FourPhase Hires Neil McBride to Further US Gulf of Mexico Expansion

FourPhase, a solids and production performance specialist for the oil and gas sector, recently announced an appointment that the Norwegian company expects will further its international expansion.

In a March 10 company release, FourPhase named Neil McBride as vice president of global business development with the responsibility of expanding its global client base from the company’s offices in Houston.

McBride, who brings more than 25 years of global account management and engineering experience including tenures at Baker Hughes and Expro, will initially focus on the Americas where FourPhase said it already has a proven track record in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

“We’re ready to build on the success of our operations in the Gulf of Mexico,” said Øyvind Heradstveit, CEO at FourPhase, in a statement commenting on the appointment. “2020 was a challenging year for the industry, but we are fortunate to have grown during that period.”

“Now, with Neil at the helm of our U.S. operations, I’m confident that we will continue our success story,” Heradstveit added.

FourPhase, which employs 75 personnel, has operations across the U.S., Europe and Asia Pacific. The company has additional offices in Aberdeen, U.K. and Bergen, Norway.

In 2019, FourPhase successfully deployed its automated DualFlow desander technology to provide safe handling of solids/proppants in a deepwater field in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of New Orleans.

“FourPhase is at the forefront of production optimization and that’s what attracted me to the role,” McBride said in a statement.

According to the FourPhase release, the state-of-the-art technology enabled the operator to take a shut-in well in the Gulf of Mexico back online and optimize production. The solution negated the need for a costly temporary process system on the platform as well as time-consuming coiled tubing well interventions. The company added that it also significantly reduced OPEX, personnel on-board (POB) and emissions related to mobilizing equipment and personnel.

“In this environment, operators are continually looking for operational efficiencies, and solids management is an often-overlooked area where there are significant opportunities to realize cost and time savings,” McBride continued in his statement. “What’s more, the technology also offers a significant carbon footprint and POB reduction, as it can prevent the need for coiled tubing.”