Life At The Rock News of Our People, Our Partners, and Our Community Fall 2013 | Second Edition
Table of Contents
22
RockPile Timeline of Events Kimberly Croll
24
Rockin the Bakken Kimberly Croll
Rock Talk Kimberly Croll Christy Cook Shawn Raglin
Boots to Sneakers Jason Brehm
26
our partners
16 20 21
“We Are RockPile” Curt Dacar
RokcPile Climbers Ben Sprague Anthony Villegas Diane Hodges Carl Easthouse
14 18
Rock Pride Paul Able
Playing the Oil Field Shawn Ostwald
27
Friends and Family Rubble Kimberly Croll
28
Rock-N-Scroll HR Brittany Moran
Rockin Technology Joe Kovacich
Congratulations on your next big step Kimberly Croll 2 Life At The Rock Fall 2013
9
The Bakken Challenge Kimberly Croll Here Comes the Boom Tanoi Rucker
3
4
31
our people
OUR COMMUNItY
6
Rock Life Andrea Dacar Kimberly Croll Jason Brehm Brittany Moran
20
We Are RockPile
Dear RockPile Team, As you know through our regular communication and as you will see through reading this magazine, RockPile continues to grow and continues to be extremely successful. We are excited about our future growth and continuing our mission to be “Best In Class”. I would like to briefly highlight the big accomplishments that have occurred since the last edition of our employee magazine. On August 6, 2013 Triangle announced that it entered into definitive agreements to acquire core Williston Basin properties. This acquisition includes 9,350 net acres and 1,150 Boepd of estimated current net production (86% operated), including seven to nine operated Drilling Spacing Units (“DSUs”), all of which are contiguous to existing acreage in Triangle’s core area of operations in McKenzie County, North Dakota. The Aggregate Acquisitions combined with successful down-spacing tests for Triangle and other operators increases Triangles inventory from six years to eight to twelve years. We at RockPile are looking forward to this additional work. On October 17, 2013 RockPile acquired Team Well Service, a Workover Rig company to join our RockPile business units. Team Well Service brought with it a large customer base, four rigs and sixteen full time employees. RockPile is purchasing a fifth rig, which will be operational in early April and already has dedicated work. Our RockPile Workover Rig Services will be led by Ron Buckman, the former owner of Team Well Service. We are very excited to offer this additional service to our customers. I would also like to welcome our newest RockPile Team Members. We continue to be extremely successful in all our business units. Our Frac crews (Alpha & Bravo) completed eighteen wells, eight for Triangle and ten for third party clients in Q2. The finance team has ordered our 3rd fleet of frac equipment and we hope
to have it operational in early Spring of 2014. RockPile’s Wireline team, which started being assembled in May and completed its first well in late July has already completed nine jobs including pump down, cement bond logs, bridge plug & perf operations. In late October we will be adding our second Wireline fleet and hope to add our third fleet by early next year. Pump Services continues to be sold out, completing eight third party wells. Due to the high demand we are seeing in this business unit we have ordered two additional trucks that will be dedicated to the Pump Services business unit. Our operations continue to be extremely profitable and we are looking forward to a very bright future. Thank You! To all our RockPile employees and their families that continue to support us. We wouldn’t be where we are today without your dedication, hard work and “getter done” attitude. I hope you enjoy our Fall Edition of “Life At The Rock” as it highlights our best moments over the past six months.
Cheers,
Curt Dacar Chief Executive Officer
Fall 2013 Life At The Rock 3
RockTalk
The talent behind Our photos - THanks David Grubbs We would like to take a moment and thank David Grubbs for his amazing eye and willingness to help RockPile’s marketing efforts. As you will see throughout this magazine and other RockPile marketing material, David has a true talent. We have asked David to share a brief acount of his passion. “My passion for photography started at a young age while in college
at Montana State University. During my career as a photojournalist I completed graduate school where I received my MBA and Masters in Business Management. In my spare time I teach Photogaphy at Montana colleges and within the community. I spent many years photographing in the Bakken oil play and at the end I decided to come out to the oil field to
Design by Andrea Dacar We would like to congratulate Andrea Dacar on her amazing contributions for our “Life At The Rock” magazine. Andrea was a summer intern for RockPile working out of our Dickinson office and supporting our company marketing efforts. She was an intergal part of the new magazine design and graphics. Some of the photos in the frac life section are complemnets of her magic eye. We would like to wish her good luck in her persuit of a graphic design profession and hope that she will come back to visit .
Guess Who?!
Who is this crazy cowgirl? Send your guess to Kimberly Croll at kcroll@rockpileenergy.com, and be entered to win a RockPile hat. Friends and family are welcome to participate.
Photo Contest Winner Cassidy Blotske is our photo contesst winner from our spring edition. The photo was of Neil Drake.
4 Life At The Rock Fall 2013
try my hand at something different. After only seven months at RockPile, I have learned that everyone here comes from different backgrounds and enjoys different expertise. I hope I can use my passion for photography to continue to make great images and help RockPile better market the hard work that everyone does for this great company.” ~David Grubbs
ROCKPILE SWAG It’s official, RockPile has it’s own company store. The store is online and accessible at the website listed below. We will continue to add merchanidise quarterly depending on what’s hot and what’s not. If you have requests for items please contact our store manager Barb Gunnick, her contact information is on the website. RockPile is excited to have this avaiable to all staff, families and friends to enjoy. Please note all prices listed on the site include our RockPile logo and you can pay for your items directly on the site. Enjoy!! www.companycasuals.com/RockPile
Rock Talk
RockPillian Expenses
by Christy Cook
Expense reporting and the reimbursement process is an area where there seems to be frequent questions about the process, particularly the timing of reimbursement checks. We are here to clarify the questions. Expense reimbursement checks are issued on the 10th and 25th of each month; or on the following Monday if either of those days fall on a weekend. Expense report review and processing by accounts payable takes time, and as a result, deadlines had to be established. Expense reports need to be received by accounts payable in Denver by noon on the 6th or 21st day of the month. If either of those days fall on a weekend, the cut off time for inclusion is noon on the previous Friday. Please keep in mind that your expense report goes through an approval process in Dickinson prior to being submitted to accounts payable in Denver. When you submit your expense report to Rox-
anne (hand delivery or email), make sure the expense report is completely filled out and all supporting receipts are attached in the order they appear on the expense report. The review and approval process takes about three days in Dickinson, keep this in mind when calculating total time for reimbursement. Reimbursement checks are sent to the Dickinson office the day after each check run via overnight courier. When the expense reimbursement checks arrive in Dickinson, you will receive an email from Roxanne alerting you that your check is available. If you have any questions about the process please contact Sharon Gates at 303-825-8184 or via e-mail at sgates@rockpileenergy.com. We are here to Rock your expense please don’t hesitate to call.
