Douglas S. Cain sees Eagle Pass as the “Gateway” to the Eagle Ford Shale
By: Ricardo E. Calderon
Copyright 2013
Texas transportation and oilfield equipment entrepreneur Douglas S. Cain, President of Lake Truck Lines, Inc. and Lake Oilfield Services, Inc., envisions Eagle Pass, Texas as “the Gateway to the Eagle Ford Shale and the Permian Basin Shale” because of its strategic geographic location within the Eagle Ford Shale oil and gas play and its United States-Mexico border location and proximity to strategic barite mines in northern Coahuila, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, and Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Cain is such a strong believer of this vision that he already invested his money in what his mind tells him by opening a transportation and oilfield equipment transloading warehouse in Eagle Pass.
Founded in 1949 in Houston, Texas by Joe P. Cain, Lake Truck Lines, Inc. is a leader in the oil and gas transportation industry and recently relocated its corporate headquarters from Houston to San Antonio, Texas to better serve its oil and gas drilling customers and take advantage of the booming Eagle Ford Shale oil and gas field in South Texas.
Douglas S. Cain learned about Eagle Pass after meeting State Representative Alfonso “Poncho” Nevarez, District 74-Democrat, in February 2013 at the 83rd Texas Legislature and Nevarez encouraged Cain to look into Eagle Pass as its U.S.-Mexico business center. Cain and Nevarez struck up a friendship and mutual respect and admiration for each other and the rest is history.
Lake Truck Lines, Inc. transports cement and drilling fluids to oil and gas drilling sites to the Eagle Ford Shale and the Permian Basin Shale in West Texas. In addition to Lake Truck Lines, Cain has opened a second business named Lake Oilfield Services, Inc. to provide oilfield equipment to oil and gas drilling companies in the United States.
Cain learned that many oilfield equipment is difficult to manufacture and his experience led him to a manufacturer in Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico who custom manufactures his transportation and oilfield equipment. Lake Oilfield Equipment, Inc. entered into an agreement with the Torreon, Coahuila company to custom design and manufacture Lake Truck Lines transportation equipment as well oilfield equipment for its oil and gas drilling clients.
Lake Truck Lines, Inc. transports cement and drilling fluids to the oil and gas drilling sites including a critical component known as barite which is utilized in the horizontal drilling or fracking drilling process which is mined in Mexico and China. Cain found barite mines in northern Coahuila, Mexico near Musquiz, Coahuila, Monclova, Coahuila, Monterrey, Nuevo León, and Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico to supply him for his oil and gas drilling clients.
Cain opened a Lake Truck Lines, Inc. transloading and transportation warehouse in Eagle Pass with Mexican Customs Broker Fernando Barrera Berlanga after meeting with Representative Nevarez and visiting Eagle Pass. Currently, Lake Truck Lines, Inc. is operating 5 to 12 pressurized tractor-trailer tanks out of Eagle Pass and hopes to open Lake Oilfield Services, Inc. by the end of the year, providing valuable employment to Eagle Passans.
Cain stated that his research and experience lead him to believe that “Eagle Pass is going to explode and grow in the oil and gas industry because of its strategic geographic location within the Eagle Ford Shale and the U.S.-Mexico border.” “The Eagle Ford Shale will become the biggest oilfield in Texas surpassing the Permian Basin Shale,” said Cain. “The Eagle Ford Shale has 227 oil and gas drilling rigs operating while the Permian Basin has 394 rigs. Texas has a total of 832 oil and gas rigs operating currently, comprising 47 percent of the total oil and gas rigs in the United States,” said Cain. As the price of natural gas increases in the future, the Eagle Ford Shale will open more drilling rigs surpassing the Permian Basin Shale.
Cain also cited that the Eagle Ford Shale does not recognize the U.S.-Mexico border imaginary line as it extends into northern Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas, Mexico. As Mexico begins to explore and drill the Eagle Ford Shale, there is going to be increased demand for his two companies’ services and Eagle Pass is the perfect site for his companies’ operations. Furthermore, as Mexico slowly begins to open its oil and gas drilling to foreign-owned investment and operators, the U.S.-Mexico border will begin to play a more important role in the future of the energy industry.
Cain has invested his companies’ money in the future of Eagle Pass as the gateway to the Eagle Ford Shale and Permian Basin Shale opening its warehouse locally. Lake Truck Lines, Inc. and Lake Oilfield Services, Inc. have a working relationship with Tri-Mex Services of the state of Coahuila to supply barite to American oil and gas drilling operators through his companies. Cain envisions Eagle Pass playing an important role for his companies as well as overall in the Eagle Ford Shale and Permian Basin Shale oil and gas drilling due to its strategic geographic location and proximity to the barite mines in northern Coahuila, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, and Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Cain stated that “there are tremendous opportunities for those companies who want to take aggressive risks in the oil and gas industry.” Eagle Pass has a bright future in the Eagle Ford Shale and Permian Basin Shale oil and gas play.
