Pipeline News January 2009

PIPELINE NEWS Saskatchewan’s Petroleum Monthly

January 2009

FREE

Calendar Relives Province’s Oil History Page A27

Volume 1 Issue 8

CBC Radio In Estevan Page B10

Drilling For Oil In Virden ... Literally!

Page C14

Focus Edition Consulting

Brielle Lisoway working on a drill site near Midale. Story on Page B2.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

Check out our website at www.pipelinenews.ca FINANCING AVAILABLE with

Heil DOT 407 Body Job Tank 18-22 Cube.

6 in stock.

Hutchinson 18 cube TC 406 Crude Triaxle Puptrailer

Hutchinson 36 cube TC 406 Crude Insulated triaxle with lift axles

Heil DOT 407 32 Cube, Quad Wagon.

2 units.

Heil DOT 407, 55 Cube, insulated, Super B, internal lining, alum wheels 24 units

Scott Cable (780)221-6500

We will work with you to suit your needs!

• • • •

SALES SERVICE PARTS REPAIRS

Hwy. 16 West, Lloydminster, AB 1-866-875-7665 1-780-875-7667

www.tnttankandtrailer.com • Registered B620 Certified Shop

Hutchinson TC 406 Heil DOT 407 38-46 Cubes.

9 & 11 Cube Pressure Truck 1 or 2 Compartment.

Tank 16 & 22 Cube Crude Tank

6 in stock!

09 North Country Triaxle End Dump Air ride, sealed end gate, sliding tarp, LED lights

NEW & USED FOR SALE OR LEASE TO OWN

A2

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Boyd is cautiously optimistic

By Geoff Lee

News

Notes SaskPower hiking rates SaskPower has submitted a rate change application to the Saskatchewan Rate Review Panel, seeking a 13 per cent system average rate increase, effective May 1, 2009.

The average rate increase for a typical urban residential customer living in a city, town or village would be approximately 13.3 per cent, or $10 per month. For a typical farm customer, the average monthly rate increase would be approximately 14.8 per cent, or $25.

The Crown corporation cites rising demand and the need to expand and renew the electrical system as reasons for the proposed hike. Higher natural gas prices are also a factor.

TransCanada raises $1 billion TransCanada Corporation announced on Nov. 25 that it has completed its public offering of common shares. The offering was announced on November 17, 2008 when TransCanada entered into an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters, led by RBC Capital Markets, BMO Capital Markets and TD Securities Inc. under which they agreed to purchase from TransCanada and sell to the public 30,500,000 common shares.

The purchase price of $33.00 per common share resulted in gross proceeds of approximately $1.0 billion. The net proceeds of the offering will be used by TransCanada to partially fund capital projects of the corporation, including the Keystone pipeline system, for general corporate purposes and to repay short-term indebtedness.

Since the initial announcement, the syndicate has exercised their full over-allotment option to purchase an additional 4,575,000 common shares at a price of $33.00 per common share.

The gross proceeds from the over-allotment option total approximately $151 million. Gross proceeds from the common share offering and the over-allotment option total approximately $1.157 billion.

30 Ton Tow Truck (C500 Tri Drive) 30 Ton Tow Unit 30 Ton Winch Tractor/Tow Truck 40 Ton Sliding Boom Recovery Unit

next budget and Boyd says he is not in a position yet to speak about the effect that any reduced royalties would Pipeline News Regina - The first sale of Crown petroleum and have on provincial spending.

“Saskatchewan is still going to perform very well natural gas rights on Feb. 9 will be one of the concompared to other jurisdictions in Canada,” he said. crete indicators of how well Saskatchewan’s oil and gas economy will fare in 2009, but the early outlook from “It’s not just us saying that. The Conference Board of Canada says Saskatchewan’s growth will lead the naRegina is neither boom nor bust.

“We are cautiously optimistic,” said Bill Boyd, min- tion. A big part of that growth is the oil and gas secister of energy and resources, in a year-end interview. tor.”

Boyd’s cautious optimism for 2009 is well founded “We believe the industry is strong and will be strong as Saskatchewan finished 2008 with a year- over- year for some time to come.”

Boyd takes his cues for 2009 from the record set- economic growth of 3.4 per cent compared to the Cating $1.12 billion in revenue from land sales in 2008 nadian average of .9 per cent. Enterprise Saskatchewan including a surprising strong sale of $47.6 million in figures posted the annual unemployment rate at 3.4 in 2008, the lowest in the nation.