The IT Summit
Preventing Labtop Theft
Laptop theft is a major concern for businesses around the world. Not only can we lose the laptop and the money it costs to purchase the laptop, but we also lose software licenses associated with the laptop. Some other things we can lose that people do not think about are company information and personal information. If you lose your laptop, you can be giving away RockPile private information and you can be giving away your personal credit card numbers, bank account information, and social security numbers. Laptop theft prevention begins with common sense. Here are some things to consider to keep your laptop safe: 1. Keep the laptop out of sight. When you aren’t using your laptop, keep it in a laptop bag or locked in a drawer. When traveling in a car, keep it in the trunk. When in a truck, keep it with you or hidden from view. Don’t leave your bag or laptop in plain sight.
by Shawn Raglin
2. Keep your laptop close at hand when traveling for business. When in airports, keep your laptop in contact with you at all times. Don’t leave it on the floor as you check in for your flight. Monitor your laptop when it goes through security. Many laptops are stolen in airport security lines. Never leave your laptop bag unattended. Make sure you have your laptop when you turn in rental cars. Don’t leave your laptop on the hotel cart when you check in, keep it with you. 3. When on airplanes, know where your laptop is at all times. Many times people report their laptop stolen on airplanes. Try to put your laptop bag under the seat in front of you so you know where it is at all times. Many laptops are either stolen on purpose or accidentally taken from overhead bins. 4. Keep your laptop secure at home. Many laptops are stolen during home burglaries. Keep your laptop in a locked drawer at home when not in use. Again, don’t leave it in plain sight if you are not home.
CAll the Help Desk
RockPile has partnered with Optimum Networking in Aurora, CO to provide an IT Help Desk for all RockPile employees. If you are having an IT issue, please contact the Optimum Networking Help Desk BEFORE you hunt down Shawn or Travis. The way the system is designed to work is that all requests need to go to Optimum Networking first. If they cannot help you, they will create a ticket and notify Shawn and Travis. Based on the order of the ticket, the severity of the issue, and the urgency, RockPile IT will follow. We cannot maintain IT support by having everyone come to Shawn or Travis first, it is inefficient. In the second half of 2013, the IT department will begin asking you to contact Optimum Networking first. How do you contact the Helpdesk? For urgent issues, please call 720-3483565. For non urgent issues, email roc@optimumnetworking.com. Using the Help Desk means better IT support for everyone. Thank you!
Fall 2013 Life At The Rock 5
Rock Life
ROCK
Kenny Lammers
Jesse Maslanik
Nathan Graves
6 Life At The Rock Fall 2013
Robin Ebnet
Rock Life
Brett Plumadore
Cecil Henderson
Austin Butler, Kyle Pierskalla & Dave Howard
Austin Butler, Robert Inman, and Al Torgerson Al Torgerson
Fall 2013 Life At The Rock 7
Rock Life
Seniority Awards Banquet
WHEN ASKED T O DESCRIBE RO CKPILE T HESE WO RDS were T HE RESULT
growth
Joe Kovacich Marcus Dacar
shocking
FORTUNATE
Diane Hodges
FUN
Anthony Villegas Shawn Raglin
Guy #1 Devin Gemelli
Ed Theil
Grant Bell
AWE some
Cassidy Blotske
Guy #2 Brett Plumadore
Josh Travis
UN believe
able
Chris Hill
wealthier
EXCITING Bryan Harris (Boyd with the photo bomb!) Dustin Hicks
8 Life At The Rock Fall 2013
Ride
DI STAN C E
Rock Life
from boots to
Bryant Kibbey, Eric Tammone, & Henry Messer
sneakers By Jason Brehm
Let’s face it, finding the time for fitness while working a schedule that consists of days and nights and weeks that exceed 100 hours is challenging. It can also be hard to work out when your home on days off because of commitments that a family can bring. I hear all the time from people repeating the old saying “man I need to get back in shape”. Here at “The Rock” when we have down time, many of the guys have started exercising. By doing a variety of exercises the body begins to transform into a calorie burning machine and the heart and lungs begin to work more efficiently not only when working out but when tasked with daily workload requirements. The chance of workplace injuries due to lifting, bending, and other activities is reduced because the body is stronger and more flexible. The funny thing is, getting into shape isn’t as hard as it sounds. Fitness can start with any kind of activity such as incorporating a small amount of exercise into your daily activities. . It doesn’t need to be a regimented program. For example if you have errands close to the house, replace driving with walking. Just 30 minutes of walking a day will increase your metabolism and burn as many calories as 15 minutes of jogging. Plus by doing a small amount of activity it may provide the spark that you need to begin more vigorous activity. Any activity that increase your heart rate and respiration is a good start. It’s important to remember that when starting a new routine that you make sure to start slow and work your way up. You should be able to carry on a conversation or sing with your tunes while working out, this ensures your heart rate and respiration is at an optimal level. If you have any health concerns always consult your physician prior to starting any exercise program. My saying is “don’t just say it, do it”. Whatever that may be. Find something you like and do it. Commit to 30 minutes a day and you will be amazed at what can happen. Anything you can do will help, stay committed and don’t rush, changing your lifestyle takes time and the results will come, maybe not as fast as we would like, but change will happen. Make it fun and make it happen.
