Baker Hughes Expands Coiled-Tube Drilling in Saudi Arabia’s Natural Gas Fields

In Q3 2025, Aramco awarded Baker Hughes a contract to expand its integrated underbalanced coiled-tubing drilling (UBCTD) operations across Saudi Arabia’s natural gas fields. The multi-year agreement will increase the company’s UBCTD fleet from four to 10 units for re-entry and greenfield drilling projects in the Kingdom. Baker Hughes will provide integrated solutions to manage UBCTD operations:

• Coiled-tubing drilling units
• Underbalanced drilling services
• Operational management
• Well construction
• Geosciences to scale and accelerate gas access from new and established fields

Baker Hughes’ UBCTD operations leverage its CoilTrak bottomhole assembly system and enhanced reservoir analysis, both driven by the GaffneyCline energy advisory. Combining technology and insight allows operators to effectively navigate the subsurface environment during horizontal drilling and re-entry operations. Work under the expanded agreement will begin in 2026.

“This project is the result of nearly two decades of successful collaboration between Baker Hughes and Aramco, which have set the standard for UBCTD,” said Amerino Gatti, Executive Vice President of Oilfield Services & Equipment, Baker Hughes. “By combining technologies with an integrated approach, we can support Aramco to more efficiently access bypassed and hard-to-reach hydrocarbons and produce the resources to help the Kingdom. This expansion sets the stage for further advancements in UBCTD, which has the potential to shape how oil and gas are produced around the world.”

Coiled-tubing drilling services | Image Credit: Baker Hughes

These solutions, combined with project management services, enable Baker Hughes to improve production efficiency, speed, and safety while minimizing reservoir damage when compared to traditional development methods. The multi-year agreement builds upon Baker Hughes’ Saudi Arabian track record since entering the UBCTD market in 2008.

Flame Detection

In May 2025, Baker Hughes launched an advanced flame-detection technology to prevent damage, hazards, or explosions within gas turbines: Flame Tracker Increased Low Gain (ILG). It uses improved electronics to enable flame detection in low-light thresholds, so it detects flames accurately in less than 0.025 seconds. This includes low-light conditions like obscured sight tubes, condensation, fouled lenses, and other light-inhibiting factors. Part of the Reuter-Stokes product portfolio, the Flame Tracker ILG is more responsive and reliable than its predecessor and can detect combustor-section flames in turbines firing hydrogen blends.

Like other flame sensors, the new model is intended to ensure safe combustion and overall gas turbine operation by identifying lost or unstable flames. Upon positive detection, Flame Tracker ILG triggers a shutdown command that:

• Prevents turbine damage
• Minimizes hazards
• Removes explosion risks due to unburned fuel accumulation

Baker Hughes’ updated safety-oriented technology supports the role of fuel flexibility in the energy transition. As natural gas-hydrogen blends become more common to provide secure and low-emissions power generation, the Flame Tracker ILG will ensure safe operation and prevent unexpected damage to gas turbines. The new system was developed at Baker Hughes’ Reuter-Stokes facility in Twinsburg, OH.

Tangguh LNG

In late August 2025, Baker Hughes obtained a 90-month service award for bp’s Tangguh LNG plant in Papua Barat, Indonesia, which covers spare parts, repair services, and field-service engineering support for the facility’s turbomachinery: heavy-duty gas turbines, steam turbines, and compressors for three LNG trains. Baker Hughes is cooperating with PT Imeco Inter Sarana, a local partner, to deliver local content per the agreement.