After noticing a void on the production side of the O&G industry, which is the sector I currently work in, I have been milling over the idea of starting my own service company. I currently work for a large shale producer in the Permian Basin and every time we need this particular service, the companies that we contact are multiple weeks out for an extremely simple service. There is definitely a high demand for the service.

The major problem is that if I start the company while still working for my current employer, I can be fired from my current occupation for Conflict Of Interest, even if I don't try to pursue any business with the company I work for. With my current career, I have full benefits for me and my entire family with zero cost out of pocket, their retirement match is unreal, $2 to $1 on the first 5% and $1 to $1 up to 10%, stock options and great cash bonuses 3x per year. I also work about 65% of the year, so I would be able to do this service on my days off and in the evenings on the days I work.

What should I do?

A) Should I start the company and work for other operators in the industry while keeping my job with my current employer and hope that it just doesn't get brought up? If it does come across their radar & just take the termination when they do find out about it?

B) Quit my current job and jump head first into running the company but take a giant financial hit until the company is established?

C) Play it safe & stay with this company I currently work for and stay with them forever and not pursue the idea of starting the company at all?

I can't stop thinking about being my own boss and not working for "the man". Help me make the call!

I don't have much advice to offer, other than definitely not A.

ETA: I say this because in my experience O&G is a very small world and it would take very little time at all for your employer to find out.

D) Have your "wife" start the company.

E) Is your company hiring and how do I get into this field?

Agreed with the above, A is a bad deal and it's best to start out ethically. Don't burn bridges.

Start your due diligence and put a real business plan together while still working. Know your costs (then double it) and understand why there may truly be a delay in service delivery. Once you understand the costs and delivery issues, set a realistic time line you think you might be able to achieve the revenue needed to just cover operational costs....then double that.

Starting your own thing, especially when you have a great job is a HUGE leap of faith and can be terrifying, How risk tolerant are you? If married, how risk tolerant is your spouse? How lean can you get to support growing the business, especially the first few years?

Those question and more need to be answered but I will tell you this, if you can make a legit go at it, I would totally recommend getting out there and building your own business. Just know, employees are the best and worst thing about business ownership.

Captain Winky said:

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E) Is your company hiring and how do I get into this field?

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Being a lease operator or pumper isn't that hard of a field to break into. Actually I think they are hiring right now if you don't mind living in West Texas.

It really isn't that glamorous, but it's not hard and the pay isn't bad at all. Work 9 days on & then you get 5 days off. Wake up at 4:30 get home at 6:15, but that is with an 80 mile one way commute. I won't have Christmas Day off with my wife and kids until 2027 because of the hitch I got put on. I don't have every weekend off to watch my kids play sports or do things like that. But it is the line of work I willingly got into & it more than pays the bills.

Dirty-8-thirty Ag said:

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Captain Winky said:

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E) Is your company hiring and how do I get into this field?

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Being a lease operator or pumper isn't that hard of a field to break into. Actually I think they are hiring right now if you don't mind living in West Texas.

It really isn't that glamorous, but it's not hard and the pay isn't bad at all. Work 9 days on & then you get 5 days off. Wake up at 4:30 get home at 6:15, but that is with an 80 mile one way commute. I won't have Christmas Day off with my wife and kids until 2027 because of the hitch I got put on. I don't have every weekend off to watch my kids play sports or do things like that. But it is the line of work I willingly got into & it more than pays the bills.

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Everyone wants to get in oil and gas and make a lot of money, but very few are willing to do the above.

Now I'm just curious what you're thinking of doing!

If it's pump maintenance, don't do it.

Why don't you approach your employer about your idea? Maybe talk to an O&G lawyer about IP rights around your idea.

Otherwise, monetize what you think the new business can do & see if it outweighs what you have/get now.

ea1060 said:

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Dirty-8-thirty Ag said:

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Captain Winky said:

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E) Is your company hiring and how do I get into this field?

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Being a lease operator or pumper isn't that hard of a field to break into. Actually I think they are hiring right now if you don't mind living in West Texas.

It really isn't that glamorous, but it's not hard and the pay isn't bad at all. Work 9 days on & then you get 5 days off. Wake up at 4:30 get home at 6:15, but that is with an 80 mile one way commute. I won't have Christmas Day off with my wife and kids until 2027 because of the hitch I got put on. I don't have every weekend off to watch my kids play sports or do things like that. But it is the line of work I willingly got into & it more than pays the bills.

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Everyone wants to get in oil and gas, but very few are willing to do the above.

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Yep. And let's be very clear about "only working 65% (9/14) of the time"… most people work "71% of the time" (5/7) and put in less hours on the 5 days than anyone in the field with an O&G company. OP is already out working most of the population, no matter how many actual days he works.

When you start your own gig, that becomes 100%.

some things to think about that come to mind:

are you perceiving this demand just based on your experience at your company? do you really know if this is a demand elsewhere for others? there could be many reasons why you get slow responses.

you probably know this already, but if you are a large producer it might not be easy to get your foot in the door as an approved provider. which means you might be working with/for small fish for awhile and may not be as lucrative

DM me if you can, I may have an option for you.

I have worked for three different very large operators in the Delaware and PB and it has been the same issue consistently the last 8 years I have been pumping. There is a high demand for the specific service any time a well needs to be pulled.

I have a good friend with 11 pulling units that told me the operators he is working for are always asking him if he can find a tester. Another company I have a relationship with that also owns pulling units is in the same boat. Constantly looking for a tester. Both of these companies work with just about every operator in west Texas.

A friend of mine who is a contract pumper said the same thing, always has hell finding a reliable test company that does what they say they are gonna do before they work over a well.

Unable to DM. Going to put up my email address until you see it then will take it back down.

Buck Compton said:

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ea1060 said:

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Dirty-8-thirty Ag said:

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Captain Winky said:

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E) Is your company hiring and how do I get into this field?

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Being a lease operator or pumper isn't that hard of a field to break into. Actually I think they are hiring right now if you don't mind living in West Texas.

It really isn't that glamorous, but it's not hard and the pay isn't bad at all. Work 9 days on & then you get 5 days off. Wake up at 4:30 get home at 6:15, but that is with an 80 mile one way commute. I won't have Christmas Day off with my wife and kids until 2027 because of the hitch I got put on. I don't have every weekend off to watch my kids play sports or do things like that. But it is the line of work I willingly got into & it more than pays the bills.

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Everyone wants to get in oil and gas, but very few are willing to do the above.

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Yep. And let's be very clear about "only working 65% (9/14) of the time"… most people work "71% of the time" (5/7) and put in less hours on the 5 days than anyone in the field with an O&G company. OP is already out working most of the population, no matter how many actual days he works.

When you start your own gig, that becomes 100%.

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100% agree.

Congratulations to your wife on the new business!


If you want to be a part owner of that business...disclose this to your Corporate job and receive written guidelines to safely protect your pension.

Got it

Tubing test or well testing? Unless you're a one man shop, you're going to have a tough time finding people who'll pass a drug test, especially in that neck of the woods.

Test and set deadman anchors. I will be a one man show for a while. Will eventually expand to offer other services such as steam cleaning and remediation after anchor business is established.