Built to last: why drilling projects fail before they even begin

Tomorrow, April 24, we’ll be unlocking the truth behind one of drilling’s most silent and costly threats: unreliable mud pumps.

At first glance, a mud pump is just another component on a rig. It works hard, handles pressure, and keeps fluids moving.

But behind that steel exterior lies a deeper story—one filled with fractured crankshafts, misaligned crossheads, and gear failures that never should have happened.

The reality is this: bad mud pumps kill productivity. And in many cases, the danger doesn’t come with a loud warning.

It creeps in slowly, until Non-Productive Time (NPT) eats away at your budget, schedule, and bottom line.

The cost of a “Good Deal”

Across the U.S., operators have opted for low-cost, imported mud pumps, hoping to stretch budgets and keep projects moving.

But what starts as a savings on paper often ends in disaster: extended downtime, costly repairs, and lost barrels.

“You may be saving money on the purchase, but losing millions in downtime.”

That’s not just a warning—it’s a pattern we’ve seen play out time and again.

What breaks—and why

Tomorrow’s, April 24, webinar will walk through the top causes of failure, based on real-world data:

Cast crankshafts that don’t hold under pressure

Misalignment in crossheads that trigger chain-reaction damage

Gears that fail due to poor machining and shortcuts

Fragile power frames that crack where forged plates would endure

Through diagrams and real footage, we’ll show how these problems happen, and more importantly, how they can be prevented with smarter engineering.

What every decision-maker should know

Before your next drilling project begins, there are choices that will define your success:

Should you go with 7,500 PSI—or 10,000?

Will your rig benefit more from a plunger pump, piston system—or hybrid?

Are you planning maintenance proactively—or reacting after failures?

We’ll also cover cutting-edge innovations like the Quintuplex, lighter weight designs for offshore use, and how custom builds can extend operational life and increase efficiency.

Tomorrow: the conversation starts

Our session is titled “Built to Last: Solving Today’s Mud Pump Problems with Precision Engineering.” And it’s exactly what it sounds like: an insider look at what breaks, why it breaks, and what you can do to make it last.

Built to last: why drilling projects fail before they even begin