Exploration World March 2015

WWW.EXPLORATIONWORLD.COM

MARCH 2015

THE

STATE OF

GLOBAL LNG 2014’s BIGGEST OIL PRODUCERS IN THE GULF

OF MEXICO

BUSINESSFRIEND

Synergy Between Social Media and Business Everything you need in one place—that’s businessfriend

EDITOR’S COMMENT

“FAR BETTER IS IT to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even

though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.” – Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States With measured optimism, we congratulate those of you remaining who successfully weathered the Great Oil Price Crash of 2014. Give yourselves a pat on the back. You deserve it.

Like Teddy up there, you’re part of the crowd that would rather be out there making something than living in a world of inaction. This issue is for you.

In this issue, we talk to Foster Mellen, senior oil and gas analyst at Ernst & Young, about where LNG could be heading and what promising new FLNG technology could allow us to do in the future. Then we look at what a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration says about the current state of oil imports in the United States.

Finally, check out our Top 10 on 2014’s biggest oil producers in the Gulf of Mexico by production volume to see which players came out on top during one of the toughest business climates for oil in recent memory.

As always, thank you for reading.

Ian Hanner Editor ian.hanner@wdmgroup.com 3

CO CN OTNETN ETNST S FEATURES

6 Production & Transport

US Importing Virtually No Light-Sweet Crude Anymore

28 Special Report 12 Business & Operations

The Future of Natural Gas: LNG vs. FLNG

COMPANY PROFILES

CANADA 34 North American Construction Group

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March 2015

34 North American Construction Group

18 Top 10

2014’s Top 10 Oil Producers in the Gulf of Mexico

Businessfriend: Synergy Between Social Media and Business

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PRODUCTION & TRANSPORT

US IMPORTIN VIRTUALLY N LIGHT-SWEET ANYMORE How long will the advantage last?

W R I T T E N B Y: I A N H A N N E R

6 M arch 2015

NG NO T CRUDE 7

PRODUCTION & TRANSPORT A NEW REPORT from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) confirms what energy analysts have been saying for some time—that the Shale Revolution is utterly breaking American imports of African oil.

Exploration World has previously covered this topic, but the new data from the EIA is telling. According to the EIA—an independent analytical arm of the U.S. Department of Energy— dramatic increases in production from shale and tight oil formations in the United States have led to a substantial decline in the amount of oil imported through terminals in the Gulf of Mexico, especially light-sweet crude.

For those not versed on the matter, oil is typically categorized by two variables: its sulfur content and how heavy it is relative to water. The former determines whether it’s considered sour (high sulfur content) or sweet (the opposite). The latter determines how light or heavy it is.

For example, oil produced in Chevron’s Kern River field in California has the consistency of molasses, so that would qualify as heavy. By contrast, the oils produced in the Permian and Eagle Ford basins tend to be much less viscous, so those would 8 M arch 2015

be referred to as light-sweet oils.

While a matter of opinion, most consider light-sweet crude to be the most useful (in that it is the most easily refined with the widest range of uses) type of oil, which in the decade following the terrorist attacks on 9/11 led to a large increase in American imports of light-sweet crude from Africa to diversify imports away from the Middle East. That’s changing now since the Shale Revolution in the United States has produced enough domestic light-sweet crude to satisfy a very large portion of our demand.

“The bulk of the production in the U.S. is of very light sweet crude and West Africa in particular produces pretty much exactly the same quality of oil,” said Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst with Energy Aspects, in an interview with Financial Times. “So as U.S. domestic production has grown, they have reduced imports from West Africa and that’s why that’s the region that has been the most hit.”

While some of Africa’s most notable oil powers like Egypt and to an extent Libya never really saw much of an increased demand from the U.S., countries like Nigeria, Algeria and Angola experienced huge surges

U S I M P O R T I N G V I R T U A L L Y N O L I G H T- S W E E T C R U D E A N Y M O R E

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PRODUCTION & TRANSPORT

With an abundance at home, the United States is importing very little light-sweet crude oil.

in demand. Algeria, for example, supplied no oil at all to the U.S. in December 2001, but by August 2007, they exported over 17.7 million barrels of crude oil alone to the United States.