December despite the global financial crisis.

The value of overall building permits rose 2.9 per “We are very pleased by the results of the December sales,” said Boyd. “The sales were three times what cent compared to an average decline of 20.7 per cent they were last year. It was certainly very good news for nationally. The value of manufacturing shipments was Saskatchewan that we’ve had very significant land sales up 16 per cent while nationally the gain was limited to 1.7 per cent. over the course of the year.”

Provincial retail sales spiked 10.4 per cent comBoyd says his biggest surprise of the year was the fact “energy companies looked at Saskatchewan in a pared to 5.6 across the country in 2008, and sales of much different way than they did in the past. I think new vehicles jumped 12 per cent compared to just two the fact, we didn’t change royalties was viewed very percent nationally.

Saskatchewan also heads into 2009 with a brighter positively. Companies responded in a tremendous future for the natural gas industry. The National Energy fashion,” he said.

“We are very much encouraged by the industry Board (NEB) and the provincial energy and resources responding to the stable royalty structures here in Sas- ministry released an Energy Market update on Nov. 27 katchewan and the great response to that – in dramatic estimating the volume of conventional gas resources in the province at 150.6 billion cubic metres. form in land sales.”

The data, collected at the end of 2004, reveals a 42 As for a prediction on the course of oil and gas rights sales in 2009, Boyd said “That is difficult to pass per cent increase from the last NEB study in 1998.

The current annual production of natural gas is apjudgment on. What we are anticipating is continued proximately 6.9 billion cubic metres leaving Saskatchstrong performance in land sales. However, we are not immune in terms of the economic downturn we see in ewan with enough conventional gas resources to sustain a natural gas industry for years to come North America and the world.”

The assessment noted that shallow gas volumes The current low price of oil and the tightening of credit have slowed down activity in the oil and gas sec- in the Milk River, Medicine Hat and Second White tor. Boyd says he is hearing two things from oil and gas Specks formations show an 80 per cent increase since the 1998 study, which focused on deeper zones. companies as a result.

“This joint assessment process is important for “First of all, they see Saskatchewan as a good place to invest to do business and create opportunities. They Saskatchewan,” said Boyd “because it provides a meaare also being cautious given the economic downturn,” surable proof of our considerable resources and gives us the basis for sound resource management and stainBoyd explained.

“They are still investing significant dollars but they ability planning.” are being responsible in how they are doing it.”

On his outlook for drilling in 2009 Boyd says “We The economic slowdown, however; has put the are using the industry’s estimates that we will continue brakes on oilsands investment, a situation that Boyd to see strong drilling activity. We are also using indussays won’t change until oil prices rebound from their try estimates that economic activity created as a result current lows. of the land sales will be positive as well.”

“Companies are being responsible and making Boyd also sees good news in the fact that many of sure they have capital to go forward with respect to the exploration licenses sold in 2008 and 2007 were for oil prices. They are taking a prudent approach,” said two year terms.

Boyd.

“Obviously, the companies, after they acquire land “There is a good resource there [oilsands] that through a land sale process want to move to explorathey are aware of. Exploration activity will continue to tion and production as quickly as they possibly can,” progress in a positive fashion. Companies are looking said Boyd. at the resource and the various ways of extracting the “It bodes well in terms of drilling opportunities resource.” and increased business activity and further investment In the meantime, the government is working on its in the province.”

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Land sales summary shows strength in all areas .--/ " ' $" % $%" # $# # * #+ .--/ #$ & ) ( %" ' %"" $ "# () "" "$

( #$ " $ "% "(

# !$

&$ !" $ "

#"

% " & $

! " % %#$

$ ! ! % $ ! $ $ " & $

# # % ! " ! %

! !$ #

" $ % &) & ) $ ) %) )

.--/ " ' # ( "

$)

)

&)

% )

Regina -Saskatchewan ended 2008 with a record $1.12 billion in revenue from the sale of Crown petroleum and natural gas rights topped o by the second-best December on record.

The December sale was valued at $47.6 million at an average of $488/ha ($197/acre).

This compares to $223.3 million, at an average of $1,161/ha ($470/acre) received at the previous sale held in October, 2008. The bulk of the sale went to the Weyburn-Estevan region, at $40.2 million.

The ďŹ gures for December include the sale of 24 licences and 295 leases.

For 2008, Weyburn-Estevan had 81.9 per cent of the sales, at $915.7 million. Swift Current region came in a distant second, with 9.2 per cent, or $102.4 million.