Shawn Ostwald, John Aragon & Daniel Larish
Bryant Kibby & Daniel Larish
John Aragon, Eric Tammone & Shawn Ostwald
Fall 2013 Life At The Rock 9
Rock Life
RockPile’s Team May 2013
Dustin Hicks & Billy Wells
Kimberly Croll & Howard Rough
RockPile can sing
Erik Dade & Wyatt Poff
RockPile Guys Toasting
Chris Hill & Marc Mohr 10 Life At The Rock Fall 2013
Rock Life
Group Toast Christy Cook, Roxanne Kuntz & Robert Ingman Our RockPile EngineersJoe Kovacich, Stephanie Leger, Curt Dacar, Kyle Pierskalla, Allen Crum, Chris Roland, Deanna Dapolito, Bill Morris & Tyler Pittenger
Board of Director, Peter Hill welcoming our guests and congratulating RockPile on our Sucess
Dave Howard and his beautiful Girls Bryan and Jennifer Harris enjoying the festivities
James Evans, Boyd Hofland, Bill Morris, Curt Dacar and Paul George - cutting the ribbon?
Josh Travis & Megan Willies showing everyone how to really dance Fall 2013 Life At The Rock 11
Rock Life
Marc Mohr, Tanoi Rucker, Walt Crandall, Megan Willes, Wyatt Poff, Kurt Weiss, Luke Stoner, Ben Sprague, and Deven Gemelli
Tanoi Rucker with Kurt Weiss
June
Billy Wells
Pump Specialist
Robert Grunden
Logistics Administrator
David Vreeman Megan Willies Christina Cook
Controller Lab Supervisor AP Administrator
Andrew Chewelski Derek Falls Steven Marty James Finlay Nathan Graves Michael Pincon Timothy Stapp
Hydration Cell Leader Blender Cell Leader Field Mechanic Ground Cell Leader Blender Cell Leader Blender Cell Leader Service Supervisor
John Aragon Nicholas Engmann Ben Sprague
Pump Operator Hydration Cell Leader Service Supervisor
Jason Brehm Bryant Kibbey Daniel Larish Kyle Pierskalla Kimberly Croll
Electronic Technician HP Operator HP Operator Field Engineer Executive Administrator
July
August
September Meagn Willes and Kurt Weiss
Shawn Ostwald and Kurt Weiss
October
November
12 Life At The Rock Fall 2013
Rock Life
March
Roxanne Kuntz
District Office Adminstrator
Cal Aasheim Cody Caudill Roy Cole James Collings Alvin Gingerich Tyler Heid Ronnie Jackson Robert Knorr Patrick Murphy Michael Shifflet Eric Tammone
HP Operator HP Operator HP Operator Pump Operator HP Operator WL Operator WL Operator HP Operator HP Operator WL Operator HP Operator
Mark Berseth Austin Butler Kris Hendricks Kevin Ketchum Dylan LaRusso Ed Marshall James Matthiesen Bradley McCartney Jeffrey Morse Jon Poynter Walt Crandall Scott Nelson
HP Operator Intern - Field Engineering District Accountant WL Operator HP Operator HP Operator HP Operator HP Operator Electronic Technician Senior Corporate Accountant Maintenance Manager Pump Specialist
Mark Chester Spencer Endrud Blaise Herberg Sheldon Kothman Mark Lane John Layman Brian Mills Johnny Postell Ian Spencer Mark Thomlinson Michael Harris Charlie Reed
HP Operator WL Operator HP Operator Pump Operator WL Operator HP Operator Bulk Plant Operator WL Operator Pump Operator WL Specialist HSE Manager Bulk Plant Operator
Nathan Amos Miguel Dominquez Robin Ebnet Kevin Holmes Jared Kean Christopher Kempton Carl King Lane Massingale Brian O’Connor Thomas Patterson Thomas Powell Austin Reynolds
HP Operator WL Operator HP Operator WL Specialist HP Operator HP Operator WL Operator HP Operator WL Operator HP Operator Electronic Technician Bulk Plant Operator
May
June
July
August
Michael Richards John Storud Logan Tow Joshua Hamacher Matthew Rodney
HP Operator HP Operator WL Operator Bulk Plant Operator Bulk Plant Operator
Frank Rash Geron Harris Joshua Engle Angelo Garcia Sharon Boyle Mark Halverson Carrisa Suter
Electronic Technician Service Supervisor HP Operator WL Senior Operator Supply Chain Manager HP Operator HR Specialist
September
May
Shawn Ostwald Devin Gemelli Rhett Collins Dave Howard Daniel Duke Joe Kovacich Robert Jenkins James Finaly Chris Hill Nathan Graves Michael Pincon Nic Engmann Doug Fuss Andy Chelewski Chad Mehan Jesse Kraft
Frac Coordinator Frac Coordinator Service Supervisor Service Supervisor Service Supervisor Client Support Engineer Ground Cell Leader Ground Cell Leader Ground Cell Leader Blender Cell Leader Blender Cell Leader Hydration Cell Leader Hydration Cell Leader Hydration Cell Leader Hydration Cell Leader Hydration Cell Leader
Jason Brehm Allen Crum
Electronic Technician District Technical Engineer
Eric Wood Joe Marsh
Pump Specialist Director FP&A
Andrea Horning Michael Shiflett
Director Commercial Finance WL Senior Operator
Carl Easthouse Tanoi Rucker Anthony Villegas Cecil Henderson
Wireline Specialist Wireline FSM Ground Cell Leader Blender Cell Leader
June July
August
September
Fall 2013 Life At The Rock 13
Here Comes the Boom
By Tanoi Rucker
O
ur newly added business unit, our Wireline team, has arrived with a Boom. The Wireline crew completed our first job at the beginnnging of August and already our future looks birght. We have new team members being added monthly and we expect the arrival of our second wireline truck in Mid-October. Since we are new to the RockPile team, the following information explains what the wireline crew does for our RockPile clients and the capablities associated with our business unit.
