Each month, Axis shines a spotlight on an employee who represents our motto of “One Team, One Goal.” This month, we’re highlighting Lane Nace, our Technology Engineer who works primarily with the Axis CORE® system. Lane began working for Axis in October of 2020 and has already been instrumental in CORE’s development. He is based out of our corporate office in Longview. Continue reading to learn more about Lane and his career with Axis.

Tell us a little about your professional background.

I graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in petroleum engineering and immediately after college, went to work for Halliburton Energy Services. I first worked in production enhancement as a hydraulic fracturing engineer; then, after about two years, I transitioned into a cementing engineering role. Prior to Halliburton, while I was in college, I also worked as a roughneck for a summer and did office internships.

What made you apply to Axis?

The biggest draw for me was Axis’ primary focus of workover rigs, service rigs, pressure control, and that they were trying to integrate a data platform like CORE. I thought that was such an interesting concept considering I had never heard of data and analysis being used on that side of the industry and thought it was an awesome opportunity to get involved. The big pull for me was CORE itself.

Tell us about what you do at Axis.

My main priority is managing all of the data and analytics from CORE, including data from the rigs. I take that data and use it for analysis to provide feedback to our customers as well as internally to help develop maintenance programs. I handle customer presentations on CORE—any one-on-one contact with engineers, completions managers or production managers. I also handle all of our pre-job modeling for stick pipe operations, our actual-versus-modeled data comparisons and reporting, and I assist with the future development of CORE.

What about your job is most interesting to you?

I would say the most interesting part of my job is the optimization potential for both completion and production work. We haven’t seen data at this level, so the fact that there is relatively a blank canvas as far as what we can do with the data on this side of the industry is very interesting to me.

What do you like most about working for Axis?

The people involved and the company culture—everybody is mission-focused. Axis is a very motivated company and the people involved are forward-thinking. If they see an opportunity, they don’t waste time and they will chase after it.

How do you collaborate with other areas of the company?

Through pretty much all of our technology avenues: virtual meetings, phone calls, in-person meetings with safety precautions. I travel to different locations to visit with guys on the rigs and visit with different management at different field offices. I’m in constant contact with pretty much every area.

What gets you most excited about the company’s future?

How actively involved everyone is and the early success that I’ve seen so far, because there are so many more opportunities ahead with CORE. Of course, the entire industry is adopting data and analytics across the board as efficiency drivers, cost drivers, investment return—that’s what everybody’s looking for. The early start that we have here at Axis is going to give us such an awesome advantage five years down the road; it’s already giving us an advantage right now!

What is your biggest accomplishment in your job so far?

So far, that would be customer engagement and facilitating interest in CORE, including improved communication between us and our customers on what data they’d like to see reported from each operation. Likewise, several presentations I’ve given have directly correlated to Axis picking up another rig or getting a new opportunity; that interest is driven by CORE, the analytics we’re providing, and how CORE data is driving our decisions.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I’m a huge sports fan, so anything football, basketball, or baseball related. I’m a fan of professional teams and, of course, the Aggies and anything they do.
What do you listen to in the car on the way to work?

I normally listen to SiriusXM NBA Radio; it’s constant sports. I also love country music—I  actually love any type of music—but I would say my normal day-to-day is listening to sports commentary on the way to and from work.

What are the three most important things in your life?

Without a doubt, my faith would be number one. I am a born-again Christian, a believer that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead three days later. A strong number two is going to be my family. I just got married this past year and my wife is my world; I love her so much. And most of my family is scattered around East Texas. The third most important thing would be my friends and coworkers. I really enjoy the people I surround myself with.