KindersleyKerrobert was third, at

7.2 per cent, totaling $80.1 million. Lloydminster region was last at 1.8 per cent, bringing in $19.9 million.

The top purchaser of acreage in the province in December was Canadian Coastal Resources Ltd. They spent $11.8 million to acquire 18 lease parcels and four exploration licences.

The top price paid for a single lease was $6.2 million paid by Saskatoon Assets Inc. for a 194- ha (480-acre) parcel situated adjacent to the Handsworth Alida Beds Pool, 17 km northeast of Stoughton.

This is the highest dollar per ha parcel in the sale at approximately $32,127 /ha ($13,002 / acre).

The top price paid for a single licence was $2.2 million paid by Villanova Resources Inc. for a 5,050-ha (12,480acre) block oering split rights and situated with-

in the Steelman Midale and Frobisher Beds Pools, 30 km northeast of Estevan.

Gas prone areas of the province attracted sales bids of $1.6 million for 13,993-ha, at an average of $113/ha.

Parcels oering deeper rights only brought in $9.8 million (20.78 per cent of the sale) for an average price of about $613/ha.

Swift Current Area Summary The total sales revenue received in the area was $2.8 million, an average of $143/ha ($58 / acre).

This compares to $22.2 an average of $867/ha ($351/acre) at the last sale. Sales included six licences and 47 leases.

The top purchaser of acreage in this area was Prairie Land & Investment Services Ltd. who spent $896,145 to buy two lease parcels and

News

three licences.

The top price paid for a single lease was $196,034 paid by Wild River Resources Ltd. for a 259-ha (640-acre) parcel situated adjacent to the Rapdan Upper Shaunavon Oil Pool, 32 km southeast of Eastend. This is the highest dollar per hectare in this area at $757/ha ($306 / acre).

The top price paid for a single licence in this area was $417,610

by Prairie Land & Investment Services Ltd. for a 1,748-ha (4,320-acre) block situated 10 km west of the Whitemud Shaunavon Oil Pool, 10 km southwest of Eastend.

Weyburn-Estevan area summary The total revenue received in the area was $40.2 million, an average of $759/ha ($307/ acre).

This compares to $192 million, an average of $1,333/ha ($540/ acre) at the last sale. This sale included 13 licences and 154 leases.

The top purchaser of acreage in this area was Canadian Coastal Resources Ltd. who spent $10.9 million to acquire 11 lease parcels.

The top price paid for a single lease in this area was $6.2 million by Saskatoon Assets Inc. for a 194-ha (480-acre) parcel situated adjacent to the Handsworth Alida Beds Pool, 17 km northeast of Stoughton. This is the highest dollar per ha this area at $32,128/ha ($13,001/acre). ɸ Page A10

Notes

Ironhorse to invest $15 million Ironhorse Oil & Gas Inc.’s board of directors has approved $15 million in capital expenditures for the 2008-2009 winter season.

The program will involve drilling, completing and placing on production 32 (16 net) wells in the Shackleton area of Saskatchewan. It includes drilling the 9-5 Nisku prospect at Pembina, Alberta and with success the follow on location at 14-5 well.

Drilling on Ironhorse’s British Columbia prospect and shooting 3-D seismic on its lands are also part of the budget.

The Shackleton program will involve multiple zone completions and selective tests on the Colorado shale formation.

The company’s production for the three months ended Sept. 30 2008 increased 49% to 1,111 bbls of oil equivalent per day from 748 BOE a day in 2007.

It expects 2008 production to average 1,050 BOE per day.

Blackdog announces lawsuit Blackdog Resources Ltd. says it intends to issue on a non-brokered private placement basis up to three million common shares for gross proceeds of up to $1.35 million.

Blackdog Resources Ltd. also announced its recent participation in the drilling of a key horizontal light oil well on its jointly owned property at Whitebear near Carlyle, Saskatchewan, and further deďŹ ned a light-oil target at Evi in Alberta during the third quarter of 2008.

Under the terms of the agreement, Blackdog paid 60% of all costs to earn a 60% working interest in the well. This well was spudded on Aug. 25, came onstream for ďŹ ve days at the end of September and produced 275 bbls of light oil net to the company, resulting in gross revenues of $27,168 for Blackdog.

Blackdog also plans to drill a potential high impact Granite Wash light oil target at Evi, Alberta in 2009. The company has 100% working interest in the Evi target. Furthermore, the company plans to shoot and interpret seismic on additional 100% working interest properties in Saskatchewan in 2009 for potential Tilston horizontal light oil prospects.

