Margins are tight. Teams are lean. Everyone’s working hard, yet not everyone’s equally productive. After decades in the oil patch, I’ve noticed a few operators consistently outperform the rest. Their secret? Not necessarily more effort but better focus, better tools, and better judgment about what actually moves the needle.
The others? They’re stuck guessing. Guessing where the LOE bloat hides. Guessing which wells are quietly hemorrhaging cash. Guessing who should be doing what.
But it doesn’t have to be guesswork.
Data-driven thinking connects the dots from the field to engineering to accounting to the owner’s desk. It exposes systemic inefficiencies: uneconomic wells that should be shut in, legacy tasks no one questions, bloated LOE that slip through the cracks. With the right digital processes, you stop reacting and start anticipating.
Productivity doesn’t come from working harder. It comes from seeing smarter. That’s what separates the high performers. Your wells already know the answers. If you’re listening, they’ll tell you where the money’s is being made and where it’s quietly leaking away.
Larry Brazile 
Leave a comment