I
Operational Set Up
n an effort to give you a big picture look at what we do I want to start with our Operational set up. Our first job consisted of a perforating job and we worked on the same well as the RockPile Alpha Frac Crew. We rig up at the same time the frac crew does and we are on the job until the end. The Wireline Crew works along side the Frac crew, going down the well to perfrom our perforating duties then exiting the hole so that the Frac Crew can go in. This back and forth will occur on every stage throughout the entire job. It is great working with our own RockPile team, everyone is helpful and we work together to get things done and make sure the entire job is done well. We are no longer the 14 Life At The Rock Fall 2013
frac crew and wireline crew....“We Are RockPile”.
O
Perforating
ur perforating jobs, first start with a mono-conductor line, also known as a single conductor line, we put a 500 lb plus perforating tool down the well. With a cable head on top (that has a weak point in case we need to detach), this tool includes weight bars to overcome pressure from the well in order to run smoothly down. The next tool in the string is the CCL (Casing Collar Locator) which allows us to determine our depth through a break in magnetic flux that send a voltage up our line and a signal to our panel that then records and is displayed on our computer screens. We then come to the gun string that has many parts and pieces that are electrically connected to the logger truck 22,000 ft. plus up the line. There can be several guns in a string that are separated by an EB switch which determines the polarity we shoot on. So we start with a positive diode that is above the plug, the next gun in line will then be shot on negative and then each EB switch with alternate polarities as we continue to move up the gun string towards the cable head. It is vital that each switch be properly installed, checked and
triple checked so that we do not run the risk of shooting the wrong gun in the wrong spot. Checks are done at each step of the gun string, most of the checks are done with a safe meter. orking with explosives is a hazard within itself and each person that has control of the explosives has a responsibility to handle them properly. This includes making sure the environment around the area is not hazardous. These hazards include electrical storms, welding, top drives, stray voltage, stray current, and watching distances of RF transmitters and receivers especially when the loaded gun is attached to the wireline just to name a few. The wireline crews will always have a sign at the entrance of location to notify the use of explosives on location. s with most services in the oil and gas industry another hazard is Pressure. In order to control the well pressure wireline has several measures in place. The pressure control gear includes a wireline valve or BOP, Lubricator Risers which hold the tool, tool trap to catch the tool and allows us to see that the full string is in the lubricator before closing the well, Head catcher to catch the tool from falling, Pump in sub to equalize and pressure up/test the wireline pressure control equipment, grease head which
W
A
Here Comes the Boom has many parts to control pressure from coming out the top, to wipe the line as we pull out and a pack off in case seal is lost during operations. e also have many other surface systems that allow us to operate efficiently. An example of our systems needed are our sheave wheels that allow our wireline to flow from the truck to the crane to the well. We also have a depth and tension measuring system that is electrically connected to our truck. We have a software system that allows us to take raw data and see what is happening down the well. Our winch system is used to control the movement of the wireline including speed, and displays information from our depth and tension measuring system. We are also able to see well head pressure through a transducer that is displayed inside of the unit.
W
W
Logging
ireline has many different functions that vary depending on the data the client is trying to collect. This data is typically collected
receives an acoustic signal, in the form of a ‘ticking’ sound. The strength of the signal received (Amplitude) is used to determine the quality of the cement behind the casing. Amplitude and cement quality is like ringing a bell. A bell ringing with hands touch-
outside of the casing (Annulus). Cement stops well fluid from migrating up the annulus and contaminating other formations or even fresh water formations near surface. Oil companies will await the results of the bond log, to see if they may proceed with
ing it, is quiet, low amplitude, good cement. A bell ringing alone, is loud, high amplitude, no cement. The bell in this analogy is the casing, the hands
completing the well and turning it to production or if repairs need to be made to correct the defective cement job.
M
from some type of logging tool that sends information up the wireline to our system panel where it is then transferred to our software program. The logging that is most common in the Bakken is Cement Bond Logs. The CBL tool is a sonic tool that sends and
would be the cement and the ringing would be the acoustic ‘ticking’ sound. Cement evaluation is very important in our industry. The Cement is what seals the oil and gas zones. This seal will only allow oil and gas to flow into the casing, and not up and around the
About Tanoi
s. Rucker began working for RockPile in April of 2013as the Wireline Engineer in Charge. Ms. Rucker was promoted to Wireline Field Service Manager in September after getting the department and crew operational. Previously, Ms. Rucker worked for Interra Energy Services a small Canadian Tools company as a service supervisor. Before that Ms. Rucker worked for Halliburton based in Grand Junction CO, but worked from Bakersfield, Alvarado, Utah and Wyoming. After working with specialty explosive systems, Ms. Rucker transferred to Grande Prairie AB Canada to train new perforating employees. During her time in Canada, she trained in Wireline Open Hole operations. Ms. Rucker has a B.S. in Computer Engineering Technology.
Fall 2013 Life At The Rock 15
RockPride
By Paul Able Non-Productive time or NPT, is a measurement RockPile uses to track the efficiency of our operations. NPT helps RockPile make assessments beyond just how much time we were not pumping vs. pumping on the fracturing side, or runs vs. miss runs on the Wireline side of the businesses. It gives us a snap shot to understand were issues such as equipment deficiencies, areas needed for employee training, and what preventative maintenance schedules should be, just to name a few. We have set a goal for the Hydraulic Fracturing and Wireline operations to be less than five minutes per stage of NPT averaged throughout the entire job. So, how do you impact NPT? By ensuring preventative maintenance is completed timely and according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. By keeping your equipment clean and properly lubricated, and inspecting your equipment regularly to ensure everything is in order and all the components within your control are ready for service. Another key area is to ensure we are inspecting our third party vendor’s equipment and supply. As they have an impact on our NPT just the same as our own equipment. Ok, now I understand NPT, but if I am pulling maintenance on equipment rather than pumping or going 16 Life At The Rock Fall 2013
in or out of the hole, isn’t that NPT? Not necessarily. If you are servicing your equipment during an agreed upon time with the client or between stages to prevent a breakdown, then it will not be counted as NPT. Although, if you pressure tested and
are and work toward continuous improvement of all our systems, processes, and procedures. How can you help improve NPT, you ask? Great question, a simple way to start is by taking the following five steps before starting any
found an issue with a leak or loss of horsepower, or some other type of issue, then the time it would take you to correct the issue before starting the operation would be considered NPT at that point. So why does tracking NPT matter so much. It is RockPile intentions to be “Best In Class” with all our operations. Therefore, the best way to determine and demonstrate our ability to be, “Best In Class, is to understand what our key performance indicators
shift. This applies to everyone not just our Wireline, Pump Services or FRAC Crews. 1) Inspect the fluids and critical components of your equipment 2) Have someone double check you and go check someone else’s area 3) Visually inspect your iron 4) Clearly communicate what you need and expect in order to operate successfully 5) Watch out for each other
RockPride The graph to the right illustartes RockPile’s accumlative pump hours calculating from our first job and illustrates what percentage of those total hours was NPT. The graph below shows RockPile’s total NPT separated into the different NPT types. The chart starts with Chemical Delivery (Blue) and goes clockwise.