ONE COMPLETE JOB • ONE INVOICE • Picker Equipped Service Crews • Oilfield Welding & Fabrication • AutoCAD Drawings & Design • Enviro & Project Consulting • In House Rentals • G-55/S01 Containments • Tank Alteration & Repair • Tank Moving Cradles • Pickers up to 60 Tons • Steel Sales • Bobcats/Backhoes/Trackhoes/Gravel Trucks c/w Pups or Wagons • Hot Taps & A.P.I. 653 Tank QC • New Wellsite Completions/Re-completes • Wellsite Abandonment & Reclamation • Water Injection Packages • Safety C.O.R. • Journeyman Pipefitter • Journeyman Carpenter • Alberta & Saskatchewan B31.3 QC Programs • Certified A.P.I. 653 Tank Inspector

C.O.R.

OILFIELD

CONSULTING & CONSTRUCTION

SERVICE LTD.

(780) 808-2272

Fax: Clayton, C.E.T. Cell: Ken, C.E.T. Cell: Johnny Cell:

(780) 808-2273 (780) 205-1599 (780) 205-1598 (780) 205-4090

A3

P.O. Box 1155, Lloydminster, AB T9V 1G1 Email: csoil@mwwireless.ca Clayton “C� Gessner, C.E.T./A.Sc.T. /A.P.I.653 Manager/Owner

A4

EDITORIAL

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Pipeline News Publisher: Brant Kersey - Estevan Ph: 1.306.634.1015 Fax: 1.306.634.0141

Mission Statement: Pipeline News’ mission is to illuminate importance of Saskatchewan oil as an integral part of the province’s sense of community and to show the general public the strength and character of the industry’s people.

Editorial Contributions: SOUTHEAST Brian Zinchuk - Estevan 1.306.634.1015 SOUTHWEST Swift Current 1.306.634.1015 NORTHWEST Geoff Lee - Lloydminster 1.780.875.6685 MANITOBA Brent Fitzpatrick - Virden 1.204.725.0209

Associate Advertising Consultants: SOUTHEAST • Estevan 1.306.634.2654 Jan Boyle - Sales Manager Cindy Beaulieu Glenys Dorwart Kristen O’Handley Deanna Tarnes SOUTHWEST • Swift Current 1.306.773.8260 Doug Evjen Andrea Bonogofski NORTHWEST • Lloydminster Daniela Tobler 1.780.875.6685 MANITOBA • Virden - Gail Longmuir 1.204.748.3931 • Estevan - Jan Boyle 1.306.634.2654

To submit a stories or ideas: Pipelines News is always looking for stories or ideas for stories from our readers. To contribute please contact your local contributing reporter.

Subscribing to Pipeline News: Pipeline News is a free distribution newspaper, but is now available online at www.pipelinenews.ca Advertising in Pipeline News: Advertising in Pipeline News is a newer model created to make it as easy as possible for any business or individual. Pipeline News has a group of experienced staff working throughout Saskatchewan and parts of Manitoba, so please contact the sales representative for your area to assist you with your advertising needs.

Special thanks to JuneWarren Publishing and Nickel’s Energy Group for their contributions and assistance with Pipeline News.

Pipeline News Estevan, SK Ph: 306.634.1015 Fax: 306.634.1041 Published monthly by Glacier Ventures International Corporation, Central Office, Estevan, Saskatchewan.

Advertising rates are available upon request and are subject to change without notice.

Conditions of editorial and advertising content: Pipeline News attempts to be accurate, however, no guarantee is given or implied. Pipeline News reserves the right to revise or reject any or all editorial and advertising content as the newspapers’ principles see fit. Pipeline News will not be responsible for more than one incorrect insertion of an advertisement, and is not responsible for errors in advertisements except for the space occupied by such errors.

Pipeline News will not be responsible for manuscripts, photographs, negatives and other material that may be submitted for possible publication.

All of Pipeline News content is protected by Canadian Copyright laws. Reviews and similar mention of material in this newspaper is granted on the provision that Pipeline News receives credit. Otherwise, any reproduction without permission of the publisher is prohibited. Advertisers purchase space and circulation only. Rights to the advertisement produced by Pipeline News, including artwork, typography, and photos, etc., remain property of this newspaper. Advertisements or parts thereof may be not reproduced or assigned without the consent of the publisher.

