Allied Horizontal Wireline Services
There are a lot of companies out in the oilfield that can do the basics of what Allied Horizontal Wireline Services does, but Allied Horizontal is head and shoulders above the majority. CFO Peter Brink says that the company maintains its leadership position in the wireline service sector by going above and beyond what is expected of a wireline service provider, and the company has a large, diverse customer base that can attest to that.
Allied Horizontal is the result of a 2014 merger between two of the leading independent wireline service providers in the United States: Allied Wireline Services and Horizontal Wireline Services. “We work for some of the really large public companies, all the way down to not quite start-ups but not far from that,” Brink says.
For those customers, Allied Horizontal provides a wide range of open-hole and cased-hole wireline services aimed at helping its customers evaluate and complete their wells safely and efficiently. Even though they frequently encounter companies that compete solely based on price, Brink says Allied Horizontal focuses on delivering customers the highest-value service which, more than price alone, can improve economic returns for customers.
Value Added
Many of the company’s competitors take a commodity approach to wireline services and offer a cheap price point that appears to service the customer’s bottom line. However, Allied Horizontal takes the approach that a job done safely and efficiently, taking less overall time, is more valuable than a job just done at a cheap price, and that has made the company a valued asset in the field for its customers. “What we’re really after is working with and partnering with customers that understand the value proposition that we bring to the table,” Brink says.
Offering a lower price might make a wireline service provider seem attractive, but that price fails to take into account elements of the work that have just as significant an impact on the customer’s bottom line as the quoted price. Brink says operating with an emphasis on efficiency and safety might make Allied Horizontal’s prices look higher than its competitors’ at first, but it provides customers with added value by reducing the overall cost of producing hydrocarbons in the grand scheme of things. “That’s how we try to compete,” Brink says. “We aim to be the highest value-added wireline company out there.”
Providing greater value is how Allied Horizontal guarantees its success. For example, Brink says, the company is one of the few independent wireline service companies that is actively engaged with customers to deliver engineered completion of their wells. He says that by utilizing advanced tools such as its StageFinder service, Allied Horizontal customers can collect data that ultimately leads to higher production and greater efficiency.
“We think that being able to provide that type of higher analytic service, combined with our process driven completions capability, is a very distinguishing and value-added characteristic,” Brink says.
Tightening the Belt
Perhaps the biggest challenge facing Allied Horizontal and its customers right now is the state of oil prices, which have been depressed for some time. “Lower commodity prices are weighing on us because they’re weighing on our customers,” Brink says.
The challenge also represents something of an opportunity for Allied Horizontal, thanks to its focus on value-added wireline services. At times when oil prices are depressed, the emphasis on efficiency among producers is heightened, and Brink says Allied Horizontal offers its customers a level of efficiency in its work that is virtually unmatched. As long as the company can continue to engage with its customers in this way, Allied Horizontal should continue to be a major presence in the industry.
“I think we’re going to continue to manage our business for the activity levels that are out there, while staying focused on exceeding the expectations of customers,” Brink says. “Regardless of market conditions, if we can help our customers be successful, we’ll be successful.”