Oil activity down

Though the price of oil is down, David Sharp says the information his company provides is more valuable than ever.

Sharp is a national sales account executive for wellActivity.com, a Fort Worth company that provides information on drilling to companies in the oil and gas industry.

"A lot of companies aren't doing business," Sharp said. "A lot of companies are waiting until after the first of the year."

But once companies start drilling, Sharp said his clients will be able to find out exactly where and when they'll be doing it.

This will allow service companies to know which drilling companies are back in business, giving them a "heads up" on the competition, Sharp said.

"Companies are stacking out rigs now," Sharp said. "Using this tool, you can find out where the work is at."

Darrell Norris of Cardinal Surveys Co. in Odessa said the product will likely be more valuable with oil prices being low than when they were approaching $150 a barrel.

"It gives us a little better opportunity to find out who the new (companies) are," Norris said.

Donald Cayce, who developed the software the company uses, started wellActivity.com in 2001. Sharp said business picked up as the price of oil increased.

Sharp said wellActivity.com is separated from the competition because it allows information on drilling sites to be broken into several categories. Clients can also have drilling sites pinpointed on a Google map.

Clients of wellActivity.com can also have all their sales team have access to the product for one price.

Prices for the service range from $13 a month for one of 12 districts in Texas to $145 a month for all of the United States, plus offshore sites. Customers can have their service broken down into areas like the Permian Basin, which gives them information on parts of West Texas and New Mexico for $40 a month.

Sharp also give customers discounts if they sign up for six months or a year. But he advises them to study up and find out all of its uses.

"It's a tool," he said. "Like any tool, it's only good if you take it out of the tool box and use it."

And the company's product is evolving. Sharp said that within six months it should be able to give companies an estimated time of "touchdown," when a rig actually reaches oil.

Sharp said wellActivity.com is separated from the competition because it allows information on drilling sites to be broken into several categories. Clients can also have drilling sites pinpointed on a Google map.

For information on obtaining wellActivity.com's services, call (800) 675-8007 or e-mail demo@wellactivity.com.