The Glacier group of companies collects personal information from our customers in the normal course of business transactions. We use that information to provide you with our products and services you request. On occasion we may contact you for purposes of research, surveys and other such matters. To provide you with better service we may share your information with our sister companies and also outside, selected third parties who perform work for us as suppliers, agents, service providers and information gatherers.

Editorial

Are we still in a boom?

Are we still in a boom?

That’s a question that is not as easy to answer as one might think. The price of oil has dropped precipitously.

Provincial governments like Alberta and Saskatchewan are seeing oil-infused surpluses evaporate like gasoline spilled at the service station. Better take some Rolaids when you watch the evening news, because the hyperbole will give you heartburn.

Two months ago, business people in southeastern Saskatchewan’s oilpatch were concerned about talking like “Debbie Doomsday.” A month ago, you started to hear things were slowing down a bit. Now, there is some concern from the people we talk to. But CBC Radio still came to Estevan to profile boomtown, Saskatchewan, in late November.

While there may be some slowdown, it is not a grinding halt by any stretch.

There is still tremendous pressure on housing. Estevan essentially has nothing on the market for rentals.

Things aren’t terribly different in Weyburn.

There are still a lot of help wanted signs.

Most of the businesses we’ve talked to, in the southeast, at least, have said things have been keeping going for the most part. To be fair, we’ve also heard from a truck dealer with shops throughout the province. He reports a noticeable slowdown in Lloydminster.

The most recent land sales auction still had a good return. It was lower than what we saw this spring, but December is usually a slower month for land sales, we’re told.

Saskatchewan’s drilling rig count in mid-December may be down from the lofty heights of around 100 in October, but it’s still above 2007 and 2006 numbers. BC, Alberta and Manitoba rig counts are also close to their 2006 and 2007 numbers.

Yes, we are starting to see indications of reduced drilling programs in 2009. Reece Energy, for instance,

is pulling back from their plans a month previous, and will be drilling with cash on hand. But they will still be drilling.

Are we in a boom? Probably not. But are we in a bust? No, and it’s not guaranteed we will see a total bust, either. There’s been a lot of money spent on land acquisitions, and there is a timeline for that property to be drilled on.

While it’s great to see a lot of money flowing, an out-of-control boom has substantial drawbacks, not the least of which is phenomenal inflation. The boominspired inflation then turns around to eat its young, as it were. The perfect example is Fort McMurray, where upgrader after upgrader has been kyboshed in recent months. Petro-Canada’s project ballooned so much in cost that the inflation alone was the equivalent of the entire Saskatchewan provincial budget a few years ago.

All the gains made by the bigger dollars are lost in buying power, to the point where things can become untenable.

On a smaller scale, we’ve seen similar inflationary pressure on housing in oil towns, to the point where if you won the lottery, you’d have to spend half of it to get a ‘nice’ house. Second prize wouldn’t buy a ‘decent’ house.

Now might be a good time for the industry and all its spinoffs to play catch up. Communities need to breath. Housing, for instance, could stand a lot of catch up. The project manager for the proposed expansion of Southeast Regional College’s Energy Training Institute reports that industry players now have a little more time to talk to him. Before it was “Hurry up and get it done.”

Now it’s “Hurry up and let’s plan this thing properly.”

That Bakken oil has been there for millions of years. We don’t have to pump it all out at once.

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

A5

Opinion Lloydminster, Prince Albert or Battlefords could power Fort Mac Saskatchewan’s energy sector is likely going to see a major shakeup in the next decade, with the introduction of nuclear power. But before anyone in the fossil fuel business gets too worried about being supplanted, realize that first and foremost this proposed nuclear power plant will be built to benefit the oil sector – primarily oilsands extraction.

SaskPower has an organic generating capacity of 3,214 megawatts, according to its website. Purchase agreements with the Meridian Cogeneration Station, Cory Cogeneration Station, SunBridge Wind Power Project and NRGreen Kerrobert Heat Recovery Project bring its total available capacity to 3,668 MW. Bruce Power’s proposal is for two nuclear reactors, each generating 1000 MW. That would be a 54 per cent increase in generating capacity for this province.

Yes, Saskatchewan is growing, but not that

From the top of the pile Brian Zinchuk

much. Consumption continues to rise, but it’s hard to imagine that many more hair dryers being turned on at one time in prairie chicken land. Indeed, Bruce Power says there will be a need for an additional 1000 MW generation capacity for Saskatchewan by 2020. The additional 1000 MW for a Saskatchewan plant would be meant for export.

