We caught up with Seth Berry in Houston, TX, to get his insight on Cameron pressure control equipment.

What is it about Cameron pressure control equipment (PCE) that separates it from other original equipment manufacturers' (OEM)?

Experience. Cameron's legacy in drilling pressure control affords us unique insight into our customers' challenges and needs. And that insight comes from a century of design, engineering, and manufacturing. Our products continue to define performance in the oil field and unlock challenging formations because we build them beyond the latest industry standards, such as API Spec 16A 4th Edition. They've been qualified by third parties that include DNV GL and the American Bureau of Shipping. Cameron products are thoroughly tested because customers are put first—we know they rely on our PCE to work flawlessly.

What drives the people of Cameron in developing and manufacturing PCE?

Our culture is squarely focused on our customers, and there is an immense sense of pride in the products we produce and services we provide, which is evident in the value we deliver for our customers. We want to produce quality products because their requirements are often incredibly unique, so we continue pushing the envelope of what's possible. For instance, there is a growing need for high-temperature tolerance and high H2S resistance—and we developed special elastomer technology in response. We also are advancing capabilities in new variable bore rams (VBR), annular packers, and shear rams.

What is the single most important takeaway that customers should have about Cameron PCE?

That we enable rig performance across the globe through basin-specific products, like high-H2S-resistant elastomers for the Middle East or large-range VBRs for ultradeepwater drilling in the North Sea and Gulf of Mexico, and world class, locally available services. We will continue to adapt and evolve with the growing challenges in our industry.

What can you say about Cameron PCE that no other PCE OEM can say?

Cameron literally invented the ram-type BOP. In 1922, Harry Cameron and Jim Abercrombie filed the patent for the industry's first ram-type BOP. We have since built on that foundation and continue innovating to meet our customers' needs. For example, in 2016 we released the BroadShear off-center tool joint shear ram that was the first shear ram capable of reliably shearing tool joints and hardbanding. We more recently enhanced our DSI dual-string interlocking shear rams portfolio to enable greater performance in our type U/UM BOP family of products. The cutting-edge shear and seal modeling techniques used to develop this ram were created in house and in conjunction with Schlumberger 3MT modeling team. The result is a shear and seal ram that performs at a wide range of temperatures while reducing the force required by up to 40%.

We have some exciting products on the horizon, from enhanced modeling of elastomers and shearing technology to innovative service contracts designed to maximize uptime, safety, and performance of our customers. Stay tuned for more.