Drillinginfo CEO, Allen Gilmer capped off our 3rd Annual World Members Meeting with a fascinating presentation on the future of the company. As always, when we get our hands on an envelope, we have no choice but to push it.
Historically, Drillinginfo has provided all the information you need to find and extract hydrocarbons. We have spent the last 12 years amassing the most robust database of wellbore information, production, logs, petrophysical measurements, analytics, rig activity and land components in the industry. Our diligence has paid off.
Today, all of the Majors, 30% of National Oil Companies, 90% of Mega Independents and thousands of small and intermediate oil companies and consultants rely on Drillinginfo for their mission critical Oil & Gas data. They are joined by a plethora of oil field service companies, mineral and royalty owners, government agencies and a growing number of banks and financial services firms. These groups come together to form a subscriber community that boasts over 3,000 companies and 23,000 individual users. Not bad for a small company from Austin, Texas that started providing permits on a map in 1999.
But, while we have come very far in a relatively short time, we’re still not satisfied.
Half Way Home
Looking around today, we see an industry that is changing rapidly. The transformative shift to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) brought about by the likes of Aubrey McClendon and T. Boone Pickens has changed Oil & Gas, driven economic growth and disrupted energy markets around the world. From a change management perspective, the impending large-scale adoption of CNG fleet vehicles and the displacement of coal-fired power plants by cheaper and cleaner Natural Gas has come about overnight. The accelerated rate of change means operators have to achieve peak efficiency to realize maximum gains. It’s no longer enough to have good acreage. In complex unconventional plays where a number of variables impact your rate of return, you need to know how to effectively drill and complete every well on your acreage. To paraphrase Allen Gilmer, 1 good engineer can add $1 billion in value to a company.
But, as the industry exists today, even the best operators, wildcatters, geologists and geophysicists are hamstrung by the amount of time it takes to find answers. The silo-centric nature of Oil & Gas data means individuals have to extract information from one software, analyze it into another and decide what actions to take as a result of those analytics in yet another. This is slowing our industry down, and it’s time to change.
The Time is Now
Drillinginfo was founded by three people who were themselves independent operators. Allen Gilmer has first hand knowledge of the frustrating industry gap between questions and answers. Until now, we could only offer clues in the form of raw data. But, with the explosive growth in our knowledge base that has taken place over the last several years, we have finally reached critical mass. Soon, you will no longer have the pain of consulting 15 different sources to find 1 answer. Soon, Drillinginfo will not only provide the data, we will provide the answers behind what that data means to your drilling program. Soon, you will be making better Oil & Gas decisions much, much faster!
What do you think? What would Drillinginfo 2.0 look like if you were in charge? Please, leave a comment below.
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If I were the CEO and had the available cash drillinginfo now has (since your last round of capital raising), I would be looking for a bolt-on news company with one or two editors.
Here is why. Drillinginfo is great for what it does now, but what is seriously missing is the ability to see follow a particular asset from acquisition through development. I get all my news now from Hart’s or Rigzone, but their is a disconnect.
News is seperated from data and that shouldn’t be the case. That is DrillingInfo2.0
Very interesting perspective, John. I’ll pass it along. Thanks for sharing!
The key to bolting an “answers” market offering onto a great “data” core market will be in utilizing high experienced (read: prior hands-on operational experience) to properly interpret the data into meaningful and highly valued-added consulting research. Too many others before you (including those in the market today) have not followed that path, and diluted their brand quality with their experienced clients with marketing “answers” generated that were not sufficiently truth-tested and comprehensive enough. From my experience doing this, demonstrating sustainable credibility will be critical to winning market share and keeping it. The experience of the people that you select to lead and to work in this new function for DrillingInfo 2.0 will be the key to differentiate you in the market and will be responsible for the success.
Great stuff, Roger. And, I completely agree. Unless what we bring to the market is “battle-tested”, it will have very little value. Thankfully, I think we have the leadership in place to greatly exceed expectations. Admittedly, my opinion is slightly biased 🙂