According to the operator, many individual service quality aspects were enhanced or introduced by Panther. When combined, they created substantial improvements in efficiency that resulted in a highly successful project compared to previous operations.

These included:

• Single-point invoicing Panther provided a single-point invoicing process to eliminate time spent by the company man reviewing/questioning each invoice. This resulted in a significant time savings for the operator, who stated, “This was a load off of me and the operation. Now we can focus on drilling the well.”

• Collaboration Working with a new vendor means new issues to resolve. Panther and the operator collaborated to work through problems that arose, with a tighter collaboration compared to previous vendors. The operator stated, “We worked with the solids control expert who was directly involved with the operations.”

• Daily reporting The operator received daily reports on time, which was an issue with past vendors. The Panther reporting method allows the operator to compare drilling progress and performance from one day to the next, which was not possible before. The operator stated, “We are known for pushing the envelope on drilling rates and Panther kept up. Drilling rates were 200 ft per hour in the lateral, with no issues.” Fast drilling times allowed the operator to continue the vigorous drilling program uninterrupted. “Poor data is useless. The confidence in the data allowed sound engineering decisions at the wellsite and kept the well progressing as planned.”

• Knowledgeable crew People performance was exceptional compared to previous suppliers. Panther’s knowledge of the solids control equipment meant no delays waiting on solids disposal and allowed the operator to keep to the drilling plan. As stated by the operator, “Quality personnel is key to a successful solids control operation. We worked together well. With their expertise in solids control, Panther kept the mud clean for optimum performance.”

• Haul-off and disposal meant the operator did not have to deal with issues of trucking and the associated paperwork and permitting. There was no need for the operator to review each trucking invoice. Panther also worked with the operator to decide what disposal site to use. A nearby disposal site was selected, and Panther devised the best disposal option per load compared to previous companies with a cost per load that fit the drilling budget. Panther ensured all site and trucking company permits were in order.

The operator reported the program was successful, with three wells currently producing and the others coming on line soon. “For surface drilling, we were able to batch-drill five wells in four to five days, with each well set at 2,500 ft with no slowdown. We set the remaining wells at 6,000 ft in about a week. We averaged two wells per day on one pad and one well per day on the other pad.” The operator expects this to be the start of a good relationship with Panther on future projects.