New Oil and Gas Production Software Applications
(make it hurt so good…)

Over the last few years, the oil patch has experienced technological advancements that have made it easier for Engineers to manage their wells, Accounting to manage its books, IT to manage its servers, and even owners and partners to manage their cashflow and health of their business.

However, how has oil and gas software applications helped the frontline pumper?

It hasn’t.

Most E&P software does not work for the folks in the field. It creates work for pumpers. It creates admin tasks for pumpers. 

Quite simply, it takes pumpers away from pumping.

In fact, field data capture software has been so ineffective that many folks in the field simply refused to use it. Organizations suffer from field data gathering adoption issues. 

And as a result, the original value propositions for which the production software has become compromised due to incomplete or sloppily kept production data.

How should operators respond to this issue? Should oil and gas production tracking software adoption be avoided altogether? Should operators simply let pumpers “do their thing”?

Absolutely not.

Software for the oil and gas industry represents an enormous opportunity for gains in efficiencies and profit – we’re going to lay a few of them out for you here.

However, to be effective, production tracking software needs to be approached the right way.

And, the equation is painfully simple: 

Leveraging our Pumpers + Increased Pumper Engagement = Increased Profits and Decreased LOE

How Modern Oil Software Applications Better Engage your Pumpers…

One of the most time-consuming steps of managing oil and gas production is simply gathering and compiling the production data from your pumpers in the field. 

For any of you who have had to contact a pumper to track down a missing run ticket or request a late production report, you know just how annoying this can be.

In the past, some operators attempted to streamline this gauge sheet or gauge report process by installing PC terminals from which pumpers could share at the field house.

Unfortunately, these efforts typically yielded bad production data, as data entry errors arose when pumpers had to transfer this production data from written hand notes to the PC terminal at the end of the day (pumper stream of consciousness: “hmmmm now was that well #23 or well #32….”)

In another attempt, many organizations forced upon pumpers software that ran on a palm pilot or laptop, which enabled their field operators to enter production info while onsite. Sadly, the majority of these solutions were built by oil and gas software companies who got their start in the late 90s by programmers who simply didn’t understand the oil field.

How many palm pilots did you own? If you’re like most people, the answer is ‘None’.

Furthermore, most pumpers resorted to punch-in sessions once they returned home which eliminated any upside the operator would’ve gained by enabling the pumper to enter the production data while fresh in his mind. Also, when left to their own devices, many pumpers simply passed this duty off to someone who had never even visited the well site (a wife, son, or nephew…) further increasing the likelihood of introducing errors into your data…

And who can blame them? The time investment needed to submit this information and make it to all their wells each day and also deal with any issues that may arise is unsustainable.

SIDE NOTE: When using palm pilots, daily production report template excel sheets, or other laptop software, it can take a full hour each day to log a 40 well route. Using the GreaseBook, entering 40 wells takes less than 12 seconds per well (that’s less than 8 minutes for an entire 40 well route!)

And, to keep the pumpers from fat-fingering data, the app even notifies them when they’ve entered negative production or something doesn’t look quite right.

Deliver clean data to the folks in the office and free up more time for him to focus on his route? Now, that’s leveraging your pumper! Clean data. Less admin work for the folks in-house. More time pumping.

By accelerating the pumper’s ability to quickly key in production data, we free up time for more important activities such as preventative maintenance and roustabouting. However, the real advantage to having pumpers enter our production information for us is because our pumpers are already direct cost of us doing business.

And, if we can achieve more productivity with the same cost (many times less cost, depending on how your company’s daily oil production reporting workflow is structured), why would we choose to offload the task of transcribing, compiling, and chasing down production reports on an in-house admin, tech, engineer, supervisor, or even you?

We must refine the system before adding people. Adding people to a refined system multiplies output; however, using people as a fix to a poor system multiplies your problems.

This may sound a bit harsh, but if you’re simply delegating to others before reevaluating the process, you’re now simply wasting somebody else’s time as opposed to your own (check out this post entitled: Field Data Capture and the secret of the most effective, cost-efficient Oil Producers in the game today…)

By eliminating data entry errors by checking a pumper’s entries against historical info, the folks in the office no longer have to (1) to scan field data for mistakes, (2) follow up with pumpers to ask about erroneous info, or (3) keep bad info from being uploaded to the company’s centralized production system.

And, by having clean data in a centralized production database from which to work, the system can now produce State reports, reconcile our oil sales, graph our production, and keep both investors and in-house management apprised of the health of our assets.

How (Good) Oil and Gas Software Applications Better Leverage your Pumper

The pumper may be the only person to visit a well site all day, all week, and in some cases, all year. That said, it’s not just production data we’re after….

Most oil and gas production systems in the past were a one way tool to send information from the field to the office. However, what they overlooked was that the very person collecting and entering the information was many times the very person who was best positioned to help the operator profit from it!

By giving your pumpers access to months of historical production information, production graphs, commentary, and a complete well history while on site in the field, we can engage our pumper with our production assets.

When pumpers are engaged, not only are operational problems with the well quickly identified, but also they’re able to quickly reveal when production is falling, a well needs pulling, or there’s an opportunity to increase production.

With the right tool, pumpers can engage their wells with the most helpful information at the most helpful time.

How’s that for not only engaging your pumper but also lowering your lease operating expenses?! (If you like the idea of engaging your pumpers, you’ll love this: The ‘Perfect’ Oil Production Report (and the Magic of ‘Proper’ Pumper Management…))

Now, Create a Better Pumper

Once information is entered by a pumper at the well site, the information is available to anyone with the proper access to see that information. For example, a production engineer, supervisor, owner, partner, or any other pumper that visits that site.

And, if a particular pumper ever quits, gets fired, retires, or simply walks away, all the information he’s captured can now be shared with a new pumper from which they can review and start to contribute Day 1.

