Oil and gas is the focus of J-W Operating Company, which specializes in exploring for and producing from conventional and unconventional oil and gas plays (including shale formations in North Louisiana and Texas and in the Rocky Mountains and Appalachia). Prior to 2011, J-W Operating Company designed, made, and distributed oilfield equipment and provided oilfield services to oil and gas companies across the US. In 2011 the company took on a major restructuring with J-W Energy becoming the parent company overseeing a handful oil and gas exploration services and equipment subsidiaries, including J-W Operating Company. J-W Energy is owned by the family of Howard G. Westerman, Jr.