Whither oil in 2009?

Lee Side of Lloyd Geoff Lee

What a difference a year makes. In the case of 2008, it was what a difference a month or a few weeks make. Who can forget what life was like in the oil patch in July when oil reached $147 a barrel?

At the same time, who can believe that oil has dropped more than $100 a barrel in just weeks as a global financial crisis struck like lightning?

This is the time of year when pundits and writers like myself look back on the year that was and peer ahead to the new year. First the past: When it comes to predictions on where oil prices were headed in 2008, give the World Bank full marks for its early and accurate call.

Last January, the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects 2008 report stated, “In the long term, the oil market balance is expected to loosen and prices are projected to fall toward $50 barrel.”

By mid December the price was $44 a barrel giving the World Bank top marks for getting it right.

In contrast, a reader commented in mid-October on a Reuters news agency blog that a wellknown U.S. investor predicted the bull market in oil and other commodities was only in the “4th inning of a nine inning stretch.”

It’s nice to know that when it comes to predicting the future of oil prices, many other people professionals and lay people alike were off base.

No matter what the price is you have to adjust to the reality of supply and demand.

When oil was $147 and I was working for Pipeline News in Estevan, many experts said it would go to $200 a barrel in the bat of an eye.

As for 2009, the International Energy Agency (EIA) was reported as saying world oil demand will rise this year after shrinking in 2008 for the first time since 1983.

In contrast, the U.S. energy Information Administration forecasts a drop in demand by 450,000 barrels a day following a predicted 50,000 bpd in 2008.

To be safe, I am predicting oil will end 2009 somewhere between $2 barrel and $300 a barrel.

You will know if I am a genius in 12 months.

It would be nice however, if oil would rise and stabilize at a price that stimulates exploration and production while sustaining economic growth and profits.

During the heady days of last summer in Estevan, gasoline topped $1.35 a litre and companies in and out of the oil patch were so short of staff there were help wanted signs everywhere but no place to accommodate employees. That’s still the case.

It’s no fun either when the pendulum swings toward the bust cycle. Let’s hope the EIA is wrong when they wrote in December, “The current economic slowdown is now projected to be more severe and longer…leading to further reductions of global energy demand and additional declines in crude oil and other energy prices.”

Happy New Year, whatever the price of oil.

No, the real reason to build a nuclear plant in Saskatchewan is because of the relative proximity to Fort McMurray. Bruce Power is also talking about building another two-reactor plant in northern Alberta, near Peace River. It, too, would be relatively close to Fort Mac. From Fort Mac and as the crow flies, the most likely locations on the North Saskatchewan River for a nuclear power plant are approximately the following distances – 525 km from the Prince Albert site, 422 from the Battlefords, and 362 from Lloydminster.

Note that last figure – Lloydminster is a lot closer. More on that in a minute.

The placement of three possible sites for a nuclear power plant were also sites that were named back in 1972 as having potential for dams to be built on the North Saskatchewan River. One of these locations – Highgate, just west of the Battlefords, has been the focus of a grassroots municipal effort to get some sort of water resource development project going. Everyone knows they’re talking about a dam (I’ve sat in on numerous public meetings to that effect), but dams are apparently a dirty word. More information can be found at nsrwrc.ca.

It turns out, however, that a dam is not a consideration. A nuclear power plant would not require a structure to ensure a water supply, according to Steve Cannon, who handles media inquiries for Bruce Power. The environmental assessment would need to confirm there is sufficient flow, but basically you draw water into the plant to cool it, and then discharge it back into the river.

Bruce Power will be spending a lot of time in the new year talking to these communities. While they are not currently publicly showing a preference of one location over another, the clear front runner would be Lloydminster.

Look at the industrial capacity of Lloyd. It is currently chock-full of businesses and people who know how to build pressure vessels, structural steel, and piping – all prime components of the oilpatch.

What is a nuclear power plant? Pressure vessels, structural steel, and piping, along with a whole lot of concrete and a few pounds of stuff that glows in the dark. Lloydminster already has much of the industrial capacity in place needed to build such a project.

The Battlefords, on the other hand, has almost no capacity in that regard, and has the smallest population and workforce of the three. Prince Albert has seen its major mill shut down, so it might be in a better position to jump into such a project. But when it comes to distance to market, workforce and industrial ability in-place, Lloydminster is the leader, hands down.

We’ll see what happens in the coming months and years, but right now, this project is Lloydminster’s to lose. Let’s see what they do about it.

