WTF is Wireline?
0:00 Welcome back to Energy 101 where we ask the dumb questions so you don't have to. Today we have Masiel Diaz. She has spent 10 years in the industry. She's a field engineer. What mechanical? Wait,
0:14 what kind of engineering chemical chemical engineer? She was a wire line field engineer. And she is currently the co founder of Flipping the Barrel, which if you haven't heard of that, you live
0:26 under a rock
0:28 They're really moving the industry forward with women and just in clues. Can you explain Flipping the Barrel? In a nutshell, we just wanted to shine a positive light on the industry. Very similar
0:40 to what Digital Walk Addis is doing. It's just showcasing how amazing people that we have with a hint of inspiration to have the younger generation join the industry. And then for those who are
0:50 going through their careers to see people above them that might inspire them to like, Hey, I want to stay in this in the long run because I want to be like X person that we interviewed. So it's a
1:00 motivational inspirational podcast - Yeah, I love it. I think that y'all are a lot like digital wildcatters. I think that you all focus a lot on corporate world which is needed and we kind of like
1:12 need to get in the corporate world a little more. But we should all do an event together - We should, yeah - The two communities together would be so fun - We should - 2023, here we come - Yeah,
1:24 yeah. Okay, so today we're gonna learn about Wireline because we hear it, that word all the time - Yeah - And I personally heard about it all the time because Colin also ran Wireline - Yeah - For
1:40 like four or five something years.
1:44 But that doesn't mean I understand it - So first, before we get into that, how did you get in the field - Okay, so I studied chemical engineering like you mentioned. I grew up in Montreal in
1:55 Canada where there's zero oil and gas And I had no idea. very similar questions to what you guys might have of like, how does the oil get to the pump? And then it gets into my car. That's all I
2:05 knew about oil and gas. Zero, I want to go into it. But when I was graduating in my last year of chemical engineering, there was a lot of oil and gas service companies and companies coming to
2:16 recruit. And because with chemical engineering, you can really go into different branches. You can go into pharmaceutical, food industry, design industry, really anything. And oil and gas was
2:27 actually a big part of it And so I was walking in the hallway and I saw a poster of a girl, which was wearing blue coveralls with a hard hat. Her hair and makeup were done. And on one foot, she
2:37 had a stiletto and on the other one, she had hard hat. Hard hat, still toe boots, sorry. And it really caught my attention where I was like, I feel like that girl looks like me. Like not even
2:48 in the look, but in the, I'm like a tomboy, but at the same time, I like to dress up once in a while So it was kind of like I just saw I had not never heard of this company before I couldn't even
3:00 say their name, Slumber J. I probably butchered it back then. And when I saw them at the career fair, the logo stuck up to me and I'm like, That's the company. And there was a huge line waiting.
3:11 And I'm like, I guess this is a good company. So I just kind of waited in line and I had like a 10 second pitch to the recruiter. And I think she liked me so much from that 10 second like spiel
3:22 that she offered me an internship - On the track pool - No, it was like one interview afterwards, but out of all the universities across Canada, they only had two spots - Oh wow - And I was chosen
3:32 as one of the field engineers for the position, so I was very excited - Where did that happen at - In McGill University in Montreal - Okay - And then, oh sorry, so the internship was in Alberta in
3:41 up North and Grand Prairie. And that was in fracking. So I did a summer of fracking as an intern and I really enjoyed it. And then when I got hired on after the summer, I did a good job. They
3:51 offered me a position in a wire line and I had no idea what it was. I did what we all do, you know, millennials, I googled it and I youtubed it and I couldn't find anything about it. It would
4:02 show me just like a picture of a cable, like a wire cable. And I was like, I don't know what this is, but you know, when you're graduating, you're like, I'll take anything that pays me at this
4:10 point. But I didn't know what I was signing up for. Luckily with the internship, I knew a little bit about what like the field life exposure was kind of like. So luckily I had that aspect. I
4:21 think sometimes it's really hard when people sign up to become a field engineer We've never had had an internship and then they're like, What? You guys work at night? You work all day? You're
4:30 outside when it's really hot when it's really cold? And then that's why it's really hard to keep people in the field because I think a lot of times they don't showcase what the real life is like. So
