FORT WORTH, Texas—The primary drivers of the crude-hauling business are the producers of crude and the truck drivers themselves, and the vaunted Permian Basin is the preferred venue for both.

“The supply of crude and the continued supply out of the basin remains relatively strong compared to other basins,” Tom Ramsey, CEO of Centurion Midstream LLC, said May 23 as part of a trucking roundtable discussion at Hart Energy’s DUG Permian midstream pre-conference.

“Obviously, driver demand is fairly high. The Permian’s been producing for so long we’ve got a long lineage of drivers; getting drivers in the new basins was somewhat difficult.”

Related article: Midstream Gears Up For Permian Basin Flow

Attracting and retaining drivers is no small task even during an industry downturn. In the Permian’s core areas, production remains strong, but the number of experienced crude-hauling drivers, like its population, is small.

“It’s kind of a no-man’s land out there when you’re talking about the volume of just people—there’s not a lot out there to draw from,” Jake Thigpen, general manager and COO of Reynolds Energy Transportation, said.

“Your cost of doing business out there is so much higher, not only to get the employee out there but the housing. Any costs that you have of doing business, period, are multiplied in the Permian for the fact that nobody lives there.”

And hiring a truck driver is not the same as adding an account to your team at the home office. The mindset is different.

“The thing about truck drivers is that they’re a rare breed,” Mark Thibaut, vice president of crude oil acquisitions at GulfMark Energy Inc., said.

“They’re kind of loners and independent. A lot of them—it’s not that they have an unstable work history; it’s just that they shop around to see who’s got the best pay package.”

At the DUG Permian midstream pre-conference Midstream Business Editor-in-Chief Paul Hart (far left) hosted a trucking roundtable with (from left) Tom Ramsey, Centurian Midstream; Jake Thigpen, Reynolds Transportation; and Mark Thibaut, GulfMark Energy. (Source: Hart Energy)

The three panelists were proud of their companies’ ability to retain the bulk of their experienced driver workforce. Among the incentives they offer:

  • Higher compensation, including pay, insurance and vacation time;
  • Rotating schedules; and
  • Safety bonuses.

GulfMark also conducts a year-end drawing in each of its operating districts, in which one driver will be given a $6,000 bonus.

“That’s on top of other incentives that we provide, so our turnover actually, in the last 18 to 24 months, has been quite low,” Thibaut said. “We’re very proud that we’ve been able to retain a lot of true professionals out there driving for us.”

Among the advantages that the Permian boasts is its longevity. Unconventional production is relatively new, but hydrocarbons have been extracted from the basin for more than a century.

For Thigpen, that means more experienced producers who know how to work with haulers. For Ramsey, it means more stations and fewer longer hauls.

All three panelists lauded how pipeline locations in the Permian Basin have been moved closer to production fields, leading to shorter hauls and higher takeaway of product.

“That’s a really, really good thing for the Permian,” Thibaut said, citing EnLink and other midstream operators. “They’re putting in stations that are close to the production and that really helps with takeaway.”

Joseph Markman can be reached at jmarkman@hartenergy.com and @JHMarkman.