% NPT by Type 14%
2%
RPES Chemical Delivery 28%
RPES Electronic RPES Freeze
26%
RPES Leaks & Seals RPES Loss of Prime
8% 0%
22%
RPES Mechanical RPES Other
0%
RPES Sand Delivery
The chart to the left illustrates our total NPT by Frac crew for the last five months. The Wireline crew data starts in July.
Fall 2013 Life At The Rock 17
RockPile Climbers
SERVICE SUPERVISOR RED CREW
Ben SpRAGUE Favorite Cartoon Character and why? My favorite cartoon character is Flynn Rider from Tangled because its my daughters favorite movie and we have watched it over and over.
If you could do life over what would you change? I wouldn’t change anything because everything happens for a reason. Why the Oil Field Industry? I choose the oil field industry for a change and for the money.
Where did you grow up? I grew up in Waterloo Iowa. I liked growing up there because of the small town and If you could pick any real hero from the hospitality of the people. history to meet, who would it be? If I could meet anyone from history it If you could be a superhero, what would be Albert Einstein because of all power would you possess? If I could be a superhero the power I would his inventions. like to possess would be eternal life.
Your most embarrassing memory? One of my most embarrassing moments would be on my birthday. We went to eat at Three Margaritas and they put a sombrero on my head and started singing and the waiter put whip cream on my face.
Where do you see RockPile in 5 years? I see Rock Pile Energy expanding and growing into a larger company with a goal of having a one stop shop providing services in all aspects of the oil industry,as we are already heading in that direction.
What does your Clubbing outfit/routine consist of? I don’t go clubbing. But if I did I would wear a button up and jeans. The Photo above is of me and my other half, Ashley Roybal.
GROUND CELL LEADER BLACK CREW
Anthony villegas
What does your Clubbing outfit/ routine consist of? My favorite pair of jeans, z cavaricci jeans with a button up shirt and a bolo tie, thoses jeans are the reason I carry my wallet in my front pocket. No back pockets. 18 Life At The Rock Fall 2013
Why the Oil Field Industry? Getting in to the oil and gas industry was a last resort. I was looking for something different to provide for my family. The oil and gas industry has been a pleasant surprise. Even up in North Dakota. I can’t believe I didn’t do it earlier.
Frac FSM’s favorite Sayings? “And Why Not?” ~ Marc Mohr “You snake face” ~ Bryan Harris
Where do you see yourself at RockPile in 5 years? I see myself running my own crew and working my way towards a career in Denver.
Where did you grow up? Born and raised in Denver Colorado, love it here there are so many things to do with the family with the wife with the guys.
Your most embarrassing memory? What comes to mind is when I was snowboarding with some friends and I hit a little obstacle to fast, flipping me upside down over on the backside of the jump with plenty of people to ask if I was ok while trying to hold in the outbursts of laughter.
If you were an actor, what type of movie would you star in? Definitely action movie, where I would play the hero. (because he always gets the girl)
Favorite Cartoon Character? Bart Simpson, he is always in the middle of something, but his heart is in the right place.
Tell us your favorite Family Memory That would be when my boys were born.
RockPile Climbers
VP, HUMAN RESOURCES
Diane hodges I am the VP- Human Resrouces based in Denver, supporting our team with recruiting, staffing, compensation, benefits, compliance, performance management, employee relations, policy development and documentation, etc. I started my career with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and pursued a technical career path, working offshore in the Gulf of Mexico as a Wireline Field Engineer. I joined RockPile in March 2012 and have not looked back! I have almost 18 years in the oilfield services industry and absolutely love it!!! What is your favorite City? Kiehi, Maui in Hawaii. I love to go there every spring break and relax by the beach, smell the ocean and fresh flowers, and enjoy the Mai Tai’s while watching the whales off the patio… complete relaxation.
Favorite Cartoon Character? Bugs Bunny – he’s crafty What was your first car? GMC S-15 pickup truck What is your best family memory When my daughter was in pre-school, she came home one day and told me “Mom, I am smarter than you are”. “Why is that” I asked. “Because I go to school and you don’t”. Yep – the apple does not fall far from the tree… Where do you see RockPile in 5 years? Continuing to grow significantly with possible additions of new business segments and maybe even in new geographic areas. We currently have approximately 200 employees today and I anticipate being around 400 by the end of next year. Rapid Growth! How Exciting !
If you could be a superhero, what power would you possess? Being invisible – would love to see what my daughter does when I am not in the room… How did that paint get on the wall?? The fairies did it mom…. hmmm
WIRELINE SPECIALIST BLACK CREW
Carl easthouse
Tell us your favorite family memory The birth of my children, I have two boys Lucas age thirteen and Chase age nine. Where do you see RockPile in 5 years? The way things are going....I see us double in the next 5 years if not more.
If you were an actor, what type of movie would you star in? Villain or the hero? Comedy – Villain
What is your favorite City? Orlando Florida – We took the children on vacation to Disney world and we had a ball.
