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WIKI ANALYSIS
TETRA Technologies, Inc., incorporated in 1981, is an oil and gas services company with an integrated calcium chloride and brominated products manufacturing operation that supplies feedstocks to energy markets, as well as other markets. The Company has three divisions: Fluids, Well Abandonment and Decommissioning (WA&D), and Production Enhancement. Its Fluids Division manufactures and markets brine fluids, additives, and other associated products and services to the oil and gas industry for use in well drilling, completion, and workover operations both domestically and in certain regions of Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa. The Company's WA&D Division consists of two operating segments: WA&D Services and Maritech. The Company's Production Enhancement Division provides production testing services to the Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, offshore Gulf of Mexico, and certain international markets.
Company Overview
Fluids Division
The Fluids Division markets certain fluids and dry calcium chloride manufactured at its production facilities to a variety of markets outside the [[energy industry. Liquid calcium chloride, sodium bromide, calcium bromide, zinc bromide and zinc calcium bromide produced by the Fluids Division are referred to as clear brine fluids (CBFs) in the oil and gas industry. CBFs are manufactured and distributed through the Company's Fluids Division and are also sold to other companies that service customers in the oil and gas industry. The Fluids Division provides basic and custom blended CBFs to domestic and international oil and gas well operators, based on the specific need of the customer and the proposed application of the product. The Division also provides these customers with a range of associated services, including onsite fluid filtration, handling, and recycling; fluid engineering consultation, and fluid management. The Division expanded its fluids services operations with the September 2006, acquisition of Arrowhead Oil Field Services, Inc., an onshore water transfer company specializing in the transfer of high volumes of water in support of high-pressure fracturing processes. The Division also repurchases used CBFs from operators and recycles and reconditions these materials. TETRA Technologies, Inc. recycles and reconditions the CBFs through filtration, blending, and the use of chemical processes, and then markets the reconditioned CBFs.
The manufacturing group of the Fluids Division obtains product from production facilities that manufacture liquid and/or dry calcium chloride, sodium bromide, calcium bromide, zinc bromide and/or zinc calcium bromide for distribution into energy markets. The Company operates its European calcium chloride manufacturing operations under the trade name of TCE. TETRA Technologies, Inc. obtains calcium chloride from production facilities in the United States, Canada, China, and Europe. Some of these plants are owned by the Company, and it obtains production from the non-owned plants under written agreements with the owner. Dry calcium chloride is produced at the Company's Kokkola, Finland plant, which has a production capacity of 165,000 tons per year. It also owns a calcium chloride plant in Lake Charles, Louisiana, with a production capacity of 100,000 tons of dry product per year.
The manufacturing group manufactures and distributes sodium bromide, calcium bromide and zinc bromide from its West Memphis, Arkansas facility. The group's facility at Dow Chemical's Ludington, Michigan chemical plant was used to convert a crude bromine stream into bromine and liquid calcium bromide or liquid sodium bromide. Dow ceased operation of its plant during the year ended December 31, 2006. The Company also retains approximately 33,000 gross acres of bromine-containing brine reserves in Magnolia, Arkansas that are under lease by the Company.
Well Abandonment & Decommissioning (WA&D) Division
The WA&D Division consists of two separate operating segments: the WA&D Services and Maritech segments. WA&D Services provides an array of services required for the abandonment of depleted oil and gas wells and the decommissioning of platforms, pipelines, and other associated equipment primarily onshore and in the inland waters of Texas and Louisiana and offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. In addition, WA&D Services provides diving, marine, engineering, electric wireline, workover and drilling services. The Maritech segment, through Maritech Resources, Inc. and its subsidiaries, is a producer of oil and gas from properties located in the offshore Gulf of Mexico, and in the inland water region of Louisiana. Maritech acquires primarily mature producing properties to support and provide a baseload of business for WA&D Services. In addition, Maritech conducts development and exploitation operations on certain of its oil and gas properties.
