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2022: Year in Review

4 January 2023

Overall Operations

Drilling in the most prolific oil and natural gas plays in the U.S and Canada, Ulterra was the #1 most utilized drill bit in North America in 2022. In addition to our vast operations in North America, this past year marked our largest span of global operations in our history. We had the opportunity to partner with over 700 operators in 34 countries and grow our business through strategic alliances, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Asia regions. In the United States, we partnered with over 500 operators; increasing our partnerships in the US by 12% compared to 2021. In Canada, we partnered with 121 operators; increasing our partnerships in Canada by 8% compared to 2021.

Engineering Advancements & WaveCut™

In 2022, our engineering team designed 234 new bit designs. These new releases ranged from radically new bit designs to minor advancements to already top-performing designs. Operators remained equipped to achieve and surpass their drilling objectives with the agile utilization of advanced designs and new drilling technology. During the year, our engineering team pioneered WaveCut, marking the introduction of our fifth patented cutting structure. Since its launch, our engineers applied WaveCut to over 35 new bit designs.

Manufacturing Increase

To keep up with growing demand, our manufacturing facilities around the world manufactured over 6,000 new bits and completed nearly 30,000 repairs. In the United States alone, our manufacturing team completed over 4,000 new builds and nearly 24,000 repairs – increasing manufacturing production by 38% and repair production by 17%.  As the year progressed, manufacturing lead times and on-time delivery rates improved despite the increase in production. Our manufacturing team finished December by surpassing their on-time production goals by 99% and 100% for new matrix and steel builds, respectively.

Customers’ Operations

Throughout the year, global operators drilled a collective 87+ million feet with Ulterra bits – equating to a 17% footage increase compared to 2021. Specifically in the United States, operators drilled a collective 70 million feet over the course of 22,000 runs with Ulterra bits throughout the year. In Canada, operators drilled nearly 12 million feet over the course of over 3,000 runs equipped with Ulterra bits. Globally, operators drilled over 5 million feet on over 2,000 runs with Ulterra bits on their BHAs.

Recognition in 2022

According to Kimberlite International Market Research in 2022, the industry rated Ulterra:

#1 in Drill Bit Performance

#1 in Value

#1 in Customer Loyalty.

In EnergyPoint Research‘s latest Customer Satisfaction Survey, Ulterra ranked first in various key categories, including:

#1 in Drill Bits

#1 in Personnel

#1 in Downhole Drilling Equipment

#1 in Availability & Delivery.

These accolades were the result of our people and their continued commitment to the industry and their customers.

Giving Back

Our team went beyond drill bits to make a larger impact in their communities and throughout the world. During the year, we donated 14 additional drill bits to WHOlives, aiding the completion of 1,000 new water wells and helping over 1 million people gain access to clean water through our partnership with WHOlives and US Synthetic. In October, we continued our effort of raising awareness for breast cancer and our partnership with Pink the Basin. This year, operators utilized over a thousand pink bits in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Looking forward to 2023

Every efficiently and safely drilled well relies on the people and the equipment involved. As we look forward into 2023, our continued ability to serve the industry relies solely on the commitment of our people and our unwavering effort to design, build, and deliver the industry’s top-performing bit and drilling services.