Boots Smith Oilfield Services LLC: Applying Three Generations of Perfecting Services

Jason Smith, owner of Boots Smith Oilfield Services LLC (Boots Smith), is proud to be the third-generation leader of a flourishing company. Boots Smith has benefited from a dedicated ownership, management and employment base since the company was founded in 1954. The Smith family has proudly served oil and gas industry since Jason’s grandfather and father combined their diverse, yet applicable expertise.

“I’m lucky because I grew up with a father that was a great businessman and a grandfather that loved construction,” says Jason. “I got the best of both worlds.”

Boots Smith’s home office is in Laurel, Miss., though additional offices in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, North Dakota and Pennsylvania extend the company’s reach. Boots Smith’s multiple locations allow a team of 500 to contribute to a company that is one of a kind. Boots Smith performs both pipeline and directional drilling services in addition to the various oilfield services, including rig moving, location building, fluid haul and transportation.

“We take pride in being a diverse company that’s capable of giving a client a quality finished product,” says Jason. “We have a well-rounded team that is task specific and provides a wide range of services.”

Boots Smith can operate across the continental United States and is a preferred strategic partner thanks to its team’s wide span of skills and its equipment, which fuel the company’s ability to provide the industry’s highest quality of service.

Boasting generations of assorted familiarity, Boots Smith does not rest on its laurels. “We have a presence in the older plays, plus all the new major shale plays,” says Jason. The company’s goal – otherwise known as the Boots Smith pledge – has remained the same over the past 58 years: “To continue our growth, as well as our customers’ growth by furnishing them with the best service, people and equipment in the safest and most economical way possible.”

A Family of Diversity Promotes Success

Jason joined the family business in 1996. “We did many major projects thanks to my father’s outlook and experience,” he explains. “We were also involved in statewide development projects like golf courses and roads and bridges. I learned at an early age how to manage larger projects and also how to put together the labor force to work on rural area projects. That really helped me since my dad passed in 2008.”

Such diversity allows Boots Smith to provide a higher level of service than competitors. “The difference between our company and our competitors is that we perform at the highest level for the super majors and the smaller private companies,” elaborates Jason. “Being able to adjust for our client is very important here.”

The team is capable of performing both large and small pipeline construction and directional drilling services in addition to oil and gas drilling support services, including the construction of drilling locations and road access, dismantling, moving and setting up drilling rigs. As if that isn’t impressive enough, the team also provides oil and gas production support services, including the necessary rental equipment, vacuum truck services, heavy hauling, location maintenance, winch truck services and additional crane services.

“The only services we don’t provide as of today are exploration and completion work,” says Jason.” If a company calls us, half of their work is done.”

Strong, Steady and Smart

Boots Smith is capable of performing pipeline projects over 50 miles, which is typical of the team’s past experience. The team boasts the ability to work with welded or fused pipe as small as two inches or as large as 42 inches in diameter. Boots Smith’s supervisors possess years of experience, allowing the team to provide turnkey jobs from right-of-way clearing to clean up, including river crossings, pipeline repair and relocations, valve change-outs, meter stations, pipeline testing, pipe hauling and pipe stringing, all of which are just part of an even longer list of services.

“We have the capability to move 30 land rigs a month,” says Jason. What would be an impressive feat for many is common for Boots Smith, which is why the company has been awarded some sizable projects. “Right now our projects vary from constructing a 24-inch pipeline in North Dakota to moving drilling rigs in south Texas,” says Jason.

The Boots Smith team is also building a pipeline near the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium in Arlington, Texas. “The pipeline included a 6,000-foot directional drill of 16-inch pipe,” elaborates Jason. “We are pretty proud of that.”

The future looks bright for the highly diverse, and capable, team at Boots Smith. “I am proud to say that we are a driven, diverse group, which allowed us to grow since 2009 through a tough economic period,” says Jason. “Our employees are what make us strong.”

Although the industry presents several challenges – especially in safety – the team at Boots Smith can handle anything. When asked what keeps him up at night, Jason replies, “Our work is dangerous. Operating safely is important to me; for our client and the public. I never want anyone to be in harm’s way.”

Luckily for Jason, he has a team knowledgeable enough to recognize that safety comes first on every project. “Of course safer is better,” he says. “And our team knows that.”

With a strong and steady mentality, the company will have no problem gaining constant growth. “We want to keep growing, and really try to diversify,” says Jason, discussing the upcoming years. The team at Boots Smith Oilfield Services LLC is ready and able, no matter what the future brings.