In providing its well abandonment and decommissioning services, the Company owns and operates onshore rigs, barge-mounted rigs, a platform rig, offshore rigless packages, three heavy lift vessels, several dive support vessels, and other dive support assets. In addition, TETRA Technologies, Inc. rents certain equipment from third-party contractors whenever necessary. The WA&D Services segment's integrated package of services also includes the specialized equipment and engineering capability necessary to address the specific well abandonment and decommissioning issues associated with toppled and severely damaged platforms as a result of hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as engineering services, project management, and other operations required to plug wells and decommission wellhead equipment, pipelines and platforms. The Division also provides well abandonment services to customers in the inland waters and onshore in Texas and Louisiana. The Division provides an array of contract diving services to its customers through its Epic Diving & Marine Services (Epic) operations, which it acquired in March 2006. The Division's electric wireline operations provide pressure transient testing, reservoir evaluation, well performance evaluation, cased hole and memory production logging, perforating, bridge plug and packer services, and pipe recovery services. The Division provides services to oil and gas companies and independent operators, including Maritech, through its facilities located in Belle Chasse, Broussard, Harvey, and Houma, Louisiana and in Bryan, Houston, and Victoria, Texas.
During 2006, the Company purchased its third heavy lift vessel, the DB-1, a heavy lift derrick barge with a 615-ton capacity crane. In addition, it leased three additional vessels, the DB Anna IV derrick barge, and two dynamically positioned (DP II) vessels with heave-compensation cranes: the Olympic Orion, and the Maersk Achiever. The DB Anna IV derrick barge was active through November 2006, and is not being utilized. Both the Epic Diver and the Epic Explorer offer saturation diving systems, which are rated for up to 1,000 foot dive depth. These three support vessels were placed in service in January and February 2007. Through Maritech and its subsidiaries, the Division acquires, manages, and exploits mature producing oil and gas properties in the offshore and inland water region of the Gulf of Mexico. These producing properties are purchased primarily to support the Division's WA&D Services businesses.
Production Enhancement Division
The production testing component of the Production Enhancement Division provides flowback pressure and volume testing of oil and gas wells, in the Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, offshore Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, Brazil and Middle East markets. These services involve evaluation techniques needed for reservoir management and optimization of well workover programs. In March 2006, the Company expanded its domestic production testing operations into the Fort Worth and Permian Basin regions through the acquisition of Beacon Resources, LLC. The Division maintains one of the largest fleets of high pressure production testing equipment in the United States, with operating locations in Edinburg, Laredo, Palestine, Benbrook, Odessa and Victoria, Texas. The Division also has operating locations in Hobbs, New Mexico; New Iberia, Louisiana; Reynosa, Villahermosa, Poza Rica and Veracruz, Mexico; Macae, Brazil, and through its ownership in a joint venture, in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. In December 2006, the Division made the decision to dispose of its Venezuelan production testing operations.
The Division's Compressco, Inc. (Compressco) operation, designs, fabricates, sells, leases and services low-pressure natural gas wellhead compressors. Compressco's design compressor equipment and personnel assist oil and gas operators in daily produced volumes and extending the productive lives of low volume or marginal gas and oil wells. Compressco's fleet of GasJack units totaled 2,595 as of December 31, 2006, of which 2,297 units were in service. The GasJack compressor utilizes a 460 cubic inch V-8 engine, modified such that one bank of four cylinders uses natural gas from the well to power the other bank of four cylinders to provide compression. Compressco leases these compressor units to its customers, primarily on a month to month basis, or sells them. Compressco services its leased compressor fleet, as well as provides maintenance service on sold units.
The process services group of the Production Enhancement Division applies a variety of technologies to separate oily residuals, mixtures of hydrocarbons, water and solids, into their components. The group provides its oil recovery and residuals separation and recycling services primarily to the petroleum refining market in the United States. This group utilizes various liquid/solid separation technologies, including a high-temperature thermal desorption and recovery technology, hydrocyclones, centrifuges, and filter presses. The Division builds, owns and operates fixed systems that are located on its customers' sites, providing these services under long-term contracts.
Competition
The Company competes with:
- Baroid Corporation
- M-I L.L.C.
- Smith International (SII)
- Schlumberger N.V. (SLB)
- BJ Services Company (BJS)
- Dow Chemical Company (DOW)
- Industrial del Alkali
- Brunner Mond
- Solvay
- NedMag
- Global Industries (GLBL)
- Offshore Specialties, Inc.
- Helix Energy Solutions Group (HLX)
- Cal Dive International (DVR)
- Horizon Offshore (HOFF)
- Superior Energy Services (SPN)
References
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