4:39 then people come for a month and then they're out. So it really takes a certain kind of person to do field work. Yeah, I think it's super interesting that you didn't have any exposure to oil and
4:50 gas at all. Not from your parents Like you didn't see it or anything and then you just decided to go for it. So whenever you went into chemical engineering. What was like your goal for that when
4:60 you first went in? Like money - So I remember Iogled it and I said, which engineering degree makes the most amount of money coming out of college? And petroleum is usually the number one, but in
5:12 Montreal, like I said, there was no petroleum, so it was chemical engineering. And I was like, okay, done, send my application. So it was really just driven by money. But I didn't care what I
5:21 was gonna do afterwards - So many - Yeah. That's very cool So did you, you lived out in Midland for a bit, right - Yeah - And I actually compared to what everyone says that they like hate Midland
5:32 or it's trash or whatever. I really liked Midland. I loved it. Like it was one of the best years that I had in the field - That's awesome. I actually hear, so I feel like there is a stigma that
5:43 people hate Midland. I'm from Midland. So I can see both sides. I wouldn't want to live there now, raising a family, but I had a really great childhood. Like I, it was awesome
5:54 But I do hear, I met someone. Our one night the other night, she had lived in Midland for, she was, I forgot where she's from, but she had to move to Midland for her job. And I think she's a
6:05 chemical engineer as well. And she just moved to Houston and she loved Midland. She really liked the community. She said it was great - The community - The community was really great - People is so
6:17 kind - Yeah, yeah. And for me, so both having field experience in Canada, where I worked for about four years in the field and then going to Midland, both field locations were really good in
6:28 terms of the people that I got to meet. Midland was a little bit more rough in terms of the people that I find are allowed to work on rigs versus the people that can work in rigs in Canada. It's
6:39 actually a very different standard. But at the end of the day, everyone was extremely nice and welcoming. And what I loved about the West Texas folks were that it's very much like Southern
6:51 hospitality. Where I would show up and they would all make a comment my daughter was here, I wouldn't want her to go to the restroom outside. So you can use my, you know, and when you're in the
7:02 field, at least for a while, and once we get into it, sometimes you're out there for 24, 48 hours or a week, with a little backpack and whatever you brought with yourself. So even like showering,
7:10 sometimes you like you don't. But I always had like good enough people that were like, Hey, there's a trailer out there that no one's using. We can give you a lock if you want. You can use it
7:19 while you're there, shower, do you have food, hey, we're gonna order pizza And like, so it's like, I think also like, it's a positive of being a woman in the industry. And like, I like to say
7:28 it because like, I know people will be like, Oh, that's 'cause you were a girl and you got treated differently.
7:33 Because like sometimes, like my operators or the people who'd work with me, they're like, We wanna work with her 'cause she always gets a pizza delivered. You know, I think you also have to show
7:42 your work ethic and that you're really good at your job and you know what you're talking about to get that respect. But once you gain it, then yeah, there's positives of like, they're gonna give
7:51 you extra attention that's just normal - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
7:55 it's good to be treated different - Yeah - As a woman in the field. Like, you know, like if you really think about it, do you want to be, you know, talk down to like all the rough necks on the
8:04 rig? Like, no, thank you. I want to be treated with, you know - Yeah, and like something to talk about on the gender side is like, sure, sometimes women can have it hard for X amount of
8:13 reasons with biases, but guys get really hard too. Like, they get way more bullying, sometimes, than women do, so it's like, we're both getting it just from different angles, I guess But at
8:24 the end of the day, it's still a hard environment that you kind of just have to crack. Once you crack and you become kind of like part of the gang, then like, it's welcoming, but at the beginning,
8:33 you really have to show your stripes and show that you're there to work, and then like, they'll like you - Right, right. Okay, so let's get into where I align and how it works. Before we do that,
8:42 I'm gonna put Jules and Missy on the spot - Oh. Missy - Mm-hmm. Explain why I align -
8:49 What you think it is, what you think it is
8:53 Maybe like a metal.
8:56 rope type thing that I don't know. How long could it be? I feel like it's going to be very long. Yeah, 100 feet. What do you think it does? I
9:14 guess. I don't know. No,
9:17 I don't know.