If you could do life over what would you change? If I knew what I know now I would have gotten to the oil field a lot earlier.
Favorite Cartoon Character? Sponge Bob Square Pants – My child watches it all, so it’s the only one I know anymore.
Why the Oil Field Industry? A friend of mine is a Wireline engineer and he introduced me to the awesomeness of Wireline.
What does your Clubbing outfit/routine consist of? Me and my wife going out wearing blue jeans and a shirt...haha.
What was your first car? 1972 Datson Pickup
In my spare time I like to Hunt, Fish, 4-Wheel and be outdoors.
What is Tanoi’s favorite Saying? “No worries” Where did you grow up? Fort Collins, Colorado - Growing up in a small rural farm community was nice.
My photo includes my wife Nikki and our two sons Lucas & Chase
Fall 2013 Life At The Rock 19
Rock-N-Scroll HR
ROCK-N-SCROLL HUMAN RESOURCES Dear RockPile, It gives me great pleasure to introduce our newest Human Resources (HR) team member, Carissa Suter. Carissa will be dedicated to supporting pressure pumping operations, pump services, and maintenance. Going forward, Brittany will support workover rig services, wireline services, and both Dickinson and Denver support staff. Diane will support the executive management team and provide strategic HR guidance. Please try to direct your inquiries to the appropriate team member as they will be the most knowledgeable about your specific department. However, Brittany, Carissa, and Diane are all happy to assist you. ~Brittany Moran About Carissa My name is Carissa Suter and I grew up in western North Dakota only about 80 miles from Dickinson in Beulah, North Dakota. I have family in Dickinson so it has always felt like a second home of sorts. I have a brother and sister-in-law who teach in Watford City and a younger brother and sister who attend high school in Beulah. I absolutely love being centrally located so I can visit them on weekends and see my younger siblings compete in sports, watch my brother coach football, or catch a girl’s weekend with my mom and sisters if possible. I went to college at NDSU in Fargo and I graduated with a degree in Public Relations and Advertising. While in school I served at the Olive Garden for a couple of years which was a blast. After that I had a marketing internship at Dakota Certified Development Corporation. Upon
20 Life At The Rock Fall 2013
graduation from NDSU I was hired on as a Service Representative at Blue Cross Blue Shield of ND in Dickinson, ND. I was happy to be back in western North Dakota and among the exciting oil field action. I was hired on at RockPile in September as an HR Specialist and I am very excited to be part of such a friendly and motivating culture. I will be heavily involved in assisting the hydraulic pressure pumping crews as well as the maintenance department. I will strive to be available to all of the employees and my door will always be open to assist if possible or just lend an ear when needed. I’m looking forward to getting to know all of the employees and I hope I can support RockPile in the success that I’m already proud to be a part of!
Rockin Technology
By Joe Kovacich This newsletter section is to introduce Frac Pro, an advanced fracture modeling software that our RockPile Engineering team uses to model fracture treatments, and predict hydrocarbon production through different treatment scenarios. In the early 1980s, Frac Pro was originally developed by Pinnacle Technologies with the intent to introduce a fracture modeling/design software that was relatively user friendly and accurate. After many releases and revisions Frac Pro today can be used to design hydraulic fracture treatments, model fractures, monitor frac jobs real time, accurately predict pressure trends,
and can be used as a tool for production analysis and log interpretation. For the Engineering team, Frac Pro is used to model and design hydraulic fracture treatments. The team is constantly developing a model that most accurately defines the rock properties of the Bakken and Three Forks formation and ultimately provides value to RockPile’s customer. These “properties” are determined based on previous treatments, well logs, core analyses, and other information about the reservoir that is available. Frac Pro incorporates the effects of proppant crushing, embedment (proppant pushing into the formation where it
becomes less effective), friction pressures, and net pressure modeling which helps to make adjustments to the current Frac Pro model’s settings. Frac Pro can be used to model different types of treatments (crosslink, slickwater, and hybrid) in order to determine a possible method to best stimulate the reservoir. This can lead to optimal fluid design, better placement of proppant, improved production numbers, and a more cost effective frac treatment. To date RockPile most commonly uses Frac Pro as a real time frac treatment-monitoring tool, to accurately predict formation responses while pumping and if necessary make required design changes. Operating the Frac Pro program is a continuous learning process and allows us to adjust formats and outputs as our RockPile Customers request. Frac Pro just released version 2013 which has many improvements. For example, it now allows the user to track certain activities that occur on surface as they progress down the wellbore. This will improve our sliding sleeve frac jobs as the system can now mark when the ball is dropped and theoretically track its progress down the well, providing a better picture conceptually to the team in the data van including the company man. We work as a team with our Frac Pro partners and worked through the programs inability to continuously monitor a 2030 hour frac job without the program overloading from the amount of data being recorded. They were able to fix this issue in their new release allowing a longer continuous run time and helping our operations tremendously. Frac Pro is user friendly and brings a lot of value to the Engineering department at RockPile. Developing an accurate model that fits the high complexities of the Williston basin has been challenging but Frac Pro provides us the best technology to it. As new innovations become more available and more operators lean towards full suite well logs, the modeling process should become easier and we are in a position to be ahead of the game.
Fall 2013 Life At The Rock 21
RockPile Timeline of Events
ROCKPILE timeline of events
October 2013: RockPile purchased the 42 unit legend apartments located in Dickinson near the Ramada. The units will be dedicated to roatating employee housing.
Sept. 5th-6th: Paul George presented at the FRAC Sands Conference, in Minneapolis, MN, on a panel in which logistics and delivery methods were discussed.
October 2013: RockPile took possesion of our 3rd Wireline Truck in October. Additional equipment is still needed and will be arriving in November & December. Oct 14th: We held our 2nd Senority Awards Dinner at the Ramada Grand Dakota Lodge in Dickinson were we celebrated the 1 year anniversary of 20 employees.
october
september December
january
Dec. 6th: RockPile Holiday Party will be held in Dickinson at the Ramada Grand Dakota Lodge.
