Best Well Services LLC, an oil-field services company based in Oklahoma, says it is shifting its fleet to run on compressed natural gas (CNG).
The company currently operates a fleet of 160 trucks, and plans call for all those vehicles to be converted to CNG over the next four years. Best Well Services anticipates a two-year payback period on the overall investment.
David Johnson, the company's general manager, told NGT News that the first phase of the transition will concentrate on Best Well Services' light-duty assets, mainly the 1/2-ton and 3/4-ton trucks that company supervisors use to travel from site to site. Approximately 40 trucks will be converted to natural gas in the next year.
Some of the natural gas vehicles will be purchased new, and Johnson and his team are mainly eyeing RAM pickups and Ford trucks outfitted with Westport natural gas systems. But many existing assets with less than 60,000 miles on the odometer will be considered for conversions. Best Well Services will prioritize giving these installation jobs to local NGV conversion companies – none of which have been selected yet.
The company also operates a sizable fleet of heavy-duty assets – about 70 semi-trucks that are used in various applications. Johnson says these trucks obviously represent the largest volume of fuel consumption for the overall fleet, so the company is doing its due diligence on what NGV options are available for the heavy-duty vehicles.
In terms of refueling, Best Well Services plans to rely on public-access CNG stations, at least initially. The company has an operations yard in Stillwater, Okla., and there are three CNG facilities in close proximity.