9:19 I don't know what it does, but it's a very important part of the fracking process. I'm going to guess I have no idea if that's right or not. OK. Half right. Because so we'll get into it. There's
9:31 like three types of war line. So I will label them properly. But yeah, there's war line at the beginning stages with when there's a drilling rig out. And then there's war line at the end in the
9:41 completion side where there's fracking. But at the end of the day, the reason it's called war line is because it's a cable. So very similar to what you said with different dimensions. It's like -
9:51 let's say like a - I don't know the radius exactly but let's say like a quarter of a. or smaller and it's very long, probably 30, 000 feet, or depending on how deep the well is, you can make
10:03 really big cables up to 40, 000 plus feet or smaller. And what it does is it hooks basically the truck, the logging truck that's on location, that usually looks like a garbage truck. That's what
10:14 they would call it, but it's an office and that was my office. And you have computers and monitors and a printer and all of the electrical kind of stuff. And then you have tools that different
10:25 service companies have like Halbern Baker, Sommerjay, Weatherford, where they've, for many, many years, come out with technology that helps you get data from down hole so that you can understand
10:38 a little bit more of your reservoir. That's like in the beginning stages. So it really gives you like the health of the well, whether there's oil, whether there's water, gas, which zones they're
10:49 in, at what depth, et cetera And then also for fracking, it gives you a conveyance belt, I
10:58 guess, way for you to bring down perforating guns. And I can get into that as well, 'cause that's what I was selling before I went to Mexico, is I was taking care of all the perforating cells for
11:06 the US. And it's guns that look like barrels like this, and they shoot in different forms. And the reason you wanna bring those down in the well so that you can shoot into the ground is so that
11:18 when you frack, which is water, sand, chemicals being pumped down whole, they need a place to go So we go and break the rock very finely so that when the water and all of this stuff is getting
11:30 pushed down whole, they break in through the rock. So you need to make those holes with guns. With perforate, basically. So the whole basic behind wire line is really just like a conveyance for
11:42 you to bring down tools or guns or whatever it is that you're trying to bring down whole to work the well, basically. So let's break this down a little bit - Yeah
11:52 from the call. Like, Company A is drilling. they need you for what - Okay. So when you're a field engineer in WAR line, open hole specifically, you're on call 247. So they'll say, Hey, Julie,
12:06 at 3 am, comped out to this rig in West Texas to give you the directions. Here's your logging program. So they've already worked with a sales engineer and probably like someone who's more technical,
12:16 I could say, What do you guys need in this well? Oh, well, you know, we just drilled this exploration well and we don't know where the oil is. We don't know where X is and we wanna land the well
12:25 here And then all of these logs will help you later on when you wanna frack and take out the oil. So it really gives you a map. You're kind of blind when you go down hole. So what these tools do is
12:36 they really, by depth, they give you all the zones. So for example, like a basic one that's very famous across all of the companies is like a triple combo is what it's called. So it's a gamma ray,
12:48 a neutron, and a density, and you can add an induction to it. This is all
12:55 like, okay, I was following until you said that - Yeah, yeah, yeah - I feel like I'm like, yeah, a gamma ray neutron. So these are all different kind of data that we acquire through these tools
13:06 and what the neutron, what the density, what the gamma ray, these are all things that are within the earth that
13:13 we can collect and then we put them on curves that look like little drawings and they actually have quantities So the gamma ray of that zone
13:25 is three or the density which is like actual density, like the mathematical of like that rock is 25 or and all of these different data points from the earth can tell you whether you have oil,
13:40 whether you have water because they now know in a, they've already kind of done the research that these tools are gonna react a certain way depending on whether there's oil here or water here. So
13:51 when you start looking at the curves, which is what I did, I was in the logging truck and I would see my tools working as we're pulling the wire line out. They're kind of just reading - So you take
14:01 the wire line down the hole and then you're pulling it up and it's giving you data - It's giving you data - It's coming up - Yes, interesting - What's the process of putting the wire line into the -
14:11 Perfect, so the wire line is stuck on a drum in the back of the truck. It's like this big kind of like wheel barrel - Yeah, big coil -
14:20 And that's stuck to the truck electrically where you can kind of send power through it and turn on. So I could turn on my tools. I could open calipers. I can close things. It's really like a
14:30 remote control from the inside. So we rig up all of the tools and you can put them, you stack them all together and that's labor work. Like the people are out there with wrenches and they're
14:40 putting big tool strings together. Then they get raised up in the rig and they put them down in the hole and then we put like our head at the end, which is the tool that connects the cable, that's
14:52 actually an actual cable, and then there's a tool, and that's kind of the head, and you kind of just connect it. I can turn on from the
14:58 truck, and I can see that my tools are all reading, and they're all alive, and like, okay, they're getting power. And then we start, there's like a way for you to put the cable through the top
15:08 of the rig, with like a little like a wheel, you know, like literally like, like a pulley - Like a pulley, yeah, exactly. And then the wire line goes down whole, and the tools are heavy enough