Jan. 18th: RockPile will be holding it’s 2nd Annual Chili Cook-off from 6pm to Midnight. All proceeds will go to the South Heart and Dickinson Rural Fire Departments. Please join us.
Dec. 12th: Western Energy Alliance’s NAPE Reception will be held from 5-7pm at the Hyatt Convention Center Capitol Ballroom in Denver.
february February 2014: The Charlie Frac Fleet has been approved by the board and is projected to arrive in February.
January 2014: RockPile has purchased sixteen new tractors which will arrive in January and will be used to support our current crews and our Charlie fleet coming on board in February.
January 2014: The Arnaguard “North Pole” Feb. 4th - 6th: facility is underway and we Our Enginners and hope to have it operational in Sales team will January. represent RockPile at December 2013: the SPE’s Hydraulic The Pump Services busiFraturing Technology ness unit will receive Conference in The an additional BackSide Woodlands, TX. Pump.
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RockPile Timeline of Events November 2013: SandBox Techonlogies is delivering replacement sandboxes to RockPile and we will be moving them to active job use on EnerPLUS. Thank you to the Bravo Crew for helping us get them operational.
Nov. 19th-20th: Paul George spoke at the Supply Chain Oil & Energy Conference in Houston, TX.
November 2013: The Hauck apartments, located in Dickinson were purchased and will be used for RockPile family housing.
November 2013: Congrats to RockPile’s Workover Rig Services Business unit, they received their 4th Rig.
Nov. 4th: Curt Dacar spoke at the AICPA & PDI National Oil & Gas Conference in Denver.
november march
March 2nd - 4th: RockPile will particpate in the DUG Midcontiental Conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
april April 2014: In October 2013 the RockPile Board aproved the purchase of a 5th Rig for our Workover Rig Business Unit. We project the equipment to arrive in April.
may
May 20th-22nd: RockPile will participate in the 22nd Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in Bismarck, ND.
March 2014: Our 3rd wireline unit was approved by the board and we anticipate its arrival in March.
Fall 2013 Life At The Rock 23
Rockin the Bakken
RockintheBakken Chocolate Affair
AMen food pantry The Dickinson office along side James Evans and Alvin Gingerich provided generous contributions to Amen Food Pantry providing food and hope to the Dickinson Community.
Billings Bulldogs
Thanks again to Curt and RockPile for its generous donation to the Bulldogs softball team. The funds were used to enter college placement tournaments. As of this summer, we had 5 girls who have signed to play college softball at schools in Montana and Minnesota. There were 6 first team All-State selections.
Roxanne (photo to the left) and Zonda represented RockPile by serving meat, cheese, crackers and veggies, we were the healthy table. All proceeds went to the Best Friends Mentoring Program which matches at-risk youth with a trained adult volunteer for positive friendship and guidance.
and 3 other All-state second team and honorable mention players Of the first 6 players, all were selected to Montana’s Super State team which is the top 14 players in all divisions in the state. During our travel this summer, the girls placed 3rd in Portland, OR.(Equivalent of 9th out of 128 teams in 18U division), 3rd in Denver(Equivalent to 9th out of 250 teams in 18U division), and 1st Place in the Montana State ASA tournament. During State the team outscored their opponents 49-7 on route to the state championship. The girls are from all over Montana from Kalispell, Florence, Great Falls, and Billings. On a side note(Dad bragging), Taylor Ostwald’s resume for the softball
Relay for Life Barbeque Contest
Jennifer Harris, Bryan Harris, Phillip Coats, Roxanne Kuntz, Robert Inman, Tanoi Rucker, and Scott Nelson represneted RockPile.
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season was; Academic All-State, National Honor Society, 1st Team All-state 2nd Base, Super State 2nd Base top 14 players in Montana, and Billings West High defensive player of the year. Since I decided to retire from coaching this year, it was a great way to end a 14 year coaching summer travel ball career. Thanks for all the support. ~ Shawn Ostwald
Best Friends Mentoring Program Brian Smith and his wife participated in a golf tournamnet playing 9 holes during the day and 9 holes at night with glow in the dark golf balls. The proceeds from the event went to the Best Friends Mentoring Program. Thank you Brian for your support to our Dickinson community.
Rockin the Bakken
MS150 Bike Race Fundraiser Dave Vreeman, Paul George, Tyler Pittenger, Boyd Manning, Howard Rough, Paul Able, and Brett Carlton. Rode 150 miles from Denver to Fort Collins and back June 29-30th. The RockPile climbers team raised $7,800.00 for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. The event attracted thousands and over $1 million dollars was rasied from the event. Yes, our RockPile team members were very sore after their long ride but are looking forward to next year.
Rodeo Grounds Help
During yard days, our Alpha Red Crew supported the town of Dickinson by getting the Rodeo Grounds ready for a big event. Look at them go, fixing fences, they are men of many talents.
Dakota Prairie Helping Hands
RockPile donated $500.00 to the Dakota Prairie helping hands organization which helps support the elderly in the Dickinson community stay in their homes and recieve in home support and care as long as possible.