Even more impressive is imports from Nigeria, which climbed from a February 2002 low of 11.9 million barrels to 40 million barrels in March 2007.

That’s changing now though. Nigeria 1 0 M arch 2015

supplied the U.S. only 2.6 million barrels of crude in May, with Algeria back to supplying virtually none (about 796,000 barrels in the same month).

So what does that have to do with the EIA’s newest report? Well, according to their data, imports through the Petroleum Administration for Defense District (PADD) 3—or the Gulf Coast—have declined from 1.7

million barrels per day in 2009 to just barely over .26 million barrels per day in 2014. Looking at light-sweet crude alone that number decreased from an average of 1.3 million barrels a day around 2009 to less than 200,000 barrels per day now.

And while the low oil prices have been increasingly discouraging new drilling efforts in the United States,

the average production rate month after month is still increasing as more wells are completed. One would be left to reasonably surmise that imports through PADD 3 are going to continue decreasing for the immediate future.

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BUSINESS & O P E R AT I O N S

THE FUTUR Ern

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March 2015

RE OF NATURAL GAS

LNG VS. FLNG

st & Young comments on the developing world of FLNG and its competitiveness.

W R I T T E N B Y: I A N H A N N E R 13

BUSINESS & O P E R AT I O N S WHILE CONSUMERS IN the United States enjoy significantly lower prices for gasoline at the pump, citizens of some other nations may be more hesitant to describe the dive in oil prices as a positive.

As oil prices have continued to plunge over the last six months, politicians and analysts alike have talked about the serious implications a sustained drop has for the economies of Russia, Venezuela and other iconic oil states. Media coverage has often focused on the apparent battle for supremacy between OPEC and American shale producers. And recently the internet was abuzz with billionaire investor and Saudi Prince Alwaleed’s prediction that oil prices would never again reach $100 per barrel.

However, one crucial component of the equation has been largely left out of the discussion: Africa.

Exploration World has previously talked about the ways the explosion in shale production in the United States has impacted the most prominent African oil states. For example, Nigeria, which is currently struggling with internal instability largely brought about by militant group Boko Haram, saw U.S.-bound oil exports drop from 14

March 2015

a high of over 425 million barrels in 2005 to about 102 million barrels in 2013.

This is a problem for Nigeria, which relied on oil for 70 percent of the country’s revenue in 2011, according to the Natural Resource Governance Institute. The solution to that problem was relatively simple: find a new buyer.

“What we have seen is that more and more of the West African oil is now heading to Asia,” Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst with Energy Aspects, told Financial Times in 2014. “China and India are big buyers of West African crude oil as opposed to the U.S.” The situation isn’t quite that simple any longer.

Regardless of what market Nigeria is able to sell its supply into, lower prices for oil means the country is going to bring in a lot less revenue. And Nigeria isn’t the only African nation in this predicament, with oil forming a large portion of the economies of Angola, Algeria and Sudan.

Economic interruptions aren’t welcome in any country, but especially ones that are already so wracked by poverty and have such extensive histories of internal strife. A 2009 report from the International Monetary Fund found that the country’s top 10

T H E F U T U R E O F N AT U R A L G A S : L N G V S . F L N G

Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass LNG facility in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. (Cheniere Energy)

percent of earners received more than one-third of the nation’s total income, according to New Security Beat. A different study found that income per capita has quadrupled in Nigeria since 1990 as the oil industry carves out a bigger presence, but that the rate of

people living in poverty has hovered consistently above 60 percent.

The decline in oil prices jeopardizes plans to use these countries’ hydrocarbon wealth to mitigate poverty and improve quality of life.