15:18 that they start going down, and then we have a winch, like actual winch, where you go, okay, I could go 5, 000 feet an hour, 300 feet an hour, like you drive the cable, and you put the tools
15:29 all the way down to where you hit the bottom depth, which is just called TD, total depth. And so we usually know where that is because they've already drilled, so they're like, hey, the well is
15:38 10, 000 feet. So we're going down with our little like, you know, tools, and then, you know, beforehand, you kind of slow down, and you actually hit, and I see that my cable falls, because
15:47 like we hit the bottom, So then you start spooling cable into the well. And you're like, okay, no, we're done. We hit. And then it's also a way for us to compare that the drillers were correct
15:57 with their bottom depth and us. And then I'm like, OK, we hit TD. We're good. And by the way, a lot of stuff can happen before you get to TD. You could hit a spa. You can get stuck. You have
16:07 to fish. I mean, so much crazy stuff could happen because you're going in a live hole. There's nothing there, right? So a lot of stuff can happen. But let's say everything goes great. You hit
16:17 TD, and then you start pulling up. And then I start my logs And then I tell the guy who's driving or the girl who's driving the winch or me. Sometimes I would have to drive it. And I know what the
16:27 speeds are needed for my tools. Because if I go too fast and they're not going to get the data, if I go too slow, it could be saturating and they're not going to get the data. So we know exactly
16:36 how fast we can go. And then we start pulling off. And then as they're going, I'm looking on my screens. And I can see all these beautiful colors of different curves, like blues and reds and
16:47 greens. And I can tell that they're logging And then that's what we give the. and then they are able to understand what all of these lines mean and then they put them to softwares and then it tells
16:59 you like This is where you should land your well. This is where you should perforate. This is where you should frack This is where all your zones are
17:06 So you're still drilling at this point So they use wireline when you're still drilling to kind of get the data so they can know what to do next Where's the oil? Where are we gonna go? For every well,
17:17 is this what happens? Back in the day Yes, because they didn't have enough data now. It's been like 80 plus years They have so much data. They're like we know where these rocks are so Wireline in
17:29 a sadly way is like dying more and more as the years Racking now. Yeah for backing the use of every single well because they need to convey the tools down whole to perforate the guns Cuz that you
17:42 need to frack right now. They don't need as much data to know where it is because they're like we've studied West Texas for like, you know, 89 years now or whatever. I don't know the date.
17:55 They're like, we don't need to bring waterline. We're pretty good. We have data from here, from here, from here, from all of these neighboring wells. It's like a puzzle. You don't have to go
18:02 and use it anymore. Right. So it kind of sucks on that end because, but we do have really great technology that keeps coming up every year that maybe they don't have that data because the tool just
18:12 is brand new and then they might, we'll do it on one well out of all the pad. So, yeah. That's really cool Sorry, go ahead. No, you go ahead. So in a case when you're putting wireline into a
18:24 drilling well and something goes wrong, like then what does the process look like? Like, isn't it expensive? Super expensive. Yeah. So there could be many things that happen. Like the worst
18:35 thing that could happen is that the tool gets stuck somehow and no matter. So it's happened to me a few times, not too many, but it does happen where you're coming out and all of a sudden it's like
18:46 you're fishing and it gets stuck. And you know how you're like, okay, you're pulling and nothing's like nothing. And what's really could be a big safety thing is you don't want the cable to break
18:57 because it could hurt someone if there's someone out on the rig. And you're leaving all these tools down whole and two of them or depending what you're running have like radiation sources that you
19:07 put inside the tool. So like I actually had to physically with like a tool put a radiation source into the tool And then if that stays on whole, it could pollute the whole land. It could be a big
19:21 danger for population. So it's like huge responsibility of you not like never losing it down whole or losing it in public. So that's kind of like the scary thing is like if you do break the cable
19:32 and they can't fish it out, you're leaving these things that you're gonna have to cement afterwards with radionic sources. So what happens in that instant if you're pulling and pulling and you're
19:42 like, It's been multiple hours and we can't break it and we don't want to break the cable. a fishing company and it's usually like another company that comes and I don't know what they do and
19:52 sometimes it could take a week or more days where they're just working, putting things in, trying to rip things out and sometimes they'll have to cut the cable at surface like properly versus it
20:02 just snapping. You go in and you cut the cable with specific tools and then they try to work the well to try to remove all of the stuff out. So it's a very interesting process but yeah it could
20:11 happen. Yeah, it seems like a high stress level job It is a very high stress level job. Yeah, very stressful job. Very, very stressful job especially because the people who usually are field
20:24 engineers I would say like we just graduated college. Like the majority of us and here we are handling a million dollar operation. Yeah. So there's a lot of stress and one thing that even when I
20:35 was in the field like you're always scared of like you're going to screw this up. There's so many things that you can literally screw up and it will get you fired So you're always just like on top of
