News

Probe announces today that Ken Havlinek, an oil and gas industry expert with a vast wealth of experience, has been appointed as Probe’s new Chief Technology Officer to lead the company’s technology roadmap, oversee execution of global product development strategy and product management operations. With over 20 years of technology development leadership experience, Havlinek has a proven track record of driving innovation in organizations and managing multi-level product architecture.

“We continue to bolster our management team to further advance the company’s rapid growth to meet the demands of our industry and global customers,” said Maarten Propper, President & CEO, Probe Holdings, Inc. “Havlinek, with his extensive experience in wireline, LWD, completions, artificial lift, and client-facing technical collaborations, will be instrumental in driving product innovation and delivering new capabilities to our business platform.”

“I am excited to be part of the Probe organization”, said Mr. Havlinek. “It’s a privilege to assist in facilitating the advancement and growth for such an innovative technology company”.

Havlinek’s extensive background in product management and development brings a combination of keen business acumen and strong leadership skills to the CTO position. He has successfully stewarded organizations through exciting growth phases. Havlinek’s experience will be valuable in developing and executing the growth strategy for Probe.

Probe Holdings, Inc. has opened its Houston headquarters co-located with its’ North American GeoCenter in a new 12,000 sq. ft. location on the North West side of the city, on Beltway 8, at 6824 North Sam Houston Parkway West, Houston, Texas 77064.

The purpose built facility will be base for the team providing corporate services to the growing Probe organization comprising:

• Maarten Propper – President & CEO
• Tom Dunn – Chief Financial Officer
• Danny Tape – Corporate Controller
• Raziya Reavis – Marketing Communications Specialist

The facility also provides a base for Houston based sales personnel for the organization, and provides space for Probe’s North American GeoCenter. Probe introduced the official launch of its geographic service centers (GeoCenters) in August 2010— a full-service resource for tool selection, rental, technical support and access to repair & maintenance professionals. Probe is committed to fast response, close-client operations and continuous support of a robust portfolio of tools. The new GeoCenters will provide a total-system approach driving the central focus toward increased accessibility for managing customer needs.

Rental equipment options will feature a comprehensive selection of Probe’s state-of-the-art downhole technology including memory and real time tools and systems.

Probe’s reputation for quality products positions the organization as an industry leader. “Probe is more than just equipment supplier”, says Chief Executive Officer, Maarten Propper. “Beside quality and reliable products, Service After Sales (SAS) will be one of our key differentiators in the current market. We will distinguish ourselves by providing cost-effective, value-added options based on the evolving needs of our customers”. “We understand that ultimately, in addition to quality products, customers require a dedicated customer support system to ensure maximum value can be generated from the tools provided to our customers”, Propper explains.

Field-based SAS will occur close to client operations and regional representatives will serve to enhance the company’s ability to reach customers and provide expert solutions as required. Knowledgeable technical support teams with a local presence, interconnected through Probe’s internal network, will streamline efforts and provide efficient, effective customer support across the globe.

Probe now has four Geo-Centers around the globe, servicing customers in the Middle East and North Africa (Abu Dhabi), Latin America (Villahermosa, Mexico and Bogota, Colombia) as well as the North Sea and West Africa (Aberdeen). Continued expansion of the GeoCenter customer service network for additional geographic regions will be forthcoming as the company continues to execute its strategic growth plans.

The Geo-Centers complement the five Technical Centers the organization has in Fort Worth, Texas, Long Beach California, Denver, Colorado, Aberdeen, Scotland and Sandefjord, Norway. David Royko is the General Manager of Probe’s North American GeoCenter and also has the role of General Manager for AKS-Probe.

Former founder and President of Well Test Solutions LLC, David has over 30 years experience in marketing, business development and sales and service of numerous products and services to the oil and gas industry. Dave has previously served as General Manager for Z.I. Probes USA and then as Vice President of Operations for zed.i solutions. Dave formed Well Test Solutions in 2002 as a result of an MBO of zed .i solutions’ well testing products division. Well Test Solutions merged with AKS Labs in June 2007 and formed AKS Technologies, Inc. Probe Holdings, Inc. acquired the assets of AKS in December 2011.

