About

Led by Yuri Mikhailovich Achkasov, the Special Geophysical Equipment Development Bureau began a unique story. A research team and pilot production were established simultaneously. As a result of such continuous evolution, log processing labs, log recorders and electrical survey tools being way ahead of their time were developed and introduced into manufacture.

Creativity and outstanding engineering skills allowed the start-up company to become an integral part of the geophysical industry in the USSR. This important milestone of our history strengthened Geofit reputation as a leader in development and manufacture of advanced geophysical survey equipment, a legacy we proudly continue today.

In 1991, having a new team of young and talented engineers, our company took a momentous step by establishing a business unit intended to meet the needs of the booming directional drilling market. Despite the tough business environment in the country, our company continued to actively invest in research and development activities.

In late 90s, SIB MWD tools with EM communication channel were developed and deployed. These tools quickly won recognition in key oil-producing regions of the country due to their reliability and efficiency. Moreover, this technology formed the basis for upgrading and development of new generations of the equipment.

This period was marked not only by innovations but also by our continuous commitment to quality and development.

In response to existent challenges of a competitive emerging market, a new generation of SIB 2 EM MWD tools was released. The tool design underwent evolutionary changes to add new features, increase bit rate and extend service intervals.

For years we worked diligently to improve and upgrade our tools. As a result of this ongoing dynamic process an upgraded SIB 2.2 tool was released in 2014. The new tool is still distinguished by a number of essential features that will later prove themselves in the market.

Higher EM channel bit rate during drilling and an extended list of transmitted MWD data, structural reliability in aggressive operating conditions, and a power supply from a high-power and reliable downhole generator are essential features of SIB 2.2. These features increased the utilization efficiency of our equipment and helped our customers to reach new heights in their work.

As the years passed, the market came up with a demand for efficient domestic MWD tools for drilling long and deep wells. Due to EM signal transmission constraints in such an environment, the need to develop a mud pulse communication channel arose.

Based on the SIB 2.2 platform, Geofit engineers came up with the optimal solution and developed an innovative positive pulse-operated pulser and a compatible ad hoc generator. As a result of this process a new version of the MWD tool – SIB 2.4 – was released. Now our customers could easily retrofit their equipment with required modules to use the mud pulse system, minimizing additional costs.

This step allowed our SIB MWD tool to become even more adaptive and multifunctional, which in turn extended our customers' capabilities and made our product more desirable for various drilling applications.

Geofit Product Center dynamically expanded its horizons, introducing new business lines. The localization and manufacturing of PowerDrive rotary steerable systems became a fundamentally new focus area for the Center.

This process was started in 2015, when we acquired competencies and expertise, and invested in the necessary manufacturing equipment. Later in 2016, we had our first tools assembled from original components. Then an intense localization process started, aimed at using components manufactured in-house or available on the local market.

In three years, we made considerable progress building up in-house manufacturing of wear-resistant metal components of complex geometries. By 2019 it allowed us to achieve localization of 70% (in value terms).

The localization process did not stop there. Our engineers continued to develop complex manufacturing technologies previously inaccessible to the Center: complex PC board layout, soldering and 5-axis metalworking with tight tolerances, laser and electron beam welding, laser surface coating, as well as advanced processes for making hard alloys from tungsten carbide.

In recent years, our Product Center has significantly expanded its product line. At the same time, we have noticed an emerging demand for an integrated RSS-compatible MWD and LWD tool package manufactured in Russia.

To address these challenges, we have upgraded SIB 2 MWD tools. We developed an interface module that provides mechanical connection of various instruments, real-time communication between MWD and LWD tools, and a power supply. In addition, we introduced necessary modifications into the software.

Thus, SIB MWD tools, PowerDrive RSS, and density-neutron logging tools manufactured by ‘NPP Energia’ company were integrated into a single BHA.

In 2021 a full-scale software upgrade was started to ensure data acquisition and processing from all BHA tools.

Proprietary software is an integral part of a triple-combo BHA from Geofit which enables a holistic solution capable of processing all well logging real-time and memory data in automatic mode, and promptly transmitting the data to customers using common data communication protocols.

In 2022, Geofit Product Center celebrated a landmark event.

A new SIB-R EM wave propagation resistivity tool successfully completed the filed tests.

The SIB-R EM wave propagation resistivity tool commercialization was the final step in the development of a domestically manufactured high-tech combination of LWD tools and RSS that allows Geofit to introduce to the market an integrated in-house solution for drilling in various downhole environments.

For the first time, a complete integrated triple-combo BHA successfully drilled a branched well at the Chayandinskoye oil and gas condensate field, and demonstrated drilling performance comparable with BHAs of foreign manufacture.

We are proud of our achievements, however, considerable efforts are required to develop and implement advanced technologies to solve increasingly complex problems in the national fuel and energy industry.