20:45 your game because really anything. thing that you miss, not only are you getting fiber, you're screwing up a lot of money for the company and safety wise. Yeah, exactly. So it's a very stressful
20:57 job. Yeah. Yeah, that's insane. So a while back, someone brought their perforating gun. Yes. So Colin used to - I've seen them because I've seen the - gosh, what are they? They're cables with
21:11 powder and all that ignite the - whatever So he used to have to put those together by hand. Yes. Like all of that. Just string it together. They were like electrician spaces. Yes. But someone
21:24 came back - they brought some tools to our office a while back. And it's like all put
21:28 together now. It is. And everything is so much easier. There's been a lot of technology upgrades, definitely in the war line perforating world. I mean, like you said, back in the day, you used
21:40 to have to put - you know, everything together from the explosives. And like, I remember even like, you weren't allowed to have your phone nearby because it could, you know, like any sort of
21:48 signal set, anything off of it. It was a very dangerous job. And if you like, kind of like a ticking bomb, if you worry it wrong, like you could initiate it or whatever. Now what they have is
21:59 they've worked a lot on technologies in the last few years. And even what I was selling, like we had this like brand new, beautiful gun and it came fully loaded. So like, you don't have to do
22:07 that anymore. And they just deliver it to location So you don't need a gun shop, you just go straight to location, they're all put together. And then you just need like two, three people to put a
22:16 down hole and that's it - When I saw that I was like, can I go right away - Yeah, yeah, I can't do it - Okay, to be honest, I'm sorry to anyone who works in the waterline, but like a monkey can
22:26 do it. Like I'm not even kidding because at that point once everything's down hole, it's just like monitoring stuff. And then like you click two buttons, you shoot guns and you're like, okay,
22:36 that's collected of 1, 000 Yeah, yeah, that's fun Do you ever miss being in the field - I do, I do. Yeah, I always thought that I, if I didn't have a husband and like a baby now, I'm someone
22:50 that I could see, like I would have stayed in the field for a way longer time because I really enjoyed kind of like the lifestyle, weirdly, and the days off because I would work two weeks on and I
22:60 get a week off to do whatever I wanted. And I really liked that you're kind of in your own bubble, you're kind of just like running your own thing and you just get sent to do things and you don't
23:09 have to answer to corporate or the politics or like the office kind of stuff. I just like doing my own little thing out in the field - So when you're like two weeks on, like what is work life like?
23:21 When are you living on site - Okay, no, so it depends for us when I was in Midland, I'll give you an example of Canada in Midland. So when I was in Canada, depending on the project that you were
23:31 on, you would live there for two weeks in a camp - Okay - I loved camp. I was like, send me to camp I'll stay here all month. you want because there was a beautiful gym, pool, cooking, like
23:48 beautiful steaks, turkey dinner night, like we had the best food and it was all free. So I would go in. There was a cafeteria. Yeah, there was cafeteria with cookies, donuts, pizza, like ice
24:02 cream machines. And I was like, again, like a college student that had just graduated and I was cheap. And I was like, oh my God, I don't have to pay for groceries And I would just eat for free
24:12 and then you would get called out. And then the rape was usually close by because the camp was because it was so far from anywhere that you couldn't get called and go all the time because it would
24:20 take you like 13 hours to get there. So we all lived on site and there was like a game room. We would watch the Bachelor on Tuesday nights with all of the guys. And they're like, that I was like,
24:30 guys, this Bachelor night, I don't care, but I'm taking this room. Guys are welcome to watch it and they would. So yeah, it was a really fun time. I really loved my time in the field in Canada
24:40 Midland did not have that. When I got to Midland, I was like, Where's our camp? Where's our free food? And they're like, No, you like go home and shower. I'm like, No, I want to live here
24:48 for free. But yeah, in Midland, everything's close to three hours max. So you go out to the field, you go back home after you finish. But sometimes you can finish in two days or three days. And
25:00 while you're there, there's nowhere for you to sleep. So we would sleep in the pickup truck or like on a chair like this inside the truck while I'm watching my computer Or like I said, if the
25:10 company man was nice enough and they had an extra trailer, they would let me use like a bunk bed or something - So you're two weeks on, you're just on call. You're not - You all for sure have a job
25:19 - No, if you don't have a job, it was kind of nice 'cause like you would go to the shop and make sure that all of your tools were good and ready. And like, okay, so if I get called, I'm ready to
25:29 roll, then you could just, I'd go to the gym. I'd go to go hang out with my friends and like just wait for that phone call - That's cool that you had a wire line schedule two weeks on when we got a
25:41 lot of people don't know when Colin did it 247 all the time. We couldn't ever plan vacations. Yeah. He also when he worked on the rig as a hand, he did two weeks days, two weeks nights, two
25:54 weeks off, which we liked. We liked that a lot. Yeah. But the nights were very hard. Yeah. Yeah. Well, so you're having to live there like y'all are living constantly by the site, right? No
26:08 So then you just live you so he would it depends on where the rig is, but you just drive out to the rig. So he would have to be at the rig at six and then he could leave at six pm. but sometimes if
26:18 it's two, three hours, he would have to drive home two, three hours. Yeah. Come home, sleep, go back. Go back. But because y'all were already living in Midland. In Midland. Yeah. Yeah.
