DIAL-ed In: Joel Shaw

Our expert Q&A sessions are designed to give you insight into the people behind Silverwell and share the value they bring. Each month, one of our global experts will share information on their role and their vision for the future of the industry.

Joel Shaw is Silverwell’s Product Line Vice President for DIAL technologies. DIAL in to learn about his background, expertise, and vision for Silverwell.

Tell us about yourself and your background

I was born in Bellevue, WA but by the time I was four I successfully convinced my parents to move to Texas. I received my bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering (with an emphasis in Computer Science) from Texas A&M University. I’ve always enjoyed building and tinkering; I even managed to jack up the family car to take the wheels off around four years old - my family didn’t realize it until I came inside asking for help to remove the lug nuts. Engineering felt like a natural fit for me growing up since I’ve always had a passion for ideation and invention. As opposed to other industries, the oilfield offers the opportunity to invent tools and equipment on many different fronts in parallel. For instance, in the automotive you might spend years optimizing a door handle. Over the same period in the oil industry one can develop a half dozen completion tools, each of which have a significant impact on production and utilizing resources in a safer and more efficient manner.

What does your role involve?

As the Product line VP, I manage the life cycle, operations, and intellectual property for Silverwell’s DIAL technology; right now I’m working on Expanding Silverwell product offering into new niches. My primary function is guiding Silverwell’s product and service offerings from their inception, through their lives, and into their eventual retirement. This also includes providing our sales, operations, engineering, and manufacturing teams with the tools and information they need to best perform their roles with the company. I started at Silverwell over three and a half years ago and I’ve previously had the roles of Chief Mechanical Engineer and Product Line Manager.

Why Silverwell?

No one can match the speed, quality, and experience with which Silverwell can pull together products and designs to suit specific market needs. I’ve worked in various sized organizations and Silverwell’s nimbleness has been a refreshing change. Silverwell brings an opportunity to increase production while saving money and reducing the oil industry’s carbon footprint.

Silverwell will be the world’s premier supplier for intelligent gas lift products, with high-quality, focused systems for markets such as subsea, dual string, land, and unconventional wells. Our DIAL system quickly pays for itself and has the ability to significantly reduce your environmental footprint. This makes it a critical tool in the ongoing pursuit of a more sustainable industry.

What do you think is next for the industry?

As more equipment is installed in wells, pad and field-wide gas lift optimization will become commonplace. This means that more oil can be produced from the same footprint with less greenhouse gas emissions. Silverwell is at the forefront of surface controlled gas lift technology; this includes the equipment, the implementation, the design, and the optimization. As always, oil price and profitability are key factors in this industry. However, greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint have been much more of a concern over recent decades. Silverwell’s DIAL system addresses these concerns head on.

How do you stay involved in the industry? Do you have advice for anyone thinking about joining?

I keep updated by active involvement in various trade groups such as ALRDC (Artificial Lift Research and Development Council), SPE (Society of Petroleum Engineers), and ICT (Inflow Control technology). I’m a member of several API committees tasked with updating and creating industry standards.

If you’re adventurous and creative, go for it – I doubt you’ll find a more exciting and interesting industry to be in.

How has the pandemic changed Silverwell’s operations?

The biggest issue has been getting people to location for jobs. We’ve adapted by expanding our training program and materials to bring local personnel up to speed more effectively. From an operations perspective, it has also driven us to do more with less personnel - such as automating health checks during RIH. Reduced Silverwell personnel on location has highlighted the importance of real time data and communications onsite, leading to data integration prior to install, or even satellite communication technologies. Covid has also driven many of our meetings and interactions to a virtual environment. While this eliminates much of the warmth and personal interaction, it has allowed us to get more into a tightened schedule due to reduced travel times.

Once the DIAL equipment has been installed, it is invaluable in a pandemic or post-pandemic world. There is no need for physical human intervention to optimization wells. They can be optimized to maximize oil production and minimize environmental footprint remotely without any intervention or risk to personnel.

For more information on how we can solve your gas lift challenges contact our team.