The Energy Startup with a Legacy

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Barrilleaux Energy Services looks to bring a familiar name to new heights

Even as Canaan Barrilleaux builds his own legacy, he knows people in the oil and gas industry will recognize his last name. He’s the president of Barrilleaux Energy Services, which he started in 2021 as a 30-year-old, but the Barrilleaux name is a well-established one, with his father in charge of Barrilleaux Inc. for nearly four decades before he retired and sold the business. That puts Canaan in the unique position of running a startup yet having a lot to live up to.

Canaan Barrilleaux

“He didn’t tell me, ‘Hey, go in business for yourself,’” the younger Barrilleaux said of his father. “I just went and grabbed it by the horns, and said, ‘Well, I have to figure this out for myself.’”

Armed with industry knowledge and solid connections, he’s grown Barrilleaux Energy Services from a 12-employee startup to a major industry player, and he’s just getting started.

Barrilleaux took risks and soon the company was growing by leaps and bounds, 20 new hires here and 50 there. He brought with him some key employees and a lot of lessons learned from the old company and learned a lot more on the fly.

In the end, though, the most valuable lessons were also the simplest, ones he learned early on. “Keeping my word, doing good work, and hiring good people” have been the keys to continued success, he told BOSS. It all comes down to relationships, with employees and with clients.

Without the people who helped him build the business, there would be no Barrilleaux Energy Services.

“I really appreciate the people who helped me get here,” he said. “I couldn’t do it without them.”

The Barrilleaux name, then, is both a badge of honor and a responsibility. One bad job could undo the goodwill built by 10 good ones, so he never lets up.

Turnkey Services

One financial risk that has paid is that Barrilleaux Energy Services owns all its equipment. They also rarely use subcontractors, meaning when you hire Barrilleaux, that’s exactly who you get.

“You start getting a bunch of subs out there, it becomes a problem,” Barrilleaux said, “because you have a bunch of people who don’t work together on a daily basis and it throws a kink in things.”

With clients needing jobs done right away, owning their own equipment and being able to send it, with expert employees, within a couple of days saves valuable time. With equipment rental and purchase prices high at the moment, already being equipped means Barrilleaux does not have to pass those costs onto clients.

As a full-service construction and maintenance company specializing in support for the energy industry, Barrilleaux Energy Services aids in construction and support across midstream, production, process and gathering systems, transmission lines, renewables projects, facility services, utility construction, civil construction, and more.

Anything from pipeline maintenance to mainline projects and underground horizontal directional drilling, pipelines ranging 4 to 36 inches in diameter and 500 feet to 120 miles long, Barrilleaux handles it, across New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, and into Alabama.

Barrilleaux’s goal is simple, to keep getting bigger and better. With that in mind, he aims to double revenue each year. It’s an ambitious plan, but it’s served him well so far, and the Barrilleaux team won’t stop until it’s the leading service provider in the energy industry.

Safety First, Middle, and Last

With such accelerated growth, there might be pressure to cut corners. But nothing overrides safety.

“Safety stops with me,” Barrilleaux said. “I talk to my safety people two or three times a day trying to make it better so the client feels it. Because if they don’t, they are not going to work with you.”

Anyone at the company who doesn’t commit fully to that culture isn’t around for long, with some even weeded out during new hire orientation.

“If they’re not buying off on safety and we’re having problems with them, they can’t work here. It’s just going to cause issues, and it’s not fair to the other person who’s trying to do right with safety. Safety’s not something you push on monthly, it’s something you push on daily. You have to live it.”

The Barrilleaux safety works hard, as evidenced by a stellar performance record and numerous safety awards from the industry. Barrilleaux boasts recordable incidence rates of 0.0 for 2021 and 2022.

“It is top priority here,” the president said.

Driven to succeed

Obviously, a reverence for safety is a key trait in Barrilleaux Energy Services employees. But they also exhibit a drive that doesn’t go away even after decades in the industry. They’re also masters of multitasking, making the company more efficient and more competitive when bidding on projects. The people who came over from Barrilleaux’s father’s company have those skills, and they make sure to look for them in new hires as well.

That all adds up to benefits on the client’s end, and it starts at the top. Like a finely tuned race car or a world-class athlete, Barrilleaux is always pushing to get better, to gain that edge.

“What really drives me is the competition,” he said. “I see things that I can do better, and I learn from other people’s mistakes and we learn from our own mistakes. Trying to be the best of the best is a top priority here.”

After all, he has a reputation to uphold.

“I couldn’t do this without my family behind me, my wife, my kids. I wouldn’t be here talking about this if it weren’t for the name and my dad doing this. He started it, he got me in this industry, and now I’m keeping the legacy and name going. Trying to be where he was is a big deal.”

If the early years of Barrilleaux Energy Services are any indication, the younger Barrilleaux will get there – and beyond – in no time.