26:27 Yeah. And Canada is really far. So when you go out to a site, they usually provide somewhere for people to live and it's like 400 man camps or bigger.
26:39 That's cool. So, do y'all have any more questions about that?
26:43 Yeah, let's switch gears to being a woman in the field and kind of what your experience was there. You kind of touched on it. It wasn't too bad, but was there, is there anything? Also, I don't
26:56 know if you wanna talk about this, but you've also kind of switched gears to sales over the past few years. How is that, I don't know if you wanna talk about this You've always thought me if you
27:08 don't, but I'm so curious, being a field engineer is very different than being in sales. And when you make the switch to sales, is there some kind of stigma you felt there? And was it very
27:22 different from the field? Yeah, okay, so,
27:27 how should we start - That was what I know that was going to happen - Let's start with just my overall experience as a female. So, I've been on several podcasts I've always said, like, it's been a
27:36 very good experience for me.
27:39 from different women that isn't necessarily good for them. All I could talk about is my experience, and I think why it's been good for me is I really think it's how I carry myself. And you know
27:50 where there's a fine line, and you know how to get respected, and it's just kind of like in me, I grew up with just a single mom and my grandmother, so there was no males in my family ever. So it
28:01 was like, I had a weird confidence of like, yeah, my mom's a single mom and she can raise me, and like, whoever you are, like you're not gonna tell me what to do. And it's not like that that's
28:11 the attitude, but I think I just came with a different like, I'm here to work and don't treat me any different. And I have always been a really big workaholic. So I think whenever I've been on
28:22 anybody's team, they always see me as like, okay, she's here to put in the hours, and she's here to, you know, go scrub and get dirty, and I don't complain. And so I think it's come, your
28:32 work ethic really kind of like, they're gonna wanna work with you, regardless of your gender, if you're like. putting in the work and you want to be part of the team. The only weird things that I
28:40 would say that happened early on in my career was like I was telling you guys earlier when I would first arrive to Rake and I'm new, where I'm like 22 years old and I've never been out here before.
28:49 And I go and there's like naked women all over the Rake in terms of like on the posters, not in real life. You know, like posters, you know. And I'm like, I just thought it was weird. I'm like,
28:58 but you know, I didn't question it. I was like, okay, I guess this is the industry Like there wasn't like, oh, we need to remove them and like looking like now 10 years into it. I'm like, no,
29:09 like there should be a little bit of like respect and like we shouldn't have to deal with that. But it took me almost 10 years to like come to that realization. When I was going through it, I was
29:17 like, it's guys. It's fine. Like that's their like that's their thing. I'm not going to go in there and but rip them all down. Yeah, I was just like, it's cool. I'm like a girl living in a
29:26 guy's world. Like that's fine. I don't need to do any of that. But it is weird And then again, like in the bathrooms, filled with porn. Yeah, magazines, and it's just, it feels weird because
29:39 like I was telling you guys, I was the only girl out of that 30 guys on a ring. And we're in the middle of nowhere in a forest. And sometimes I would think like, something really that can happen.
