Innovative Thinkers
Bruce Reichert was born and raised in Minnesota, a place he says is as far away from the oil patch as you can get. Despite having no exposure to the industry as a child, Reichert grew up to become a very accomplished engineer. Now serving as chief technology officer for Tenaris’ coiled tubing division, Reichert conducts research and develops innovative approaches to contemporaneous technology needs—specifically in regard to coiled tubing and coiled line pipe—of the oil and gas industry.
In spite of his locality, Reichert knew by the time he was in middle school that he wanted to be an engineer. He even recalls being struck by the sight of an oil field for the first time during a family trip to Wyoming. “For as long as I can remember, I’ve been obsessed with science. I had chemistry sets and rock collections,” Reichert said. “All the other kids loved superheroes, but my biggest heroes were physicists. I can only guess that it must’ve been wired into my DNA somehow.”
After being appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy in high school, Reichert attended a science and engineering workshop, where he only bolstered his passion for science and technology further. He went on to receive a BS degree in mechanical engineering.
During his time in the Navy, Reichert’s color blindness allowed him to focus on his engineering studies. Following his five years of required active duty, Reichert went on to earn an MS degree in mechanical engineering from Iowa State University. He then moved to Ohio, where NASA funded his work toward a PhD. During that time, Reichert served as a research engineer at the NASA Glenn Research Center. He used his degree to begin teaching as an associate professor at Kansas State University.
Later, Reichert was recruited by Input/Output, Inc., a company that designs and manufactures seismic equipment for oil and gas exploration. Today, the company is called ION Geophysical. He jumped at the opportunity to become the company’s V.P. of engineering and move to the U.S. energy capital, Houston, Texas. “It’s the best move I’ve made,” Reichert said. “If you want to pursue this industry, you’ve got to go to the center of the universe.”
In 2001, Reichert joined Precision Tube Technology, which was acquired by Tenaris in 2006. He has since been responsible for all technology and product development, including specifications, verification testing and supplier qualification for the company’s coiled tubing division. He played a significant role in the development of the company’s flagship BlueCoil technology, which was developed using new welding and heat-treatment processes that are exclusive for coiled tubing. In 2015, the technology won the World Oil Award for best well intervention technology, as well as the ICoTA Intervention Technology Award.
Designed to obtain higher-strength grades and provide significant improvements in fatigue performance and sulfide stress cracking resistance, the technology allows greater utilization of the entire coiled tubing string, giving it more strength and, ultimately, a longer string life for coiled tubing applications.
BlueCoil has profoundly impacted the industry, as customers are routinely getting twice the life from their coiled tubing.
This spring, the company plans to launch several new products, which will expand on the innovative BlueCoil technology design, increasing the fatigue life of conventional coiled tubing strings further. Additionally, the new grade of BlueCoil will feature superior H2S resistance. In the North Sea, for instance, there are environmental restrictions on the use of H2S inhibitors, leaving conventional high-strength coiled tubing vulnerable to H2S failure. BlueCoil offers improved H2S resistance inherent to the tube. 
