New Technology Magazine

BlueFire Establishes Research Lab In Houston Area

HOUSTON, Tex. -- BlueFire Equipment Corporation has announced it has established its new research lab. The high-tech space consists of a fully equipped lab for its dynamic research and development component, and will house BlueFire’s corporate headquarters.

According to the American Petroleum Institute, U.S. oil production is at its highest level in 20 years, exceeding 7.3 million barrels per day this year, up from 6.4 million in 2012. This equates to more than $750 million per day of economic activity in the U.S. According to the International Energy Agency, the U.S. will soon surpass Saudi Arabia and Russia to become the world’s biggest oil producer. Such explosive growth has led to the need for innovative technology to keep up with this rate of production.

Chairman and CEO of BlueFire Equipment Corporation William Blackwell said, “BlueFire’s new home will facilitate the continued development of intellectual property and enable our team of scientists to ramp up the technological innovation that has resulted in products with superior performance.”

BlueFire also announced it has been in discussions with an oil major to develop technology that may prove essential for producing oil from offshore wells under extremely high heat and pressure.

According to energy consulting company Wood Mackenzie, deepwater drilling returned to its pre-spill level last year and should experience “bullish growth” in the coming year. The Future of Global Deepwater Markets study indicates capital investment is expected to grow from US$43 billion in 2012 to US$114 billion in 2022 challenging the industry to keep up with this unprecedented growth.

“BlueFire’s research and development team is thrilled to have an opportunity to propose solutions to challenges in the multi-billion dollar deepwater oil and gas industry,” Blackwell said. “Just as our proprietary polycrystalline diamond cutter (PDC) drill bit has shown the potential to save drillers and operators substantial time and money, we are expecting another successful technology to emerge through this project.”

As previously announced, BlueFire’s polycrystalline diamond cutter (PDC) drill bits are expected to become a sought-after commodity for their higher rates of penetration (ROP) and longer bit runs in hard rock formations and shales.

BlueFire’s proprietary bit may provide much faster and longer drilling, without the need to stop and pull the entire drill pipe out of the well to replace a spent drill bit. According to recent findings, some wells can be drilled using a BlueFire bit without a single bit change, potentially saving considerable time and money for the driller. Last month, BlueFire announced it is working with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for an additional drilling tool patent.

BlueFire Equipment Corporation designs and manufactures proprietary drilling technologies for use in the exploration and production of oil and gas in the United States. It sells and leases various sizes of polycrystalline diamond cutter drill bits to drilling contractors and oil and gas companies. BlueFire was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.