Revolutionizing Oil and Gas Innovation: WellAware and PCC Use Amazon EKS to Propel Customer Success

When Performance Chemical Company (PCC), a family-owned chemical service provider in the oil and gas industry, wanted to digitalize and automate operations, the company set out to innovate. PCC envisioned a simple-to-use offering that would automate key operations and enhance the safety of its services. Its search for an automation solution led it to WellAware, an Amazon Web Services (AWS) Energy Competency Partner.

WellAware has been developing automation systems that elevate oil and gas operations for over a decade. And though it and PCC have distinct expertise, both are committed to collaborating with their customers to verify that assets receive the optimal amount of chemical injection needed for safe, reliable, and efficient operations. Together, they set out to modernize and automate PCC operations with a solution built on AWS.

Scaling Securely to Meet Customer Demand

WellAware went all in on AWS so that it could scale securely to meet customer demand in the oil, gas, and energy space. It offers companies like PCC a number of solutions that use innovative hardware and software services to bring insight to complex operations. For example, WellAware sensors use the Internet of Things (IoT) service AWS IoT Core, which lets companies simply and securely connect devices to the cloud, to communicate information to analytics services. “The security features of AWS IoT Core help us feel that we can communicate to all these remote devices securely,” says Daniel Fake, director of the cloud software team at WellAware. And to verify that it built a secure solution, WellAware underwent an AWS Foundational Technical Review, a process to identify and remediate risks in solutions.

WellAware IoT solutions rely on a microservices architecture. The company uses Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS), a managed Kubernetes service, to host most of its microservices. It also uses Amazon Aurora, a scalable relational database management system, to securely store customer data. “We are proud to say that we’re powered by AWS on our website,” says Katie Barbera, director of sales and marketing and account manager for PCC at WellAware.

The company uses AWS to focus on driving improvements to the customer experience without worrying about managing infrastructure. “I can’t imagine being able to host this solution with a company of our size without the services that AWS provides,” says John Morgan, chief operating officer at WellAware.

Delivering Safe and Efficient Operations through Automation

PCC and WellAware met at an industry conference in the early 2020s, and the two companies started exploring ways to work together. After reviewing a number of automation and IoT solutions from WellAware, PCC felt that it had found a good match for its use case. The company implemented WellAware solutions, including On Demand Chemical, which automates oilfield chemical injection, to streamline its operations. It also deployed WellAware’s Pump Monitoring and Control, which offers near-instant insight and control into a pump’s performance, to gather data for technicians and customers.

The results were significant. Instead of estimating the quantity of chemicals flowing into tanks, technicians now have access to near real-time data. They use that data to monitor operations and identify issues without driving long distances to visit sites. As a result, they can be more efficient with their days and come home to their families earlier.

Customers are also seeing a difference. If they ever want to know how many chemicals have been pumped into their tanks, PCC can use WellAware solutions to deliver detailed reports. This new insight makes it simpler to make informed decisions about investments. It also helps to verify that critical infrastructure operates as close to optimal efficiency as possible.

Most importantly, using WellAware has made PCC operations much safer. With its previous system, PCC field engineers often had to work exceptionally long days to provide the proper mix of chemicals to customers. “Our field technicians drove hundreds of miles on their routes,” says Michael Myers, director of sales in the Permian Basin. “By the time they finished, they had often worked 12–16 hours.” Now, technicians spend less time behind the wheel and more time managing overall asset performance.

Working Hard to Provide a Custom Service

As a small player in a field of giants, PCC strives to differentiate itself with a personal and innovative approach. “We emphasize that how you get there matters,” says Myers. “Each of our customers is important to us, and we think that’s why we’re able to continue growing.”

WellAware knows what it’s like to build long-term relationships with customers. “It’s really cool to see how PCC has embraced our solutions and welcomed us as a partner into its operations,” says Barbera. “We’re going into customer meetings with PCC teams to provide vendor transparency and help them win additional business.”

Buoyed by the success of this initial project, both WellAware and PCC are excited to continue their collaboration. The companies are working together to develop new solutions that will advance efficiency and shore up safety in the oil and gas space. “Our collaboration is deepening because of trust,” says Myers. “WellAware trusts us, and we trust WellAware. And it’s just starting to thrive.”