Well Controlled: Meet the Team

The expertise and strength of our team are key to who we are at Wild Well Control. We’d like to introduce you to some of our people and share their insights on the oil and gas industry.

Next up in our Well Controlled series is Andrew Barry, our SVP of Marketing, US Business Development, and Training. Keep reading to learn more about his experience, insights on industry trends, and what he loves about working with the team at Wild Well Control.

Name: Andrew Barry
Role: Sr. Vice President of Marketing, US Business Development, and Training
Location: Houston, TX

Tell us about your role with Wild Well

I joined Wild Well Control eight years ago in August 2014 as Director of Global accounts for the WellCONTAINED PSL and subsequently supported the Subsea and US Business Development teams. Currently, I am the Senior Vice President overseeing Marketing, US Business Development, and Training. With the help of my teams we cover the marketing face of the company, direct client sales support, and the industry leading Well Control training team.

Can you describe your industry experience?

I started my career 40 years ago, as the third generation of my family in oil and gas and . my family are now the 4^th generation in O&G too. I am a member of the SPE, IADC, and AADE and serve on the IADC DEC committee. I have been fortunate to have traveled and worked all over the world, both in the field and office in drilling and completions, land and offshore. Outside of medicine it is probably ‘the industry’ that most impacts peoples’ lives daily on a global basis. It’s a constant source for problem-solving opportunities and it challenges you every step of the way. Being a part of an industry that provides a base product that positively impacts everyone’s daily life is very rewarding.

What trends do you see in the industry?

The Oil and gas business has been, and always will be, a very cyclical business. We operate in extremes from intense activity and scrambling for people and equipment, to the doldrums where we have excess equipment and personnel. Then the resurgence of demand swamps the industry and the cycle begins again… over the last 40 years in our industry; Operators and Service Companies have massively changed how we work from a safety and environmental perspective. Our industry is extremely forward thinking with respect to how best to produce oil and gas safely and efficiently.

The O&G industry today is obviously impacted by the global events of the past two years which has contributed to a degradation of both personnel and equipment, from both availability and viability. We now see very lean teams on both the Operator and Service company sides, and this will likely have long-term impacts on drilling, production, and ultimately available supply. Additionally, the Domestic surge in acquisitions over the last 18 months, means there are a lot of “new assets” operators have to become familiar with and understand, which leads to a lot more oversight and potential mitigations as they are rolled into existing inventories.

The global conversation on ESG is now an additional consideration along with the added impacts of the rapid transition to alternative energy. O&G businesses are having to adapt their business models from the perspective of capital spend, but also compliance to ever-changing requirements and shareholders who drive this change. The result of this new business model will be an increase in the cost of the finished product, due to the knock-on financial effect to the Operators and Service companies.

From Wild Wells perspective, we are well placed with the engineering acumen of our well control engineers to be able to augment and support our client’s operations as they work with smaller engineering footprints. Having over 45 years of well control experience means we are equipped with the knowledge and expertise needed to address any situation. We have been through multiple O&G market cycles and so we know how to adapt and address the industry’s needs.

What differentiates Wild Well?

We believe “Experience matters”. This is the backbone of who we are and is the cornerstone by which we approach every situation. Our engineering and operations expertise has been honed by planning and executing well control over the last 4 decades, and that gives us the ability to continuously make incremental adjustments to our approach to well control events. The engineering and operation teams work seamlessly together to as they have for decades, which makes them a powerful source of expertise in preparation and response. The dedication and “can do” team spirit that is infused in every employee, along with the overwhelming experience, makes Wild Well an outstanding company and global leader in Well Control.

5. What excites you about working for Wild Well Control?

I have been involved with just about every facet of the drilling, completion, and production side of the business. Every one of those areas is unique and extremely interesting and the people are some of the brightest and most ingenious on the planet. At Wild Well Control, we operate across all phases of ‘the life of the well’ process, planning through plug and abandonment. Whether it’s assisting a client on a rank wildcat exploration well design or facilitating the abandonment of a well drilled a hundred years ago, the unique expertise in the company has no equal. Being a part of this team and seeing firsthand how they can solve some of the world’s most complex well control issues while providing training to the O&G community is exciting and rewarding. It takes a special level of knowledge and experience to put the “Genie back in the bottle”, and I am proud to be a part of this great team and family of industry leading well control experts.