How simple is GreaseBook to use for yourself and your pumpers?

Oh, it’s super easy for me. I mainly use it to check our production, make sure the wells are going, and make sure our pumpers are doing our job. I’ve been talking with our pumpers just this week. A couple have had it for a while; one or two, this is their first time using it. And they’re blown away with how easy it is — very hesitant to begin with. “I’m not good with technology. I’m not good with the phones.” I just told them it’s not hard. It’s a couple buttons, really. And within only a couple of weeks, they can’t believe they’ve been writing it down on paper this long. So for me: super helpful, super easy. We’ve got a partner in Canada, and the main reason I wanted it was so he can stay involved without weekly check-ins.

Introduce yourself — where you’re located and what your company does.

My name’s Bryant and I’m acting as the controller for DropTine Exploration. We’re based out of Medicine Lodge, Kansas. We’re just oil and gas operators — small time right now, just getting started. Three or four of us got together and wanted to do our own thing, and GreaseBook’s really been helping us keep in contact and know what we’re doing. We’ve all got other jobs, so it’s really helpful that we can all stay on the same page without having to call each other nonstop.

What was it like before GreaseBook?

Chaotic. I got in the industry with another operator running roughly 175 wells among 10 or 15 pumpers, and we were doing it the old-fashioned way. My boss was an old guy and liked pencil and paper — get it in, get it onto a spreadsheet. It just takes so long, and you don’t notice issues very fast. It was awful. I hated it. Another GreaseBook client works down the road from us, and I got lucky talking to him: “What do you guys do? How do you do this with this many wells?” He showed me their GreaseBook platform and I just said, “Wow, that looks super helpful.” Chaotic — that’s my best word for pre-GreaseBook.

What specific problems were you trying to solve?

A lot of it for us is the geographical issues. We’ve got three partners around here and one in Canada. One of our big challenges is how do we keep everyone informed and on the same page. We were calling each other nonstop the first couple of months. It was tough to keep people informed — and that’s really the hardest part. We’re young, so a lot of our partners want to know what’s going on. Being able to shoot them reports periodically has been a huge help.

What was the obstacle that almost prevented you from working with GreaseBook?

I would say change, if there’s any. It was getting people to change their way of thinking — telling them it’s on an iPad or a smartphone was not taken well by some of our older people. They almost shut it down before we got started, but we put an ultimatum: “You’re going to do this, or we’re going to have to go a different direction.” Fortunately they stayed on and now they’re loving it. And I’m spreading the word myself now to other operators and pumpers alike.

What surprised you the most — what exceeded your expectations?

Oh man, all of it really. I really like a lot of the features. The customizable reports — I didn’t expect that coming in, that I’d be able to finagle those to show me exactly what I want. And being able to see our tank levels tank by tank — some just show total stock, which doesn’t help me a whole lot. I need to know what’s in the tank right now in case I need to call on a short load, or if weather’s coming and it’s worth sending somebody out. That’s been really, really helpful.

If a colleague was on the fence about trying GreaseBook, what would you tell them?

I would highly recommend it. I’m already recommending it to other operators, to pumpers, to other people in the industry: “Get on board. This should help you a lot.” I’ve got some contract pumpers I’m trying to push on it — guys hand-writing their notes and gauge sheets right now. I tell them, “You could market yourself better: I’ll pump your wells and every month it’s automated — I’ll shoot out the reports, you can get a daily if you want.” I can’t recommend it enough.

What type of results have you seen?

It did not take long to see the benefit — about 10 or 12 days in, we noticed a little drop-off in production. I messaged one of our partners who’s more in the field: “Do you know what’s going on here?” He said, “Yeah, I noticed it too, I’ll look tomorrow.” There was an issue out there — zipped it up, taken care of in a day or two. We were only 10 or 12 days into the month, so we were probably looking at another two, two and a half weeks of that issue going unresolved. So it paid for itself really fast — nice to see that instant gratification.

Is GreaseBook cost-effective for small and mid-sized independent operators?

Yes — without any doubt in my mind. If you’re a small operator and you’re not using GreaseBook, or something like it, you’re really wasting money. It took us 10 to 12 days to pay off that first month — and I don’t know how many more months going forward — just in the production, just noticing in real time that there’s an issue. Being able to print those reports and shoot them to your investors in a blink — it’s hard to put a dollar sign on that, but it’s a heck of a lot more than what they’re charging, for sure.