29:50 Like you just, I don't know any of these people, except for the two guys who work with me that are like my buddies, everyone else, I can't, I don't know who they are. So sometimes I would catch
29:60 myself in situations and I'm like, what am I doing here? This is kind of weird Like it was scary at the beginning sometimes or like in certain areas we would stay in like really small towns in the
30:10 middle of Alberta, Canada. And we would stay in a motel. And you know, like you're by yourself and you're like 23 years old and you know, sometimes it was kind of like, what am I like? This is
30:20 a weird environment. But overall it's the majority of it was really good. But yeah, sometimes there were situations where I'm like, this isn't really like a good place for a young girl. But
30:29 you're kind of like, this is just part of my job and I'm just gonna focus on it and nothing happened But yeah, there is definitely a few like. It's weird, but yeah - But yeah. So yeah, so
30:42 question on the sales. So yes, there's a big stigma and I think having field experience and the fact that I'm an engineer has really helped me when it comes to like, no, I know what I'm talking
30:55 about and I'm not just like, what they'll say like, you're just a pretty face that got hired because you're in sales and that's what they do And I'm like, no, I've worked five years in the field,
31:06 I earned all of my stripes, I also studied engineering, so like, no. But yes, there's definitely that, especially when I went into sales. I think at the beginning, people just portrayed me. I
31:15 was like, of course they hired this girl off the street 'cause she's cute and she's Colombian and she's got like sass and like, of course she's gonna sell. And that sucks because it would take away
31:25 everything that I've done, like having blood, sweat, and hair. I'm like, you guys didn't see me at minus 40 with like, you know, freezing, putting on these tools. five years of that, you
31:35 know? So I think at the beginning it was hard because I do see it, or we all see it on LinkedIn where like it's girls just taking selfies and like they don't even know what they're selling and it
31:45 sells unfortunately in West Texas, sometimes it does. But it kind of puts a negative image on you who've like worked so hard to get there and like earned it. But I will say it really turns around
31:58 quickly once the customer gets to know me even within our first meeting of like how I get, how I portray myself, how I hold myself, how the, you know, I know there's a fine line of like what I'll
32:08 accept and what I don't. And guys will test you on that. You know, like they'll say a funny joke. And like if you kind of lead in and like let them, they might be like, oh, okay. Like she
32:19 might want more than that, you know? But if you're like, yeah, no, I'm not here for that. Like please like respect what, never again. Okay, this girl's here for business. So I do think it's
32:28 important to have that kind of, you know, attitude Um But yeah, so I think after a meeting with a client, they're like, Okay, no, she's legit, she's real. And I think it helps me like 10
32:39 times more because I have the personality to like have great relationship with customers. But they're also like, she's also really smart and she knows what she's talking about. And that's the kind
32:48 of person we want to help us with our sales. So it's like a, it ends up being good, but it definitely does suck a little bit in the beginning when they just see you as like this girl - Yeah, yeah
32:59 - Got hired - I think it's a, yeah, interesting dynamic there. But your field knowledge definitely helps. 'Cause I always say like,
33:11 trying to learn this stuff without actually seeing anything - It's very difficult - Yeah, so hard. 'Cause I'm like a very visual person. So I'm like, I need to like see pictures of this. And I'm
33:22 always on TikTok, like there's so much oil filled stuff on TikTok. And I'm like, I look at it and I'm like, what's going on here - Yeah, well, it's so complex - Like there's so much - There's so
33:32 much. material per process. I'm like, what is this - Yeah. I love more technologies than people - Yeah - There's a lot of technology in oil and gas - Yeah - Pretty cool - Yeah. It's a good place
33:44 to be a - Yeah - Especially for the younger generation - Yes - Yes - Yes. Do we want to go into rapid fire - Yes - Okay - All right. Here we go. What is the number one misconception about the
33:55 energy industry or oil and gas - That we don't care about the world and that we don't care about the environment and we just enjoy to pollute the world when we don't. Oil and gas companies do a lot
34:09 for the environment more than people think - Realize. Yeah - Why should I care about the energy industry - Because it's what moves the world. I mean, think about almost every single thing that you
34:21 do or touch has to do with oil and gas and like why not want to be part of it? And I'd say for the people or the younger generation that are questioning whether this is a good industry to come into,
34:30 we're going through an energy in the long term and there's a lot of technology being involved in oil and gas to just make it more efficient and better and this is the place to be part of that change
34:43 and like bring your creativity with new innovations. It's not a dead business, if anything, it's like, it's growing - Yeah - So we need talent to come here - Yes. And then the last one, what's
34:54 your most embarrassing story in your career - Oh my God -
34:59 Okay, I guess I'll say this one because why not - I
35:04 think I was telling you about it. When I was doing sales in West Texas, obviously the majority of my clients are men and I've never had a problem with absolutely any of them. Like everyone's been
35:17 extremely respectful but there's this one in particular where we went out for lunch and it's very normal for a female to take out one or two guys for lunch in just this business world and we're out in
35:28 the public at 12 o'clock. Like it's not like I'm taking them out at night, you know? So for me, it was just like a normal day, but it still happened because it's in the midlands, such a small
35:37 town, his wife saw it. And
35:42 she saw y'all eating together - Yeah, like in a business setting. And then she kind of questioned him when he got home. And he was like, yeah, she's like our sales for whatever. And she wanted
35:53 my name. So she found me on Facebook and messaged my husband. She went and like found my name - I found that I was married And like messaged my husband. And my husband's like, what is this? It
36:04 seems like you're like cheating on me. And she was like going out of like your wife is doing this. And I caught them. And it was this big story. Like luckily my husband like wouldn't question me.
