About M-I SWACO

“Our customer focus has made us a better company as we have customized and engineered solutions for every need and application, providing opportunities for our people and driving our development of resources and technologies.”

A foundation of problem-solving

When customers call on M-I SWACO*, they want solutions. It could be a matter of finding the right drilling fluid for a fragile formation or developing a complete program for collecting, managing and treating drilling wastes from an offshore field. Regardless of the need, the important thing is that M-I SWACO responds to and solves the problem — any size, anywhere, any time. The company has grown by anticipating and responding to what operators and drilling contractors need for the life cycle of their wells — from well construction, completion and production to drilling waste management, Waste Management (WI), produced-water treatment, and even pipeline-flow enhancement and gas sweetening. If a situation calls for something new, we will invent it. If a product we have is almost the answer, we will modify it until it answers the need exactly. The bottom line: M-I SWACO and its people are customer-focused and solutions-driven.

Solutions for fluids-related problems

Within M-I SWACO, we have the ability to solve problems that range from simple to complex. Dedicated teams can design entire fluids-management systems, complete with equipment, instrumentation, control systems and automation software. We have made considerable investments in research and engineering facilities as well as laboratories and field-support operations. These facilities, and the capable and talented people who operate them, give M-I SWACO a distinct competitive edge.

We have helped operators drill a majority of the world’s deepwater and ultra-deepwater wells. M-I SWACO has refined the concept and development of Reservoir Drill-In Fluids (RDFs) that help operators achieve the highest returns from their valuable reservoirs with specialized fluid systems that protect production zones. We are helping operators realize true economic and environmental benefits with waste injection to safely dispose of drilling wastes, excess drilling fluid, contaminated rainwater and even cleanup waste. To ensure our customers’ on-going success, M-I SWACO is a leading provider of production chemicals that keep wells producing under a wide range of conditions and chemistries.

People are a valuable asset worth developing

Before people work for M-I SWACO, we screen them not only for current skills and experience, but also for their willingness to learn new things, solve problems and help others. Once they join the M-I SWACO organization, employees have the advantages of a global learning management system which provides worldwide access to learning, in-house and custom e-learning solutions, talent and competency management, and performance management. Starting with the basic buiding blocks of training for the job at hand, M-I SWACO instructors quickly bring new drilling-fluids specialists up to speed in the disciplines required for them to deliver maximum value from our products and services. M-I SWACO ensures customers around the world get the highest level of service by standardizing training courses to meet the universal expectations of all operators. Where locale dictates certain specialized practices, M-I SWACO trainers prepare field personnel for those details as well.

Once these capable people are working in the field, their learning and training are not over. In fact, basic training is just the beginning of a successful career with M-I SWACO. As an organization, we are developing career paths, checkpoint criteria and progress measurement methods to keep M-I SWACO and its people at the forefront of the industry.

Research and development

M-I SWACO has made considerable investments in research and engineering facilities as well as laboratories and field-support operations. Our Research and Engineering Center in Houston and our three International Technical Centers — in Houston; Aberdeen, Scotland and Stavanger, Norway — provide 24-hr assistance, and innovative solutions, anywhere in the world. Our Ecotoxicological Laboratory in Bergen, Norway, performs a wide range of analytical services. Drilling and production frontiers such as offshore Canada, Russia and the Caspian Sea, China, Latin America, and land and offshore operations throughout North America are now just a phone call or mouse click away from powerful technical support.

Because we have our own R&D, manufacturing, environmental and technical resources, and can deploy them to active areas, we are often the first company to create the solutions that eventually become products and services adopted throughout the industry.

QHSE

Each of our business units has a Quality, Health, Safety and Environmental (QHSE) director who reports to our headquarters in Houston. Our loss-prevention teams ensure that M-I SWACO operations are in compliance with the latest safety standards. Full-time occupational health and safety specialists make sure that our locations and the customer locations and rigs where our people work are safe. The Occupational Health group provides a management framework that monitors and investigates a broad range of health hazards and initiates controls to manage those hazards through programs such as Hearing Conservation, Respiratory Protection, Ergonomics and Malaria Control. Our customers also frequently utilize our expertise to assess potential occupational health issues involving our products at their sites.

