How a West Texas Oil Company Discovered More Than Just Tracking with GPS: A Case Study

The Background  

Established in 1965, a West Texas Oil Company has grown into one of the more prominent independent oil and natural gas producers in the Anadarko and Permian Basins of Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.  

Historically, the company has emphasized establishing long-life natural gas and oil reserves by drilling medium-depth vertical and horizontal wells between 3,000 and 20,000 feet deep. The company currently operates over 2,100 wells.  

The Challenge  

This company was no stranger to tracking their fleet vehicles, but they were struggling with a difficult user experience and confusing data intelligence from the previous tracking company they were using. It proved to be more of a hindrance than a help.   

When supplying fleet trucks to their employees, they must operate effectively and efficiently so everyone can get daily operational needs done—like going to rigs, wells, or wherever the day takes them. To meet this need, they looked for vehicle tracking that would monitor mileage turnover and keep up to date with vehicle maintenance and repair needs.  

The Insight  

They began vehicle tracking with Geoforce for their original maintenance and repair needs but soon discovered that Geoforce’s solution could help them with much more than originally intended. One April morning, they were alerted of one of their brand new 2023 Chevy Silverado with 3300 miles on it had been stolen. “Had it not been for partnering with Geoforce and the telematics these devices have, it most likely would have been gone for good,” said the Facility Transportation Coordinator. The help of Geoforce’s data allowed the local police department to track down this vehicle and another that had been stolen before this event. While events like this are never ideal, it helps when your business is prepared with asset tracking to recover stolen assets.   

Unexpected circumstances opened the door to this device being more than just a mileage meter. They were also able to monitor safe driving speeds for their drivers after an unsafe incident occurred in addition to the theft recovery.  

The Solution  

This company started with a simple need: track vehicle turnover mileage to ensure they handled maintenance and repairs on time. As time went on, they discovered a wider use case that benefitted their operations. With Geoforce’s solution in place, they have access to a wide range of easily accessible data that help them in the event of an accident, theft, driver safety, maintenance needs, and geofencing. Knowing where their fleet trucks are and ensuring the security of both the equipment and drivers keeps them operating efficiently and helps protect them from unexpected maintenance costs or the cost of stolen equipment.   

Now, they are expanding their asset tracking solution and installing Geoforce’s GT1 devices on their trailers. These trailers will be deployed in New Mexico and tracking will help determine both where assets are and their proximity to whoever needs them. When site managers get a call saying, “I need a trailer for X pipe. Is there one close by?” they can direct them to the nearest trailer. This helps the company reduce time spent searching or driving long distances for a trailer and allows them to find the nearest trailer so they can start working faster.   

The Result   

Tracking assets helps in more ways than just one. Utilizing Geoforce has helped this oil & gas company ensure driver safety, increase equipment efficiency, keep all data and information in one place, and build specific reports based on particular needs. Geoforce has provided an easy-to-use solution to what could be complicated problems and continues to help bolster productivity.