Alaska News

Alaska oilfield services company opening new Houston office

An Alaska oilfield services company is expanding -- with offices slated in the booming West Texas Permian Basin oil patch and also in Houston, the epicenter of the U.S. oil and gas industry.

Dowland-Bach Corp. told the Midland Reporter-Telegram that its Houston offices were intended to better serve national and international customers of the company's oilfield safety systems. Dowland-Bach already has an office in Midland, Tex.

Anchorage-based Dowland-Bach was founded in 1975 and builds wellhead shutdown systems statewide. The corporation controls some 7,000 wellhead systems on Alaska's North Slope and throughout the state, many in rural locations. Dowland-Bach also manufactures and designs custom control systems for domestic and international use. It has a 20,000-square- foot-shop in Anchorage.

In 2008, Dowland-Bach was acquired by Koniag, Inc., an Alaska Native regional corporation.

"The booming Permian Basin, and the collaborative nature of the business -- plus Houston as a center of the international oil business -- will let us capitalize on opportunities in both areas (Alaska and Texas)," said Geoff Wheeler, Dowland-Bach's Midland vice president. "(The company) has proven to add value from the Arctic to the tropics, in all manner of harsh conditions. We have a decent foothold, and now it's a matter of continuing to tailor solutions to meet the needs of operators in the Permian Basin."

A Houston office will help Dowland-Bach target engineering firms, operators and service providers involved in large-scale onshore and offshore projects worldwide, according to the story. As a bonus, Wheeler speculates, "If we get traction (in Houston), we will be hiring, especially for service and support. We'll need technicians. But right now, we're making our presence known."

Read the full story in the Midland Reporter-Telegram.

Craig Medred

Craig Medred is a former writer for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch and Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2015.

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