An August 2014 report from Ernst & 15

BUSINESS & O P E R AT I O N S

Michael Schwartz

An LNG storage and petrochemical facility.

Young said, “There is a distinct wave of optimism pulsing through the African oil and gas industry. Particularly so in the eastern part of the continent, which has historically seen little oil and gas development, recent discoveries could transform the landscape, 16

March 2015

fuelling widespread economic and social development.”

“Resources generally, and oil and gas specifically, have played an important role in this growth,” the report added. “African countries continue to increase their production

T H E F U T U R E O F N AT U R A L G A S : L N G V S . F L N G

of oil and/or gas; revenues from higher prices and the investment that new discoveries are attracting, have made a key contribution to growth and developmental initiatives.”

No one can say with certainty that oil will never fully rebound—as Alwaleed

predicted—but if the drop in prices is sustained much longer, it’s likely Africa will be home to some of the countries hardest hit.

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TOP 10

P

W

2014’s

TOP 10 Oil Producers in the Gulf of Mexico

Who are the biggest movers and shakers in America’s largest offshore fields?

Written by: Ian Hanner

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TOP 10 THE LAST FEW years have seen major oil and gas companies pushing further and further out into the American Gulf of Mexico, but which companies are having the best luck in these deep waters?

While luck does certainly play some part in the development of offshore energy production, the vast majority—and that really can’t be overstated— of the process relies on scientific, precise and safety-driven processes that ensure companies are making the most of their acreage. While the Gulf of Mexico has long been a substantial area for American energy production, recent years have shown a substantial decline in both daily and annual production of crude oil.

According to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Gulf of Mexico-based crude oil production fell from roughly 1.537 million barrels per day in 2003 to 1.257 million barrels in 2013, constituting a decline of more than 18 percent. However, as Exploration World reported last year, a recent ramping up of efforts in the region is indicating a 2 0 M arch 2015

renewal in production levels in the not-too-distant future.

“We are re-shooting all of our large fields to make sure that we haven’t missed anything,” said Matt McCarroll, chief executive of Fieldwood Energy LLC, according to Reuters.

So to keep track of which companies are having the greatest success in the region, Exploration World took a look at the 2014 production data from the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. We compared the data—released to the public on Feb. 2—to the 2013 numbers to get a feel for the changes the last year have brought. The following takes into account only the total oil output of each company, including both crude and condensate.

10 Eni Petroleum Co. – 11.565 million barrels, 5.1 percent increase over 2013

2014’S TOP 10 OIL PRODUCERS IN THE GULF OF MEXICO

This Italian oil company was able to eke out a place in the Gulf of Mexico’s top 10 oil producers with a 5.1 percent gain over 2013, taking them from the 12th spot to the 10th. In January, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Eni’s CEO Claudio Descalzi urged oil and gas companies not to shy away from making investments amid the severe oil price downturn, warning that the opposite end of the market swing could bring serious ramifications.

“Eni itself intends to reduce its costs this year, he said, though the company will press on with all its planned projects in Africa, where costs are relatively low.

He didn’t detail how much the company is planning to cut back,” the Wall Street Journal published in January.

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Hess Corp.

– 14.553 million barrels, 7.5 percent increase over 2013

2014 was a relatively good year for Hess Corp. despite oil price

downturns in the 3rd and 4th quarters. The business reported a loss of $8 million net income in the 4th quarter of 2014, but still managed to rake in a total of $2.317 billion net income for the year.

Perhaps most important to Hess Corp.’s 2014 evaluation is the success of their flagship project Tubular Bells. The deepwater Gulf of Mexico, Hess-operated project developed alongside Chevron came online in November to an estimated production capacity of 50,000 barrels of net oil equivalent per day 21

TOP 10

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LLOG Exploration Offshore – 14.827 million barrels, 7.7 percent increase over 2013 Despite a gain of about 7.7 percent net oil production in 2014, LLOG Exploration Offshore was unable to advance in the rankings, maintaining its spot in 7th place.