Brian Zinchuk is editor of Pipeline News. He can be reached at brian.zinchuk@sasktel.net.

PIPELINE NEWS INVITES OPPOSING VIEW POINTS. EDITORIALS AND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR WELCOME. Email to: brian.zinchuk@sasktel.net

A6

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Consultant does well by experience Lloydminster - You could say Don Gardiner was born with oil in his veins along with Saskatchewan DNA. His father worked in the oil industry and he was born and raised in the heavy oil country of Kerrobert, Saskatchewan.

So, it’s no surprise

Gardiner has stepped one foot over the Saskatchewan side of the border city of Lloydminster where he moved a year ago to be close to his work as a facilities and construction consultant for Penn West Energy Trust.

Penn West is the

largest conventional oil and natural gas producing income trust in North America based in Calgary.

“Right now, I’m working an overseeing the construction of single well batteries for heavy oil facilities in the Marsden, Neilburg

OILFIELD EQUIPMENT RENTAL • • • •

Power Swivels • Drill Bits Power Tongs • B.O.P.’s Drill Collars • Annulars Rod & Tubing Handling Equipment

• Flow Back Tanks • Accumulators • Cat Walks & Pipe Racks

5206 - 60 Street, Lloydminster, AB. T9V 2S9

Phone: (780) 875-6604

Fax: (780) 875-6634

and Furness areas,” says Gardiner, whose business cards reads, “Gardiner Supervision Ltd., Oilfield Consulting and Inspection Services.”

“We also have some work tying in wells and setting up some water injection facilities and water disposal facilities for Penn West in Saskatchewan. It’s a mixture of everything.”

Gardiner says it is commonplace in the industry to use consultants like him for efficiencies.

When big projects come up, companies need a lot of people at first and a lot fewer later.

“It’s a way for companies to deal with the peaks and valleys,” said Gardiner.

Gardiner started consulting in 1997 and says the biggest change he sees in the practice is more guys retiring.

His advice to junior people aspiring to join

Don Gardiner, an oilÀeld consultant is overseeing the construction of heavy oil batteries and facilities for Penn West east of Lloydminster in Saskatchewan.

the profession is to gain hands-on experience.

“Competency is a big thing in the industry today,” said Gardiner.

“They want to have the right people for the right job. Make sure you are picking the right jobs.

Stay within your expertise range and supply the client with the services they need. You also need

to have good people skills.”

Gardiner has been in the oil business for 32 years starting with pipeline construction and moving into operations.

“Nothing beats experience,” he said. “You have to understand every aspect of what you’re doing. I set out to be a consultant, but you need a varied experience and a lot of knowledge skills, so I went into pipeline operations from construction, to learn how they ran.”

For Penn West, his work is predominantly on the Saskatchewan side. “It’s heavy oil projects and it’s been steady,” he said. “If the price of oil stays down, people will react appropriately but I can’t predict the future.”

When he’s at a Penn West job site, he will monitor the construction crews with safety being the number one issue along with the environment. It’s also his job to ensure everything is built per design but safety trumps all.

Complete Machining for the Oil & Gas, Industrial & Agricultural Industries

24 HOUR SERVICE 6602 - 56th Street Lloydminster, Alberta

Phone

(780) 875-4780

• CNC Production Machining • Custom Machining • Design & Engineering Services • Downhole Tool Manufacture & Repair • Rig Repairs • Gas Compressor Machining Repairs • API Threading • B-Pressure Welding & Light Fabrication

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

A7

Underground combustion recovers heavy oil

By Geoff Lee Kerrobert - Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd. hopes its patented THAI technology will do for heavy oil recovery in Saskatchewan what multi-stage fracing did to ignite the Bakken play.

The Calgary-based oil and gas producer has formed a royalty and technology licensing partnership with True Energy Trust to field test its in-situ combustion process on a two well project on True’s Kerrobert Mannville heavy oil field property.

“We are going to go in there and drill a couple of horizontal wells and put the wells on production using THAI and see if we can increase the production rate,” said Petrobank CEO John Wright.

True is currently producing about 1,600 barrels a day of thermal oil using steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) methods.

“I think True is open-minded about trying new ideas,” said Wright. “A lot of companies have found SAGD expensive with two horizontal wells in the ground. It’s a not a straight forward, turn the steam generator on and watch the oil come out situation.

There’s been a lot of false starts and problems getting those technologies up and running.”

