GE Oil & Gas (IW 500/6) and Devon Energy (IW 500/115) have announced a collaborative project aimed at driving new technologies to improve the efficiency and capacity of unconventional oil and natural gas projects.
The companies said the project will focus on three technologies: artificial lift systems used to increase the flow of liquids from wells, advanced drilling technologies, and water treatment and processing.
GE and Devon Energy announced the agreement at the groundbreaking of GE's new global research center in Oklahoma City, which is scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2015.
Lorenzo Simonelli, president and CEO of GE Oil & Gas, said the companies will use the research center to develop ideas that can be tested quickly in the field.
"We aim to quickly deploy technologies that can improve the economics and operational performance of unconventional oil and gas projects throughout the United States and around the world as more countries seek to develop their oil and natural gas resources," Simonelli said.
GE has supplied equipment to Devon for years, providing wellhead and production control as well as artificial lift systems. In addition, the companies have collaborated in technological areas such as remote field power.
Devon Energy CEO John Richels said this latest project with GE "is another great opportunity to accelerate development of new technologies and create solutions that are important to our industry, our communities and the customers who benefit from these breakthroughs."
