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Gas & Oil
October 2012 Edition - Dix Communications
www.OhioGO.com
Keeping the Water Flowing Judie Perkowski Dix Communications
J
oe Williams always knew he would have his own business in the oil and gas industry, it
was just a matter of time. Born and raised in West Virginia where he still resides with his wife, Annie, and their two children, Williams credits his father as the person who has had the biggest influence on his life, personally and professionally. “I began working with my dad when I was nine years old. By the time I was 12 years old, I was operating a bulldozer,” said Williams. “My dad’s work ethic inspired me.” Williams gave a brief synopsis of how his business was started, sold and restarted, all within five years. In 2005, at the age of 27, and after many years of on-thejob training working at job sites with his father and ‘almost graduating’ from Glenville State College in West Virginia with a degree in environmental studies, Williams bought a bulldozer for $30,000 — from his dad — and a GMC truck for $15,000. Williams Excavating was born with the opening of an office in West Virginia. Two days later he went to work in the oil fields for Columbia Natural Resources. “I was working in the Marcellus shale region in West Virginia primarily reconditioning and reconstructing well pads. We were given an opportunity to perform water transfer services for the first hydraulic fracturing in West Virginia owned by Cheasapeake Energy Corp. At the time I never even heard of hydraulic fracturing. Chesapeake asked me to build two water
Submitted Photo Joe Williams, owner/operator of Williams Excavating and Water Transfer and Williams Trucking with offices in Bloomingdale, Ohio and Belington, W.Va.
ponds for the fracking process. We used 25 trucks a day to haul water to fill the ponds. Then, rig pipelines and pumps to pump 100 barrels of water a minute at the well site. We reconditioned six wells,” he said. “We gained invaluable experience transferring the water where rugged mountains dominated the terrain and the elevation varied up to 2,500 feet ... where many out-of-state frack teams were reluctant to go. “In 2007, I sold 80 percent of Williams Excavating assets and its 12 employees to Chesapeake, who changed the company’s name to Great Plains Oil Field Rentals. I worked for
“I began working with my dad when I was nine years old. By the time I was 12 years old, I was operating a bulldozer. My dad’s work ethic inspired me.”
Great Plains, on contract, for a couple of years, left there, traveled to Pennsylvania where I performed water transfer services for every well owned by Chesapeake. “In 2010 I restarted Williams Excavating and Water Transfer. Pumping water has always been our thing ... We are quicker and better at providing water service. We can do things other companies can’t do, like pump 100 barrels of water per minute over any distance or elevation ... We’re used to it,” he said. “We’re used to it because I firmly believe in hiring local people. “We never failed to deliver water at rate to a frack job. The key is developing employees for this kind of operation. They are what makes Williams Excavating LLC today. “We provide equipment, trucking, steel and poly pipeline fabrication, as well as pipe and pump rentals, and we have competent, certified operators. We specialize in all aspects of light to heavy industry. In addition to oil field services such as excavation, water transfer and taking rigs down, the company offers crew/staffing, trucking and hauling, equipment rental and repair, welding and impounding. “I recently (2011) opened an office in Bloomingdale, Ohio. All this gives us a strategic advantage from an economic standpoint to deliver the best services at the lowest prices possible. And, we can work year-round. We invented a way to keep drilling fluids operational in extreme cold weather. We designed a
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