In October, Offshore reported that a joint venture between LLOG and Blackstone Energy Partners had completed the installation of the Delta House FPS in Mississippi Canyon 254 in 4,500 feet of water.

Initial production is expected in the first half of 2015 to a total production capacity of up to 100,000 barrels per day of oil and 240 million cubic feet per day of natural gas.

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Freeport-McMoRan Oil & Gas – 19.148 million barrels, 451.3 percent increase over 2013

While Freeport-McMoRan didn’t have a particularly good year financially, their production levels 2 2 M arch 2015

in the Gulf of Mexico dramatically improved, increasing by more than 451 percent in 2014 over 2013 and taking them from 25th place to 7th. Also the largest publiclytraded copper mining company in the world, the overall drop in commodities hit the company particularly hard, seeing net losses of $2.85 billion for the 4th quarter. Despite that, Seeking Alpha published an article on Feb. 11 calling Freeport-McMoRan “well-positioned for future growth,” emphasizing management’s ability, operating margins and long-term portfolio profitability.

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Fieldwood Energy 20.196 million barrels, N/A

A young company, Fieldwood Energy LLC did not have a presence in the Gulf of Mexico before 2014, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior— hence no rate of change. In February 2014, Fieldwood closed a $705 million acquisition of SandRidge Energy’s Gulf of Mexico business as that

2014’S TOP 10 OIL PRODUCERS IN THE GULF OF MEXICO

company diverted focus to onshore production. This, combined with Fieldwood’s 2013 acquisition of $3.75 billion worth of shallow-water assets from Apache Corp., gained Fieldwood “the largest assets base in the shallow Gulf of Mexico,” according to Houston Business Journal.

“A year ago, it would’ve been hard to say we anticipated this growth,” Fieldwood CEO Matt McCarroll told that publication.

“When we started a year ago, we didn’t necessarily think we’d be back in the Gulf.”

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the company reported a net loss of about $395 million in the 4th quarter, they were “able to produce free cash flow of $150 million,” according to The Motley Fool.

“Our operational performance in 2014 was outstanding and Anadarko’s employees delivered a tremendous year across the board,” CEO Al Walker told The Motley Fool.

The company was also able to point to the successful startup of the Lucius spar in the Gulf of Mexico to a production capacity of 80,000 barrels of oil per day.

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Anadarko Petroleum Corp. – 20.520 million barrels, 16.9 percent decrease over 2013

BHP Billiton Petroleum (GOM) – 34.182 million barrels, 5.4 percent decrease over 2013

Despite oil’s 2014 price slump, Anadarko reported a relatively strong year. While their production levels in the Gulf of Mexico decreased by nearly 17 percent, the company reported an overall increase in liquids production of about 26 percent and a replacement rate above 160 percent. And though

Overall, 2014 was a pretty strong year for BHP Billiton.

Its petroleum division reported pre-tax, pre-financial costs income of $5.870 billion for 2014.

Meanwhile the business saw global production increase from 236 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2013 to 246 million in 2014.

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TOP 10 In the Gulf of Mexico specifically, the company’s Atlantis development— operated by BP (56 percent interest)—saw production levels nearly doubling in 2014 as three new producing wells were brought online. The company expects increases in production at Atlantis for the next few years.

3

Chevron U.S.A. 43.919 million barrels, 18.4 percent decrease over 2013

2014 was a bigger year in the Gulf of Mexico for Chevron than nearly any other company. Some major announcements from Chevron Corp. included discoveries at the Guadalupe and Anchor prospects, as well as the

successful ramp-ups of Jack/St. Malo and Tubular Bells, which brought online an additional production volume of 94,000 and 50,000 barrels of oil per day respectively. The production growth from these developments was offset somewhat by natural field declines.