Urban Peaks
The RockPile Denver office participated in three different events supporting Urban Peaks, a homeless shelter and drop in center for homeless and displaced youth of the Denver Metro area. On any given night there are 921 youth on the streets of Denver. We helped Urban Peaks by moving furniture and serving breakfast and dinner for over fifty youth. We received a thank you letter from the staff at Urban Peaks which highlighted our contributions, “We can attest to what an impact your service makes on an organization. Three male employees: Joe, Jon and Tyler came and shared several hours of their time. These gentlemen tackled an overflowing chaotic storage room and transported some large furniture items to a storage unit. They completed more work, organized to a functional level and caught us up on jobs needing to be done, quicker than the last two groups of volunteers combined!” Fall 2013 Life At The Rock 25
The Bakken Challenge
By Kimberly Croll
ND Wells Waiting on Completion Services 600 500 400 300 200 100 0
North Dakota Rig Count - Oct 2013 185 180 175 170 165
worked for three new clients; Enerplus, Sinclair and Slawson. We have continued to talk to Hess, Newfield, Oxy, and others. The meetings are going extremly well and our future looks bright. We are not only speaking to these companies about our Hydraulic Pressure Pumping services but we are selling our Wireline, PumpDown services and our newly added Workover Rig services. With our diverse service offerings, clients are more eager to work with us because they would have less companies to 26 Life At The Rock Fall 2013
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160
450
manage and with our “Best In Class” reputation they know that they are getting the best no matter what service we are providing. We will continue to grow our North Dakota presence because the region is producing great results and 10,000 we see huge potential. 9,000 In August North Dakota 8,000 7,000 produced 911,242 bar170 6,000 rels per day (see chart 5,000 below) which is an all 4,000 time high for North Dakota and the producing wells hit an all time high at 9,452 (see chart to the right). Although completions fell in the month of August, there was still an increase of 4% in oil production because the number of completions was about 1.5 times the threshOct-13
Our challenge at RockPile is not “where is the work” but “how do we juggle all of our potential work”. At the end of August there were approximately 450 wells waiting on completion services (see chart to the right), and the rig count in North Dakota is currently at 170 (see chart below) both leading indicator that there will continue to be plenty of work for completion companies in North Dakota in the near future. In an effort to capitalize on the demand, our sales team is reaching out to strategic potential clients in the region. In the past three months we have
ND Oil Production – Barrels\Per Day 1,000,000 900,000 800,000 700,000 600,000 500,000 400,000 300,000 200,000 100,000 -
911,242
old needed to maintain production. The Bakken completion crews, like ourselves, kept pace with the drilling rigs as the average number of days to drill a well from spud to total depth remained steady at approximately twenty two. According to Lynn Helms from the NDIC Department of Mineral Resources the “Draft BLM regualtions for hydraulic fracturing on federal lands were pulished last year. BLM received over 177,000 comments and withdrew the rule. A new propsed rule was published in
North Dakota Producing Wells 9,452
the federal register on May 24, 2013 and the comment period eneded August 23, 2013. This time BLM recieved 1.2 million comments. Thanks to all who provided comments in support of a “states first” policy.” This is good news for our business, it will allow us to keep doing what we are good at based on the current regulations in North Dakota. The economic climate in North Dakota is booming and there is plenty of work out there for RockPile. Our Sales team is working hard to win the work and our Operations team is finding time on the schedule, so far Operations hasn’t cried wolf.
Playing the Oil Field
No comment has been more evident since we split crews, than “We Are RockPile”. Alpha and Bravo have made countless changes to accommodate each other. Some of the hardest struggles have been the smallest issues when it comes to frac. Housing has changed for some of the crews as many as four times. We have been on wells from Culbertson, MT to New Town, ND and everywhere in between. Things have definitely improved since the new shop has become available. Just having a place to park
equipment between wells has been a blessing. Customers have really dictated our schedule; the challenge to be busy enough for two crews and not be over booked has been a struggle since the split. Alpha has been great to work with through the transition. They sent crewmembers down to help us out countless times and this sometimes occurred after a crewmember had just finished a full shift. The sacrifices will all pay off in the coming months. The crews spend 2/3 of their lives here together, so there’s no wonder
why they have become so close. Their confidence and competitiveness has really started to reveal itself. Some would say crews have become almost cocky, but I will not mention any names (Bravo-Black). The split has opened many opportunities for the Equipment Operators, leaders are really stepping up and helping the team. Showing us that no matter what we throw at them, they will always find a way to come out on top. It is very exciting to see who will be the next person to show us they can be our future leader. After the square wheel sessions, we became eager to start training the next leaders and help plan for our future Charlie crew. Although the transition from two crews was a bit challenging, we accomplished it on top and look forward to the challenge of adding a third fleet. We have many lessons learned and our Service Supervisors are ready to train and promote our rising leaders. Thank you to both Crews for working together and we look forward to the next fleet coming on board to join our RockPile team. Fall 2013 Life At The Rock 27
Friends & Family Rubble Edward Marshall on his ranch hunting with a family friend
John Aragon and family cheering on the broncos, where is your Broncos Shirt John?
Travis Haag fearlessly Rock Climbing Skeletal Remains in Spearfish Canyon
Brett Plumadore with his son
Robert Inman with his adorable boys
Brandon Herberg and family enjoying a beach vacation
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Friends & Family Rubble David Grubbs holding an airplane propellor he built for his airplane
Johnny Postell - “I love to skate and I still got it...take that you young bucks!!!”
Chris Hill while enjoying Jamaica Hayden Keiley wake boarding during a trip to lake Powell
Wyatt Poff and his wife enjoying a hike together
Mike Harris with his son fishing
Jordan Dyke with his restored 1970 F250 Highboy 4x4
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Friends & Family Rubble
Bill Morris, Shalee Pittenger, Tyler Pittenger, Chris Long, Janet George and Paul George Anthony Villegas and his family at Keystone, CO Carissa Suter after completing a half marathon in May 2013
Ron Jackson enjoying Las Vegas Marc Patrican, Lyndsey Poynter, Andrew Russell, Jon Poynter, Yvette Vreeman, and David Vreeman
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Friends & Family Rubble
Katilyn Surma, Sharon Gates, Todd Gabriel, Brittany Moran, Christy Cook, and Matt Hitchcock Shawn Raglin and Andrea Horning with their beloved pets Christy Cook and her son Max Hiking
congratulations on your next big step! Tanoi Rucker and Scott Nelson, were engaged in April 2013
Dustin Hicks and Courtney Hicks on their wedding day September 29, 2013
Jon Poynter and Lyndsey Poynter who were married on Oct. 20, 2013
Fall 2013 Life At The Rock 31
Life At The Rock Editors: Kimberly Croll Diane Hodges Howard Rough
Printing: Sir Speedy Fall 2013 Edition
Publication Director: Kimberly Croll
Design Director: Andrea Dacar
Life At The Rock is a publication for RockPile Employees and their families. Inquires and information regarding the publication should be directed to the Editors.