced it has won an initial $500,000 contract in the region with an international oilfield services business for the supply of rental equipment in support of an operator’s drilling operations. This is the first of a number of significant contracts the company has tendered for.
Paradigm forms part of the Paradigm Group, a corporate entity established in the Netherlands in 2009 to develop new generation oil and gas technologies.