Looking to the future, another Chevron subsidiary in the Gulf— Union Oil Company of California— pulled the trigger on a joint venture with Hess Corp. to develop the Stampede project to an estimated additional production of 80,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

Globally, Chevron Corp. reported net income of $3.471 billion for the 4th quarter— $19.241 billion for the year.

“Chevron has a long-term commitment to the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, a core focus area where we expect significant production growth over the next two years,” Chevron spokesman Cam Van Ast said.

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BP Exploration & Production – 84.112 million barrels, 24.2 percent increase over 2013 2 4 M arch 2015

2014’S TOP 10 OIL PRODUCERS IN THE GULF OF MEXICO

BP had a rough fiscal year. Reporting a net loss of about $4.407 billion, the company isn’t in the strongest financial position and rumors are running rampant over the possibility of a merger or acquisition with another larger company like Shell or ExxonMobil.

Despite their fiscal performance, BP had a very strong rate of growth in production for the Gulf in 2014, increasing 24.2 percent over 2013.

After the close of the 2014 fiscal year, the company announced that it had agreed to a new ownership and operating model with Chevron and ConocoPhillips for multiple fields in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

BP also holds a 42.5 percent interest in the aforementioned Guadalupe discovery along with Chevron and Venari Resources.

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Shell Offshore – 89.420 million barrels, 8.02 percent increase over 2013

With such an extensive background in offshore developments, it’s not particularly surprising that Shell would top off our list of the most prolific oil producers in the Gulf for

2014. Shell Offshore— a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell—saw a production increase of over 8 percent in 2014 from their 2013 output of around 82.783 million barrels.

In 2014, Shell announced the final investment decision (FID) for the Coulomb phase 2 project in the Gulf. The company also started front end engineering and design (FEED) for the Vito deepwater project. Shell’s year was dotted with successful bidding gaining the company new acreage in the region, along with discoveries in the Norphlet play with the Gettysburg W well and east of the Vito discovery with their Power Nap well.

Some of the company’s biggest news in the area came from the successful startup on the Cardamom subsea development. With natural field declines leading to decreasing production at Shell’s 20-year-old Auger platform, the future of the rig was coming into question. So when Cardamom came online to an added production capacity of 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day piped to 25

2014’S TOP 10 OIL PRODUCERS IN THE GULF OF MEXICO

A top-down view of Shell’s Auger platform in the Gulf of Mexico. (Royal Dutch Shell)

the Auger platform—increasing Auger’s total production capacity to 130,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day—it was big news.

Another flagship project, the Mars B development produced first oil in February 2014 through the Olympus tension leg platform to a production capacity of about 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

“2014 was a strong year for Shell in the Gulf of Mexico as we started up two major deep-water projects – Mars B and Cardamom,” Shell

spokesperson Sally Donaldson said. “These projects boosted our production in the region and they are expected to generate substantial value in the coming years.”

“Our strategy is delivering with good performance on our three themes of financial performance, capital efficiency and project delivery,” CEO Ben van Beurden said to investors. “These will remain Shell’s priorities in 2015, as we continue to balance growth and returns.”

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SPECIAL REPORT

BUSINESSFRIEND SYNERGY BETWEEN SOCIAL MEDIA AND BUSINESS

The one-stop shop for professionals W R I T T E N B Y: I A N H A N N E R 28

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D

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SPECIAL REPORT THE OIL AND gas industry is at its core a business— obviously— and one new social media platform is trying to merge two of the most fundamental necessities of the modern day professional: clear communication and current information.

It’s called businessfriend. The platform merges the essentials of quick, clear communication through both video chat and instant messaging, contact management, efficient networking, social and content feeds and much more. In addition to those, the service also offers document storage of up to 2 gigabytes on its easy to use Cloud.

From its humble startup origins in Southern California this service has exploded onto the “cyber-scene” with all the ferocity of a typhoon.

The company bills itself as the onestop shop for all the social media needs of modern professionals.

“On any given day, the typical young professional can have as many as five platforms open to get them through their day,” said Glen White, founder and CEO of businessfriend.