36:15 And so he were both laughing at it. And she was like, can I call you? I need to call you. And I was like, so we were both together. I'm like, put it on speaker phone. Like I need to hear this.
36:22 And he was just reassuring her like, this is her job. Like she's not that kind of girl and whatever. But I would say like that was. embarrassing because then like how could I go back? I know.
36:32 Yeah. And she requested that like he didn't deal with me anymore as a sales. That's embarrassing for him. Yeah. It was really embarrassing too because I'm like I guess I'll never go back there.
36:43 Like it was just like we had to put someone else in but it was so weird and like uh. When I feel like when you work in sales like that's what you do. You take your clients out. I was like oh I want
36:52 a relationship with your ugly husband.
36:56 Like relax. Yeah. That's crazy. I honestly that's so embarrassing for that. I would hate to be that wife. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That conversation was probably just so awkward. Like for the both
37:09 of them like what are you talking about? This is literally a good heat call you. Like did you know what you do you do any warning? You could tell that this guy does not wear the pen from the
37:17 relationship because he was scared of his wife. Like scared. No he like blocked me. He couldn't talk to me anymore. Are you serious? Yeah. That is wild. Mm hmm. Like. I should like 40. Yeah.
37:32 Thanks. Yeah, I think that probably brought out some other issues. Yeah, right. They're really serious. Yeah. But luckily, like I said, no other client has this ever happened to, but it was
37:43 just like bad to happen with one. Yeah. That's part of the business. Like you're going to have this where maybe sometimes coworkers like don't want you to hang out with their spouse because they're
37:53 jealous. Like it's just, it's a weird dynamic, but at the end of the day it is And that's what's weird about like being a female in oil and gas is that sometimes that dynamic is weird. So I want
38:02 to put this like PSA out there to all the men in the industry. Don't shut down women who want to network, want to grab lunch. Don't shut them down just because your wife might get mad. Like that's,
38:14 that's terrible for women in the industry. It's not like, I don't want to say like, Oh, it's not fair, but it's not like, yeah, read them like you would anyone else.
38:29 that's y'all's issue, don't make the women in the industry feel that. And that's like one thing I'm very big on and have always been big on with my marriage is I want Colin to take all the lunches,
38:41 take all the phone calls from the women who were coming to him for help - I think Colin and I clicked on Instagram way before you and I clicked on. We were
38:49 just talking and you and my husband talk all the time without me even knowing something - We don't care, it's just like if you're confident, it doesn't matter - Yeah, it's not here to get anybody -
38:59 Yeah, yeah. Anyway, this is
39:06 a really good episode - Thank you
39:09 for coming - I feel like we learned a lot. I didn't know there was even
39:15 a drilling side of wire line. I thought it was only used for fracking. So I'm glad you - That's how it started - Okay - Because back in the day there was no fracking and there was none of that So it
39:25 was just like, actually, water line is. the very first service that Slumberjay ever gave. It was one log from one tool. I think I don't even want to butcher it, but 80 something years ago. And
39:40 they were able to get just an electrical current and do one log, and that was the first log ever made in a well. And then they kind of just expanded with the technology. So, Wireline kind of was
39:50 the core of the business. And then everything else grew around Wireline - That's very cool - Oh, yeah Well, if they want to find you - Yes - Plug your searches - Okay, so LinkedIn, Masiel,
40:02 Diaz-Mello, corporate, and then
40:07 Instagram, Mace Fitlife - Cool - And then she has a podcast called Lipping the Barrel - Oh, thank you. Sorry, Jamie - I completely forgot - But Scrap, LinkedIn, and Instagram, the podcast is
40:20 flipping the barrel, flippingthebarrelcom with
40:22 my co-host, Jamie Alrod. So yeah, find us We would love to interview. Anyone who has a really great career in oil and gas and that's made it to an executive VP or CEO. That's kind of like the
40:36 interview people that we do - Awesome, cool. Thanks so much for coming on today. We loved having you on - Thank you guys - All right, bye - Bye - Bye - Over and out.
