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About Wild Well Control, Inc.

Wild Well Control, Inc. was founded by Joe R. Bowden, Sr. in 1975 and was the first competition for the Red Adair Company.  The classic 1968 John Wayne film, Hellfighters, offered a glorified and simplified image of rough and macho oil well firefighters. In the early years, Wild Well Control’s dozen or so employees were called to manage fires only once every couple of months.  Over the years, however, the business of well control has become increasingly complex.  Unfortunately, in recent times, well disasters have become more frequent, dangerous and environmentally damaging, securing a need for the type of efficient expertise offered by Wild Well Control.      

 

UNNATURAL DISASTER

In 1991, Wild Well was one of three companies contacted by Kuwait Oil Company to regain control of its fields of raging well fires.  Well control specialists were confronted with a number of new challenges, most notably safety concerns in the war-torn and explosive laden nation of Kuwait and severe environmental pollution concerns.  Wild Well met the challenges with incredible success, capping more than 130 wells in eight months.  Many experts credit the incredible speed of the American campaign (as exemplified by Wild Well) for the lack of serious long-term damage to the environment of the area. 

 

In the process, Wild Well Control got its own large-screen immortalization, as the IMAX crew traveled with its emergency response teams to film Fires of Kuwait.  This documentary featured employees with a heroism that would make John Wayne proud, yet it offered the public a more realistic glimpse of the incredible dangers and nuances involved in modern oil-well disaster relief.

 

EVOLUTION

The rest of the 1990’s brought Wild Well Control continued, unprecedented success, as the teams fought cases from inland Texas to offshore India and Egypt.  Wild Well Control continues to provide their clients with an engineering approach to the well control resolution.  In addition to the well control and related engineering services, Wild Well Control also has a Marine Engineering Division which provides technical and engineering assistance to any floating or fixed platform assets.  The ability to provide emergency technical response for any marine asset incident – involving well control, storm damage, collision, fire/explosion or other catastrophic events – sets Wild Well Control apart from other well control companies.

 

In 2001, Wild Well Control was acquired by Superior Energy Services, Inc., a public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange  (NYSE symbol: SPN) – until that time the company was privately held.  The acquisition of Wild Well Control was an excellent complement to Superior’s existing subsidiaries which focus on servicing the production related needs of the oil and gas industry.

 

THE BIG BANG OF SUCCESS

Today, Wild Well Control provides firefighting, well control, engineering and training services to oil and gas operators around the world – responding, on average, to over 50 well control events each year.   Wild Well Control’s clients include major, independent, multi-national and state-owned oil and gas companies. They respond to well control emergencies at onshore, inland waters, offshore and deep water locations.

 

Wild Well Control works closely with clients to develop comprehensive emergency response plans, conduct rig audits, provide training, evaluate and consult on difficult drilling situations, and provide equipment to remote locations. Multiple teams of well-control specialists and engineers allow the immediate mobilization to any part of the world.

 

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