Tanking crude oil in Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle...

Last year I started a thread about "The Texas shales and beyond". In that thread I created an outline of why the great USA is now in the middle of the largest energy boom in DECADES and why you should look to move from OTR to the energy sector! Did you know a couple of weeks ago the USA produced an amount of oil domestically and then ONLY imported that same amount plus 200,000 barrels? That is correct, we almost produced 50% of what we consumed domestically, something which had not happened since 1997! Technology created right here in the USA (perfected in the Barnett Shale just West of Ft Worth) combined horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to release oil and gas from beds of shale which in the past would not produce on a long term basis. This is truly a "gold rush" for our generation and should not be ignored.

At the time I started "The Texas shales and beyond" I was working in the Eagle Ford Shale, which is located in South East Texas. While that shale continues to be a huge producer, I have spent the last half year in Oklahoma working in several parts of the state. Currently I am hauling crude oil out of the Anadarko Basin (see photo attachment below) which runs across most of Oklahoma and into the Texas panhandle. One company has projected it will drill 1500 new wells in the Anadarko Basin and there are many companies working this play. Texas recently had 839 drilling rigs operating which is nearly 50% of all rigs in the USA and 22.7% of all rigs worldwide, according to the FEB 15th Baker Hughes Rig Count. While no boom is guaranteed to last this one has strong legs to stand on!

So where should you look for work in Oklahoma?...As I mentioned before I have been all over Oklahoma tanking crude but currently I am running out of state into the Texas Panhandle which is not that far considering the physical shape of the two states. In the Western part of Oklahoma the town of Sayre, OK and its rail yard seem to be a ground zero for crude oil moving out of the Texas panhandle into Oklahoma. If you look at the map of the Granite Wash Play and the location of its producing wells (see photo attachment below) you will realize why the Sayre, OK rail yard is so busy. I've seen a lot of crude being hauled around the Alva, OK area. Also I have been to Woodward, OK to pick up crude oil which had to be separated from water and contaminates, and that town seems to have a large oil field services industry base. I've hauled a lot out of an area between Geary, OK and Watonga, OK but did not see too many yards in that area. And as you know, Cushing, OK is a small town located between Oklahoma City and Tulsa, OK which currently houses 45 million barrels of crude oil in tanks just waiting to get piped somewhere. So there are lots of areas of opportunity in the state and I am sorry if I overlooked one but I have only been here a short time and would love to hear from others about areas I have missed.

 

By the way, I recently finished Daniel Yergin's book on energy titled, "The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World". Mr. Yergin is an expert on energy and won a Pulitzer Prize for his book titled, "The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power" If you are interested in the individual sectors of energy, the history of how they were created and where we are going then this is a great read. The reason I mention Mr. Yergin is because he lays out a very convincing case on why we will not be converting over to "green" energy anytime soon. He makes a great argument crude oil and natural gas will continue to be an important part of our energy source for the next 30 years (hint: developing nations share of use is rising). Just another reason to feel so positive about the outlook of this energy boom we are currently witnessing and why you should not feel it is too late to get on board.

If Mr. Yergin's book is too long of a read for you then I urge you to check out some of my posts on Twitter at...

https://twitter.com/CrudeOilTrucker

Here I often retweet great articles on the shales and energy boom.

 

I think you will find it easy to get a job, especially if you go and knock on some doors in person. A lot of people apply for jobs from home and get discouraged but these oil field companies like to see you in person.

What you earn depends on location and the task. If you locate to a big city in TX you will notice that your pay is slightly less than someone who is willing to locate out in the sticks. Also you are probably aware that ND typically pays more than TX and West TX seems to pay more than South TX. Makes sense because the cost of living is higher so you should expect higher pay to help cover the cost.

 

Had another snow up in the TX panhandle this week. Actually had my trailer breaks freeze on me while I was loading and tore up about 40' of the lease trying to get them unstuck. I am aware it is a bad idea to set your trailer breaks in the Winter but they have to be set in order for the pump on the trailer to operate.

Been seeing a lot of activity in crude hauling, especially in the TX panhandle north of Canadian, TX. Seeing some new companies come into the area too. Also appears one company can't get their crude hauled fast enough and they are sticking it in frack boxes then trucks are pulling the oil from there.

 

Good question. Guess no one has offered us a contract in that area.