Probe Holdings, Inc. has acquired the assets of AKS Technologies, Inc. of Houston, Texas, in an undisclosed cash and equity transaction. This oilfield technology based acquisition is part of a strategic plan to create a world-class technical engineering and manufacturing group that can provide downhole tools and systems to the global oilfield service sector.

“AKS Technologies has brought some very smart technology to the surface data acquisition and distribution market”, said Maarten Propper, CEO of Probe Holdings, Inc.” and they complement many of our downhole data acquisition tools, especially in the permanent monitoring business. They are a great team who share many of the same cultural values of the Probe group. Their innovative style and efficient execution will yield accretive business across the group.”

Dave Royko, CEO of AKS Technologies, Inc. commented that “the Probe platform is a great opportunity for us all to accelerate growth and the technology adoption process. AKS joining Probe is a triple win…a win for us, a win for Probe and above all a big win for our combined customers who will get great access to new and innovative technology.”

Within the growing Probe organization, Dave Royko will be the Regional Manager for Probe’s North American Geo-Center based in Houston and he will also have overall responsibility for managing the Probe Denver Technical Center based in Englewood, CO. The Denver Technical Center has a focus on both downhole and surface production monitoring systems and associated data-to-desk solutions.

Probe’s strategy revolves around developing fit-for-purpose technical tools and systems while providing customers with exemplary customer support. Probe’s Technical Centers are responsible for delivering technical tools and support systems and its Geo-Centers are responsible for front line customer support, training, repair & maintenance of tools as well as providing and maintaining a rental fleet of tools that is appropriate for that particular market.

The final touches have been put into place to ensure a smooth transition from Sentergy, a Probe Company, to being fully integrated within the Probe organization. The Sentergy product lines have formed the foundation of a new product line from Probe called the IntelleX™ platform. These intelligent slickline memory tools open up a new capability for both slickline and wireline based companies to offer cost-effective measurement and activation services using slickline systems. The synergies between Probe and Sentergy will significantly enhance access to a growing global market for intelligent slickline tools.

Ensuring that all of a company’s stakeholders are in-line with the transition into an evolving organization, is often something that is often overlooked during the post-acquistion phase. Over the last 10 months, Probe and Sentergy personnel have been working to build the business, enable the synergies between the two companies to be met, inform clients of the transition, manage suppliers through the transition and above all maximize growth potential. This process has now reached a point where the last external web presence (www.sentergy.co.uk) is redirecting visitors to the Probe IntelleX™ product line area within the Probe web site: (IntelleX™ platform).

“The entire process has gone smoothly and we have actually increased our both our visibility and our capability going through the transition”, stated Paul Church, Europe & West Africa Regional Manager for Probe. “We are very pleased with our performance and looking forward to continued growth in the future.”

Sensor Developments, a Probe Company, will install the first LinX Online system at the Statoil operated Grane platform in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea.

Two sensor nodes will be installed in an injection well for drill-cuttings, measuring pressure and temperature in the annulus and outside the casing in contact with the formation. The sensors will be positioned to monitor critical parameters in the injection zone as well as the long-term changes of the pore pressure of the overlaying cap-rock. Mobilization of equipment is expected in mid June 2011.

The installation is a pilot for the consortium on Measurement of Pore Pressure in Shale (MESPOSH).

Established in 2005, the MESPOSH consortium combines the strong expertise from the five participating partners: Sensor Development, Shell, Statoil, DONG E&P and the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute. The objective of the collaborative project is to develop in-well instrumentation for long-term monitoring of the pore pressure in shale formations.

For Statoil operating the Grane field this novel approach of monitoring shallow injectors, aims to enhance the understanding of reservoir and wellbore integrity for injection wells in general. “It is always exciting when new technology goes through the rotary table for the first time” says Kjetil Borgersen, Sensor Developments’ President and CEO.

“Together with our partners and the Grane team, we are making a bit of history by installing in-situ sensors with the LinX approach. We are looking forward to proving the technology and the added value of accurate data measurement in direct contact with the formation. This will have wider applicability, because, what is happening outside the casing, significantly influences integrity as well as productivity and recovery”