What We Do
We are a team of experienced well design engineers with a speciality in advanced tubular (casing and tubing) design. We provide elite engineering services to assist our clients worldwide in the design and analysis of critical wells and well operations. Our experience covers a range of complex well conditions including high pressure high temperature (HPHT), extreme depth, deep water, high angle, high flow rate, geothermal, CCUS, etc.
Since the company started in 2001, we have proven ourselves as the best at what we do. We fill a market niche that specialises in tough wells and we have developed strong relationships with our clients, built on integrity, trust and performance.
Meet the Experts
Albert McSpadden
President
Besides his duties as President of Altus, Albert is in charge of coordinating the Altus team effort to develop and launch new software and expand elite consulting services in the transformed global digital environment. He connects internal Altus R&D with engineering challenges of complex well design in the oil & gas and geothermal industries. He plays a key role at Altus to expand its capability with specialised computing tools, including finite element analysis, to enhance and complement Altus's established well design expertise. He serves on industry technical forums and committees, currently on the SPE ATCE Technical Programme Committee. He joined Altus in 2005 to expand his knowledge of tubular design and quickly became an expert user of WellCat for complex well design projects. With Masters degrees in both mathematics and computer science from Texas Tech University, he previously worked at Coiled Tubing Engineering Services (now NOV CTES) to develop and implement simulation models for engineering job design of coiled tubing, wireline, and drill pipe in well intervention operations.
Bill Taylor
COO, CFO & CISO
With a BS in Petroleum Engineering and an MBA in Business from The University of Texas, he joined Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) in 1987. He worked six years on oil and gas software as a developer, analyst, and manager before joining Enertech in 1993. As Enertech's Product Development Manager, he was responsible for directing the software development process. In 1996, he became Enertech's Operations Manager responsible for all engineering consulting services worldwide. Bill is one of the co-founders of Altus and is the CFO, COO, and CISO. Bill manages the day-to-day operations, consulting projects, the engineering staff, and the corporate finances. Bill is also the Chief Information Security Officer.
John A. Howard
Vice President, Sales
With a BS in Petroleum Engineering from The University of Oklahoma, he joined Tenneco in 1983 and worked five years as a drilling engineer in the Gulf of Mexico before joining Enertech in 1988. After two years involved with joint industry projects on stuck pipe and drill string fatigue, he moved into software/consulting sales, software training, and project management. He quickly became Enertech's top sales representative, focusing on clients with critical needs. At Altus, he is responsible for worldwide sales of engineering consulting, training, and auditing.
Simon Glover
Vice President, Asia Pacific Oceania
With BSc in Mechanical Engineering from Aberdeen University and M.Eng in Petroleum Engineering from Heriot-Watt University, he worked 5 years in drilling engineering operations before joining BP Research. In 1992 he joined Enertech and established its overseas operation in Aberdeen. He was responsible for developing Enertech's business outside the United States, contributing significantly to HPHT and other critical well issues in the North Sea and beyond. At Altus he has resumed this role, with responsibility for its consulting business in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Issa Kalil
Vice President, Engineering
With a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Auburn University, he joined Exxon Production Research Company in 1980 where he worked on solids control equipment, downhole drilling equipment, connection qualification programs and procedures, casing and tubing design manual and well completion training for more than 14 years. After three years in Exxon's international drilling operations as a Drilling Engineer, he joined Enertech in 1997 as a Consulting Engineer. In 1999, he became the Product Manager with accountability for product direction of Enertech software products (CasingSeat™, StressCheck™ and WellCat™) marketed by Landmark. At Altus, he is responsible for the development of its technical team to provide advance engineering services.
Ruggero Trevisan
Vice President, Europe
Ruggero has a MEng in Structural/Geotechnical Engineering from Padua University and a MSc by Research in Engineering/Dynamics from Aberdeen University. He worked in Italy as a Geotechnical Engineer before moving to the UK where, at completion of his Masters degree, he worked for Mott MacDonald Group as structural/geotechnical engineer focusing on geotechnical-foundation related projects. He joined Halliburton/Landmark in 2007 where he worked as drilling-engineering consultant and gained considerable experience with software applications for drilling and completion through assignments to Shell (RTOC) and BP. In 2009 Ruggero joined Altus Well Experts and has since expanded his knowledge on tubular design for HPHT environments. At Altus he works as a well design and analysis specialist and provides training and mentoring on various projects worldwide.
Rick Behenna
Principal Engineer
Rick has a BS in Petroleum Engineering from Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology, 1990, along with Petroleum Engineering graduate study from University of Oklahoma. He worked for Halliburton Energy Services 1990 - 2002 in stimulation design, formation damage assessment, and coiled tubing applications. In 2002, he moved to CTES L.P. as product manager for development of high level well intervention and data acquisition software, and to assist with coiled tubing applications and product support/training. Rick joined Altus in February 2008 and will specialize in advanced analysis and consulting services for tubing and well completion design.
Richard Cooper
Senior Engineer
After receiving a BEng degree with Honours in mechanical and offshore engineering from The Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, he joined Landmark in 2001. He became proficient with software applications for design of drilling and production operations and for design of well tubulars in hostile environments. He is a power user of WellCat. At Landmark for four years, he did consulting, training, and mentoring on numerous projects worldwide. From 2005 to mid-2007, he worked at the Shell real-time operations centre. In November 2007, he joined Altus and will team with our other engineers to provide well expert services.
Ian Coker
Business Systems Specialist
Ian has a BS in Sociology from Texas A&M University. He worked as an intern for Weatherford Intl. in managed pressure drilling and downhole tool testing. After graduating, he worked eight years as a Microcomputer Specialist for Texas A&M University, where he was responsible for desktop support, server architecture, procurement, and multimedia systems. Ian joined Altus in 2011 to provide IT services and expertise in business critical systems. At Altus, he is responsible for IT infrastructure, project oversight and ensures Altus engineers have the tools and systems they need to provide expert analysis.