GreenHunter Energy today updated markets on the status of their wholly owned GreenHunter Water, LLC subsidiary, reporting that the company has put in orders to expand the size of its trucking fleet serving the unconventional shale operators in the Appalachians (Marcellus and Utica plays in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia).
President and COO of GRH, Jonathan Hoopes, commented on the addition of the six new Peterbilt 388 Bobtails (three with 100 bbl vacuum tanks and three with identical tanks certified for HAZMAT), noting that the company is running at full capacity in the region and could really use the new operational muscle. The expansion of the Appalachia truck fleet from a mere five at the outset of 2012, to now 31 transport trucks, is a clear indication of the direction GRH is headed and as more and more regional operators come to know/rely on the exemplary services the company can provide, the fleet will likely expand further.
When you throw in the new GRH disposal facilities slated to come on-line relatively soon, you can see that the company is prepping for increased business volume, balancing out the trucking capacity and disposal capacity ahead of growth perfectly. Today’s announcement is also something of a milestone for regional operations as the company has hitherto lacked certified equipment for handling liquids mixed with hydrocarbons, something which is generally no problem since the vast majority of such hydrocarbon-laced water is usually gravity separated on-site anyways. However, there are some pads in this difficult terrain that don’t have the equipment for this kind of on-site separation and thus GRH can now capture even more market space through the fleet expansion, offering a potentially clutch service to this growing customer-base.
This move basically puts GRH in the oil transport business while riveting on some much-needed capacity in the thriving, hydrocarbon-rich Appalachia region. This region has a solid future for such production, so it makes good sense for the company to be growing their overall infrastructural footprint at this phase. A winning combination of absolutely vital water transport and disposal well services has quickly built up a warm brand identity for the company among sector operators doing difficult work in this difficult region.
In the Appalachians the work is dirty, difficult, and brutal. Companies like GRH, who put the operator’s needs first and have capacity on-site, on time, and ready to go when it’s needed can make a killing here. GreenHunter really has put together an attractive portfolio of Total Water Management Solutions™ for these guys, with several key innovations developed from an operator-centric point of view, like the flexible Frac-Cycle™ system that allows flowback and produced water to be recycled into clean brine or fresh water, their bleeding-edge well head management and compliance solution RAMCAT™ (Remote Access Management Compliance Asset Tracking), or the company’s latest edition, a completely customizable, 10k plus bbl temporary water storage tank system (complete with robust interlocking steel panels for safe/rapid deployment), the MAG Tank™.
As part of the purchase, GRH has bolstered an existing commercial loan facility with a local bank in the heart of the Appalachians, bumping the window up to $3.3M. GreenHunter expects to take delivery of the new hardware early in 2013 (late January) and will be offering this new capacity to hungry hydrocarbon developers in the region as soon as late Q1.
For more information on GreenHunter Energy, visit www.GreenHunterEnergy.com
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