“We offer one complete forum that enables constant connectivity for optimal business communications.

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March 2015

The ability to switch from mobile to c and the interface across all platform

One mobile app, one desktop, any device— no more juggling apps.”

While in its early day still, the network is quickly gaining notoriety.

Launched during CES 2015 in Las Vegas, the app landed with a splash.

Scott Ertz of TechPodcasts.com said, “I like that it’s got a kind of unified

computer to tablet and back again is fantastic, ms is familiar and fairly easy to use

experience. It doesn’t matter where you are, you feel like you’re in the same app.”

“We like to say businessfriend is the channel for professionals that are suffering from S.C.S. (scattered communications syndrome),” Freddie Pierce, VP of product and co-creator of the app, said at CES. “We’re

providing one place to consolidate all of your current communications, mediums and channels into one easy to use application. You’ll never have to say ‘I didn’t get that email’ or ‘where did that document go’ again.”

So we call this app one to watch— and more than that, one to get in on 31

SPECIAL REPORT

while it’s still easy to make an impact of the community that’s sure to grow in the weeks and months to come.

“We basically put together, both through the desktop and through the mobile [versions], the ability to discover, connect and share content.

But once you’re within that content, then obviously the platform allows you— from one place— to launch your instant, to launch your digidex or to launch your cloud storage,” 32

March 2015

White said during an interview with TechPodcasts.com at CES. “It even has a notebook— an application for electronic note taking. So again, it’s all about sharing— it’s all about collaboration. We call it the busy platform—a business utility with a social identity.”

He added, “[We like to say] ‘businessfriend: where professionals collaborate.’ The world is all about collaboration today and we hope that

businessfriend will provide that tool to millions of users in the future.”

Put another way, think of every time you’ve been unable to easily transfer a document to a coworker or business contact. Think about every time you needed to handle multiple applications at once and your device slowed— or worse, froze—as memory was eaten up. Think of every time you’ve struggled to set up a live video feed while having your documents easily

accessible in front of you.

There’s a solution: Businessfriend.

Businessfriend is available in the iTunes App Store and from Google Play and can be accessed via your desktop at businessfriend.com.

This article was produced as part of a media partnership between businessfriend and WDM Group.

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North American Construction Group

Bigger is Always Better

With one of the largest equipment fleets in all of Canada, North American Construction Group is looking to expand into emerging markets and carve out a name for itself Written by: Robert Spence Produced by: Michael Magno

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NORTH AMERICAN CONSTRUCTION GROUP

I

n the heavy construction and mining industries, massive amounts of land must be cut out to make room for new projects. When it comes to the equipment needed to move this land effectively and efficiently, the term “bigger is better� certainly applies.

North American Construction Group is one of the largest providers of heavy construction and mining services in Canada. Founded in 1953, NACG specializes in the resource industries like oil, gold, diamonds, coal with an expertise in hard rock and oil sands mining, overburden removal, 36

March 2015

dam construction, roadworks, underground utilities, mine site development, and mine reclamation.

Coupled with an unmatched commitment to safety and training, the company has earned a reliable and trustworthy reputation by blending its knowledge and experience that clients seek with a fleet of equipment that match project needs.

Best of the best NACG has a proven ability to meet customer requirements from consultation to completion. The company is able to do so because

CONSTRUCTION GLOBAL

it employs one of the strongest workforces in all of Canada. With a staff of over 1,500 (sometimes exceeding more than 2000 at peak times), the company has earned a reputation for acquiring some of the best talent in the industry. It’s one of the main reasons clients continue to work with NACG. “We do a lot of prescreening, fitness for work test, drug and alcohol testing, and police record checks,” says Lambert. “We try and use as many tools as we can to make sure the person we’re hiring matches the skills and physical requirements of the job.”