For example, let’s say one of your pumper is turning 65 years old and is quickly approaching retirement. You’ve hired a very responsible, highly motivated pumper to take his place.

You’ve planned for this transition, your new pumper has even done a month’s worth of ride alongs with the pumper who is soon to retire. Now, during her second week on the job, it’s time for simple maintenance of the pumping unit.

While sipping her Coca-Cola at the supply store, she stands before a wall of a dozen lubricants of various weights, with different additives, available in tubes, buckets, and other styles of containers…

She knows from her experience that for each application at the well site, a limited number of lubricants will be appropriate to use (and dammit, she knows only one of these lubricants is truly suitable…)

Your old lease pumper couldn’t remember each type of lubricant that was required and where it was to be used (and thus had it written in his personal paper notebooks which also happened to walk out the door when he left…)

How can we expect our new gal to know the right one?!

Now, had the original pumper been given the proper application with which to log his work, the new pumper could be assured of using the correct type and amount of lubricant from a simple search on her mobile device. She’d even have known when the equipment was last lubricated and will next require changing!!

And, this new Star Pumper will even be able to avoid mixing lubricants that aren’t compatible with each other to boot! THAT is running a damn fine operation, all courtesy of a (well thought) system to help manage your operations.

But, it doesn’t stop with lubricants…

How about which electrical fuses are used on the lease? What are their sizes, current ratings, and location? Is the pumping unit gear- or chain-drive? Which direction does the freakin’ motor turn? What size plate is needed in the orifice meter to test that problem well? How many of each type and length of belt are needed? Can substitute belts be used? Will another size fit and, if yes, what length? How many sheave grooves are available for belts? Shit, what size, quality, and quantity of rod packing is needed? Gosh, was more oil per day produced this month or last? Three months ago? Six months ago? (Curse! Slam fist on dashboard! Turn up music and roll down windows to try and relax….)

Hundreds of thousands of oil wells have been producing for the better part of 50 years (some much longer). Many of these wells will outlive your pumper. And, despite the availability of cost-effective and simple oil and gas production apps, it’s amazing how few operators take this approach.

Without a properly maintained lease records book, the experienced operator knows he’s operating blind while performing the testing and daily duties at the well. Our new pumper is not in a verifiable position to reach precise reasons for lowered production, and part of the ability to know when there is a problem is lost until there is a production failure.

As you well know, production failures equal downtime. Downtime equals loss of cash flow. Loss of cash flow opens the producer to all sorts of issues (namely job security for the folks in-house).

Given the proper records, the pumper is able to alert the supervisor about a lease problem, rather than vice versa.

The most resilient operators will recognize the importance (and the potential to profit) from the ability to inform the pumper when any of these events occur. As a result, our pumper can jump in immediately, working toward the best interests of the operator as demonstrated by their actions. Our pumper should be aware, be watchful, be observant. This is useful to the operator. This approach yields a much stronger organization, leveraging the pumper to her full capacity.

The whole idea behind systemized, daily oil reporting forms is the accurate logging of activity. Failure to do so means no historical trail of engagement with each production asset. It also means no evidence for the field supervisor to see that the pumper has actually visited the well site.

Unfortunately, traditional oil production software never made this logging activity easy.

SIDE NOTE: GreaseBook employs an app to automate almost this entire process. The pumper should simply inform the app that he’s ready to enter his info. From there, the app cues up the route in order which the pumper works it. The app shows the production history in graph form so the pumper can quickly absorb it and get ready to engage in a helpful way. The app autopopulates the date and time of entry. If no internet connection exists, the app should automatically log the gauge and send it automatically once the pumper regains connection.

There is no gauge fudging. There is no pencil whipping of production reports. There is no sloughing it off on the nearest family member. Now there is almost zero admin work. The app is working for the pumper. The pumper is 100 percent focused on what he does best: pumping oil.

Done for you Oil Production Reporting

Pumpers strapped-with-an-app not only create cleaner data for the folks in-house and more quantifiable and rewarding experience for pumpers in the field, but this automated collection of critical data is also needed to manage operations and the broader company.

Dates are auto populated. Syncing takes place automatically. Pumpers can work offline with no internet connection…

To keep your costs as low as possible, GreaseBook runs on whatever device your pumper already owns Apple, Android, or Microsoft.

By implementing technology that actually helps the pumper, adoption rises and, in turn, the integrity of the data becomes far more accurate.

Foremen and field supervisors gain increased visibility into the answers to the following questions:

What’s the history of the well? What is normal production? What kind of scale and paraffin accumulation does it have? What type of formation is the well producing from? How tight is it? We have a large pump moving liquid quickly – is this the best way? We have a small pump moves liquid slowly – is this the best way? What type of drive to we have? Type of reservoir? Frequency of pump repairs? Strokes per minute of the pumping unit? What’s the setting of tubing perforations in relation to the casing perforations? How’s our flow line back pressure against the formation?

As production engineers and operations managers back at the office must take a more strategic less tactical viewpoint, they gain increased visibility into the answers to the following questions:

How did the lease do this month? Are any wells declining in production? Which wells need productivity tests? Which wells are having pump problems? Do any wells have a tubing problem? Is it time to treat and stimulate the reservoir? Which wells are developing higher wellhead pressure? Are higher casing pressures lowering production?

Admin are able to reconcile monthly oil sales and produce State reports in minutes.

And partners, owners, and management are quickly able to assess the overall health of the company, average production rates, reward performance, better manage their cashflow, and better plan for the future.

Most importantly, all of these parties have gained increased visibility without placing any additional burden on the pumpers. The data is accurate, and the data capture process is nearly automated. And oh, does it hurt so good.

GreaseBook works beautifully on any computer, PC, or Mac.