M-I SWACO people operate with an awareness of the environment and a sense of responsibility for protecting it. We operate specialized laboratories, including a greenhouse, where our environmental specialists conduct exhaustive tests for toxicity, biodegradation, recyclability, reuse and more. On a larger scale, our environmental emphasis and expertise are guiding forces behind the company’s focus on ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS*.

Prime examples of this philosophy can be seen in our line of production chemicals and our Ecotoxicological Laboratory in Bergen, Norway. Both are helping M-I SWACO fulfill its mission of being regarded by customers, regulatory authorities and employees as the one, global-solutions provider that puts a high priority on protecting the environment as not only a part of our business, but as a way of life.

INTEGRATED FLUIDS ENGINEERING (IFE)

The IFE* approach is another industry-leading and totally different method of drilling and completing a well. Pioneered by M-I SWACO, INTEGRATED FLUIDS ENGINEERING* is a results-driven, comprehensive fluids solution that optimizes the design, delivery and management of wellsite fluids and fluids-related services. The program utilizes all M-I SWACO products, equipment and technology engineered by highly trained personnel and ensures that all fluids-related services and equipment work closely together to shorten drilling time, increase production, meet environmental regulations and lower overall costs.

With the entire well’s aspects planned far in advance, and a true integration of personnel, services and equipment, IFE will reduce overall drilling and completion costs.

During well planning, certified M-I SWACO IFE personnel coordinate all the factors that influence the environmental performance of the well, including fluids, solids control, waste processing, wellbore cleanup, completion and post-well operations.

The solutions that drive us

As we have added to our capabilities and solved problems for our clients, groups of solutions naturally evolved over time. Now we have formalized this natural alignment, placing the products and services we offer within categories of solutions. This presents our offerings in a manner that is logical to our clients and our own people. Every solution we currently provide can be found in one of four categories.

DRILLING SOLUTIONS

Customized solutions that help you anticipate and mitigate the risk of fluids-related issues.

• ALPINE SPECIALTY CHEMICALS*
• Cuttings Transport & Handling
• Cuttings Treatment
• Drilling Fluid Products
• Drilling Fluid Systems
• Engineering Software & Services
• FEDERAL* Wholesale
• HDD MINING & WATERWELL*
• Integrated Fluids Engineering
• Oilfield Screens
• Pressure control
• Rig Equipment Engineering
• Rig Instrumentation
• Solids control
• Waste Injection
• Wellsite & Project Engineering

WELLBORE PRODUCTIVITY

Safeguard your downhole assets. Unique solutions that optimize the quality of your wellbore and fluid systems.

• Breakers
• Completion Fluid Products
• Completion Fluid Systems
• Enhanced Fluids Treatment
• Filtration Equipment
• Filtration Equipment & Services
• Integrated Fluids Engineering
• Reservoir Drill-In Fluid Products
• Reservoir Drill-In Fluid Systems
• Spacers & Displacement Chemicals
• Specialized Tools
• Vessel Cleaning
• Water Treatment

PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES

Enhance your oil and gas production.  Tailored solutions to maximize flow and quality while minimizing production-related problems.

• Chemical Management
• Drag Reduction
• H2S removal
• Oilfield Production Chemicals
• Produced Water Management
• Production Waste Management

ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS

Reduce your drilling waste.  Customized solutions that safely manage waste volumes to meet performance standards.

• Cuttings Transport & Handling
• Cuttings Treatment
• Enhanced Fluids Treatment
• Integrated Fluids Engineering
• Oilfield Screens
• Pressure control
• Production Waste Management
• Rig Equipment Engineering
• Rig Instrumentation
• Solids Control
• Vessel Cleaning
• Waste Injection
• Water Treatment