In addition to matching the right workforce to the job, NACG employs a robust safety regime that is second to none in their field. The company’s motto – Everyone Gets Home Safe – is integrated through a healthy work environment

“We try and use as many tools as we can to make sure the person we’re hiring matches the skills and physical requirements of the job” – Joe Lambert, Chief Operating Officer, NACG

w w w. n a c g . c a / h o m e

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Contractor Management Software Customizable Practical

CQ Network

info@cqnetwork.com www.cqnetwork.com 1-888-449-5545

Scalable Secure

Proud supporter of NAGC operations since 2004 !

as well as extensive training and leadership programs.

“From the top to the bottom of our business, we see safety as a core value,” says Joe Lambert, chief operating officer at North American Construction Group. “In the markets we work in and the clients we have, safety is a license to operate. It’s a moral obligation to our employees besides just making good business sense.”

The company is committed to developing and maintaining the strongest safety systems and

training programs available. A shining example would be its Leadership for Safety Excellence program.

“The Leadership program works to improve skills and leadership throughout the company with particular focus on front line supervision,” says Lambert. “Front line supervision has a tremendous amount of influence on the overall safety of the company. So, investing in the development of those people and safety programs is core for us.”

The difference between North

CONSTRUCTION GLOBAL

American Construction Group and others is simple: they have the corporate expertise to help companies meet their goals, and the right employees and equipment to get the job done on time, on budget, and safely.

Big, bigger, biggest If that wasn’t enough, NACG maintains one of the largest independently owned equipment fleets in the region. The fleet includes over 400 pieces of modern equipment, including haul trucks, shovels, excavators, dozers, graders, loaders and related earthworks machinery.

“Our fleet is one of the largest in Canada. There aren’t a lot of other companies that can compete at that scale of equipment,” says Lambert.

“Our mining equipment gives us an advantage, especially with high volumes of earthmoving.”

The company’s diverse collection of equipment gives it the ability to respond quickly to changing client requirements, while also providing clients with the most efficient, timely and cost effective blend of equipment possible.

“We keep a balance of small and large equipment. There’s seasonality and changes, and so we might have a lot of smaller civil works in the summer and more bulk earthworks in the winter,” says Lambert. “It’s just a balance of keeping everything busy.”

In addition to being one of the largest fleets in Canada, it’s also one of the most advanced. The company integrates a wealth of technological w w w. n a c g . c a / h o m e

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NORTH AMERICAN CONSTRUCTION GROUP

components to ensure equipment is as efficient as possible.

“We have real-time monitoring on all equipment that allows us to receive notifications of what’s occurring in the machine,” says 40

March 2015

Lambert. “It helps us in measuring and monitoring equipment performance and the mechanical capabilities.”

According to Lambert, the company heavily invests in

CONSTRUCTION GLOBAL

equipment failure analysis.

“We have major components that can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. When a component fails early, we have reliability teams and maintenance technical experts that can identify those failure mechanisms and work with our vendors and suppliers to get design changes.”

Expanding markets The future of North American Construction Group will see the company expand into new markets, including hydro-electric, infrastructure, and civil.

“When we look to diversify whether roadworks or infrastructure jobs, we’re looking for areas that have a large volume of earthworks,” says Lambert. “We offer a competitive advantage in that area compared to most.”

Along with diversifying their portfolio and positioning themselves across multiple regions in Canada, North American Construction Group is going to continue doing what’s it’s been doing for the last 60 years – being a heavy civil and mining contractor.

According to Lambert, the company will continue doing what it’s been doing for the last 60 years despite the lower-than-expected oil prices.

“In our business, being safety focused, cost-conscious and driving efficiencies is something we do every year, whether boom or bust in the oil pricing.”

Company Information INDUSTRY

Mining and construction HEADQUARTERS

Zone 3, Acheson Industrial Area 2-53016 - Hwy 60 , Acheson, Alberta, Canada FOUNDED

1953 EMPLOYEES

1,500 PRODUCTS/ SERVICES

Not Disclosed

w w w. n a c g . c a / h o m e

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