MBI Energy Services: Leading North Dakota’s Oil Boom with Safety and Innovation
Founded in 1979 as Missouri Basin Well Service, MBI Energy Services has been on a positive trajectory ever since it opened up shop with one truck. The company has continuously diversified and expanded its services, allowing it to become a strong player in the oil well service industry. Today, the company’s trucking fleet has swelled to more than 500 trucks, along with more than 1,100 contract drivers transporting oil, sand, water and other oilfield products.
“Including subcontractors, we now have more than 1,000 trucks working, and we have diversified,” CFO Tony Hauck says. “We’re not just on the trucking side. We are also involved with well intervention services, such as hot oil trucks, workover rigs and down-hole tools.”
The company offers an array of services that extends from fluid management, environmental services and well completion and intervention to facilities construction and ancillary well-site support services. The company strives to be known for consistent, dependable service, top-of-the-line equipment, safety, innovation and oilfield experience.
MBI Energy Services is also known as North Dakota’s largest oil- and water-hauling company. Fluid management is a big part of its service offerings, and well services and rentals allow the company to provide a complete service package for the diverse needs of its client base. It can serve all segments of the oil well production cycle, and it owns and operates 28 saltwater disposal wells throughout western North Dakota.
Strong Focus
The bulk of MBI Energy Services’ operations take place in the Bakken oilfield in North Dakota. The company is headquartered in Belfield, N.D., and it has seven locations throughout the state. But MBI Energy Services has also expanded into a number of oil shale plays, including the Marcellus in Pennsylvania, the Eagle Ford in Texas and the Jonah in Wyoming.
MBI Energy Services focuses its attention on all of the oilfield operators. This includes everything from the independents to the major oil companies. “We try to work with all of the players in the basin, as we can serve all of the operators in the Bakken,” Hauck says. “They look for efficiency and effectiveness, which means that we have to be on time, deliver a good service and provide it the right way.”
Like all of the players in the Bakken, MBI Energy Services has seen the impact of the ongoing boom that has taken place in the play in recent years. Hauck says around 300 wells were being drilled each year just five years ago. Now, he says that number has grown to 3,000 wells a year.
“We’ve had to concentrate on getting our jobs done while also dealing with expansion,” Hauck says. “The movement in the basin has meant that service companies have to be as efficient as possible. We’ve been investing in things that have made us more efficient during expansion.”
Investing in Growth
MBI Energy Services has invested in all aspects of its operations. Hauck says the company has improved its back-office software, implementing solutions that allow it to bill on time and more accurately. It has invested in its health, safety and environmental program to be sure it is offering environmentally sensitive services. In addition, it has invested in a state-of-the-art safety, driver training and workover rig training facility.
“We’ve also invested in training programs for middle management,” Hauck says. “Our investments have really extended across the company, from back office solutions to hard assets. We may compete against competitors with older equipment that isn’t suited for unconventional plays. We’ve invested in assets that allow us to compete.”
In the years to come, Hauck believes there will be more growth opportunities for MBI Energy Services. The company intends to continue improving the services it offers to clients in the Bakken while also continuing to improve its back-office operations and health, safety and environmental programs.
“We believe those investments can make us more efficient and effective, and we can use them to increase marketshare,” Hauck says. “This is a huge market for oilfield services, and there is plenty of opportunity for us to grow in the market.”
The challenge is to prioritize its growth opportunities. As the Bakken is MBI Energy Service’s home, most of its growth initiatives will be focused in its primary market. Outside the Bakken, the company will continue to grow at a cautious pace, ensuring that it has ample ability to take care of clients without overextending itself.
“The most important asset we have is our people, and we must concentrate on hiring and training the best people we can to serve our customers the best way we can,” Hauck says.