Published: San Antonio Business Journal
By: Sanford Nowlin
Date: June 10, 2011

Icon Oilfield Services has leased a 10,000-square-foot facility in Northeast San Antonio to offer specialized milling services to companies installing wells across the burgeoning Eagle Ford Shale.

The Dallas-based company is the latest employer drawn to the Alamo City by the Eagle Ford, a 24-county swath of South Texas that may be one of the biggest oil and gas plays of recent decades.

Initially, Icon will employ 10 people, but that number is expected to jump to 20 within six months, CEO Jim Kerr says. The company’s skilled workers earn $50,000 to $60,000 annually plus bonuses for each day they’re in the field.

“Some of our senior field techs could end up making $150,000 or $200,000,” Kerr adds. “It’s conceivable that we’d have a million-dollar payroll in the San Antonio area within our first year.”

The company expects to move into its new facility — just off Interstate 35 at 1007 Paulsun Dr. — later this month. It’s now conducting site renovations.

Icon provides a service called through-tubing milling, which involves drilling deep into an oil well to penetrate plugs installed during fracturing process or to remove well obstructions. The company utilizes lengths of coiled tubing fixed with drilling tools and rotated by specialized motors.

Kerr says his company was drawn to San Antonio because of its large labor pool and because of its easy highway access to key parts of the shale.

“We’re trying to cover the rigs all the way across,” he says. “Strategically, we feel that San Antonio is a good location for us. We can take I-35 to hit the western side and take I-37 down to the east.”

Mario Hernandez, CEO of the privately funded San Antonio Economic Development Foundation, says the city is in a good position to attract new energy firms.

By locating in the San Antonio metro area, the companies are able tap into a large urban labor pool while being close enough to service the rural counties that make up Eagle Ford shale.

“Some of the prospect companies we’re talking to provide a full range of services for the oil and gas industry — from equipment support to IT to engineering,¬” Hernandez says. “If all you’re supplying are trucks and drivers, you may be able to locate further south, but if you need more depth in your workforce, you’re probably going to be looking at the San Antonio area.”