Bustling gas fields keep independent trucker hopping
JEFF GEARINO Southwest Wyoming bureau | Posted: Thursday, December 28, 2006 12:00 am
GREEN RIVER - Independent trucker Kevin Ringdahl smiles when talks about BP Inc.'s planned $2 billion investment to develop the Wamsutter natural gas fields in southern Wyoming.
His grin gets even bigger when he discusses the 3,100 additional natural gas wells planned for the Jonah Field in western Wyoming over the next decade or the 4,400 new wells recently approved for the adjacent Pinedale Anticline field.
"All these great big outfits are buying drilling equipment and will be bringing more and more equipment to the area," Ringdahl said. "And I'm just the guy to move it around. You call, I haul."
Like a lot of local operators, Ringdahl had one of his busiest years ever in 2006. He said in an interview he expects more of the same in 2007.
"It's been a very good year… It was that and plus," he said. "I don't see anything slacking off anytime soon for us. We've really had three years of great business."
Trucks are the lifeblood of the oil and gas industry, particularly in the gas-rich Jonah and Pinedale Anticline fields, where equipment has to be moved constantly. It's an industry that requires lots and lots of trucks to get the job done.
Ringdahl, like a lot of other trucking companies in the region, is getting as much work as he can handle these days with the energy boom in full bloom in southwest Wyoming.
His is a true family business, with wife Lori helping out occasionally and son Bobby recently joining the business full time.
Ringdahl owns and operates a Peterbilt oil field winch truck that pulls a flatbed trailer. He was able to buy another truck for the fleet for Bobby to operate. "He's now doing the same thing I'm doing out there," he said.
Operating out of a shop in north Rock Springs, Ringdahl has a one- to three-hour drive to the various drilling rig sites all across southwest Wyoming. Rock Springs has been the hub for the natural gas and oil fields in the region for years.
Ringdahl's turf basically ranges from the barren Desolation Flats south of Wamsutter in eastern Sweetwater County to the Pinedale Anticline northwest of Pinedale in Sublette County.
His business has boomed, in part, because the gas and trucking industries have been struggling to find enough workers to meet demand. There's more work than workers, and Wyoming's natural gas boom has left many companies in the industry in dire need of drivers, welders, engineers and other workers. Finding housing for qualified employees is also difficult.
"Those work force issues are helping us because (the larger trucking companies) are having difficulty bringing people to the area, mainly because of the lack of housing," Ringdahl said. "They can't find workers, and that keeps us loaded up."
For the last couple of years, Ringdahl has worked more than 300 days a year. He doesn't see that changing in 2007.
"When you see BP making a $2 billion investment in Wamsutter … that should bring in the business," he said.
YearTracker
* What happened in 2006: Independent trucker Kevin Ringdahl of Green River had one of his busiest years ever hauling equipment in the energy fields of southwest Wyoming.
* Where things stand: Ringdahl bought a second big rig to handle the increased volume of business and brought his son, Bobby, full time into the family business.
* Coming in 2007: Ringdahl and other trucking companies in the region expect business will continue to boom in Sweetwater and Sublette counties.
Click here for related story 'Wyoming tops nation in jobs creation'.
Southwest Wyoming bureau reporter Jeff Gearino can be reached at 307-875-5359 or at gearino@tribcsp.com.