SLB SLB, an American oilfield services company, has secured a significant drilling contract from Woodside Energy for the ultra-deepwater Trion development offshore Mexico. The contract involves drilling 18 ultra-deepwater wells over three years, incorporating AI-enabled capabilities to enhance operational efficiency and well quality.
Under the agreement, SLB will undertake an integrated services approach, encompassing digital directional drilling services, logging while drilling (LWD), surface logging, cementing, drilling and completion fluids, completions and wireline services. With water depths of up to 2,500 meters, Trion presents complex drilling challenges that require SLB’s extensive ultra-deepwater expertise.
Wallace Pescarini, president of Offshore Atlantic at SLB, highlighted the company’s expertise in ultra-deepwater drilling and its advanced AI-driven technologies, which will ensure the safe, efficient and reliable development of the Trion wells. He also emphasized SLB’s investment in local talent and supply chains in Mexico as a key factor in meeting project timelines.
SLB’s Performance Live digital service delivery centers will manage the operations, optimizing drilling performance through real-time data analytics and AI-driven automation. The AI-enabled drilling capabilities aim to minimize downtime, enhance precision and improve well construction efficiency, crucial for deepwater projects with complex geological conditions.
This contract follows a previous award to the SLB OneSubsea joint venture in 2023 for subsea horizontal trees, controls, and topside equipment, demonstrating Woodside’s continued confidence in SLB’s ability to execute high-stakes offshore developments. Manufacturing for the subsea components remains on track.
Woodside Energy is developing the Trion field in partnership with Pemex, with the first production expected in 2028. SLB’s contract marks a crucial step in advancing the project’s drilling phase, reinforcing its strategic presence in Mexico’s offshore energy sector.
SLB’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Currently, SLB carries a Zack Rank #3 (Hold).
Investors interested in the energy sector may look at some better-ranked stocks like Archrock Inc. AROC, NextDecade Corporation NEXT and W&T Offshore, Inc. WTI. While Archrock presently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), NextDecade and W&T Offshore carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Archrock is an energy infrastructure company based in the United States with a focus on midstream natural gas compression. It provides natural gas contract compression services and generates stable fee-based revenues.
NextDecade is an emerging player in the LNG space with its Rio Grande LNG project in Texas. As demand for LNG continues to grow, the company’s strategic investments in infrastructure and planned liquefaction capacity provide strong upside potential. With the global LNG market expanding, NEXT is well-positioned to capitalize on the growing export demand from the United States.
W&T Offshore leverages its strong Gulf of Mexico assets, which offer low decline rates and significant untapped reserves. The company recently expanded its portfolio with six shallow-water field acquisitions, adding substantial proven and probable reserves. Focused on high-return organic projects, WTI has maintained positive cash flows for 27 consecutive quarters.
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