Petrobank has successfully proven the effectiveness of THAI at its Whitesands site near Fort McMurray since July 2006 as productive, low cost alternative to SAGD. “We know it works,” said Wright. We have already got our own facilities up and running. At our May River site near Whitesands, we have plans to put it up to 100,000 barrels a day.”

The THAI firefloooding process is dubbed toeto-heel air injection and doesn’t need any water. It virtually eliminates the use of natural gas needed for steam assisted processes.

“Instead of injecting steam into the heavy oil reservoir, we can actually create a combustion reaction

inside the reservoir simply by injecting air into the well,” said Wright.

“The best to describe it – it’s kind of the same reaction you get with your charcoal briquettes. The harder you blow on them, the redder and hotter they get. It’s not a raging forest fire. That will give you a visual idea of the process.

“As we inject more and more air, we drill a horizontal well at the bottom of the zone that acts as a big drain and the oil flows down into the horizontal well

“

We estimate we can get upward to 70 to 80 per cent of the oil recovered with THAI. These are big numbers.

”

- Petrobank CEO John Wright

and is collected there.”

Wright says THAI cuts greenhouse gases and overall costs by half even with oil prices in the mid $20 per barrel.

“That’s pretty simple to understand because we literally drill half as many wells,” he said. “The other thing that happens with this technology is that it improves the grade of oil in-situ and enhances the quality of crude as well.

“At Whitesands, we have really heavy crude (eight degree API) that is coming out of the ground at 13 degrees API so it’s coming up five degrees enhanced.

We know it works. The proof is already there. The air goes in and the oil comes out. It’s that simple.”

Wright said Petrobank chose to partner with True following a screening of all opportunities throughout Saskatchewan.

“The True property was in our top five picks,” said Wright. “It was a function of reservoir characteristics and the remaining oil in place. We kind of did a fairly

major seismic of the whole region.

“Pretty well anything with heavy oil potential and a decent resource base is well suited to what we’ve got here (THAI). It’s not suitable for shale and it’s not particularly well suited to carbonates. Everything else is fair game – from the golden triangle from Lloyd to Macklin to Unity which is a big heavy oil field.”

Under terms of the deal, Petrobank will acquire a 50 per cent interest in a portion of True’s heavy oil in the Kerrobert pool in exchange for the right to use the THAI process. Petrobank also gains a 10 per cent share of production on the True lands following a threshold reserve recovery.

“True is a template for the hundreds of other heavy oil fields in the Kerrobert region,” said Wright.

“We know there is a lot of oil left in the ground and lots of opportunities waiting to be taken to the next level.

“We are looking at True to provide some additional synergy around what we’re doing. Hopefully, it will provide them with technical insight in how their reservoir will be best worked.”

Petrobank plans to commence drilling in the first quarter of 2009 and is looking for other places to apply THAI. The company has purchased the rights to explore an entire township in the Saskatchewan oilsands where THAI could be used.

“Because of access problems, it will take longer to get things played out there,” said Wright. “We think there are all kinds of upside but we not pretending that we will have an oilsands industry spring to life in the next months.

“We are focused on the Lloyminster area and the Alberta oilsands because that’s where there’s a ton of heavy oil but where recovery rates are only five to seven percent. We estimate we can get upward to 70 to 80 per cent of the oil recovered with THAI. These are big numbers.”

Now i

LLOYDMINSTER’S NEWEST HOBBY SHOP!

NOW OPEN!

South

Saska

Providing cost and time efficient solutions to a rapidly expanding and diverse industry with safety and continuous improvement as our #1 focus

Present this ad and receive

5% OFF

n

ern

tchew an

3 man crews • COR Accredited 75% road ban capable • Class I, II, III Depths of up to 4500 meters Split tubing drums from 3/4” coil - 2” coil

5 1/2” certified wellhead equipment with Bowen Union A part of Darker Image, Hwy 17 South #3, 2920-50 Ave., Lloydminster, AB • Phone: 780-872-7727

www.titaniumtech.ca Dispatch: 780 - 871-1775 Office: 780-875-1395 All units are owner operated Serving Western Canada

Remote Control Model Aircraft

*URXQG 'LVWXUEDQFH 2QOLQH 7UDLQLQJ 7KLV FRXUVH LV GHVLJQHG IRU DQ\ SDUW\ 6XSHUYLVLQJ D JURXQG GLVWXUEDQFH ,QGHSHQGHQWO\ SHUIRUPLQJ D JURXQG GLVWXUEDQFH ,VVXLQJ DQG UHFHLYLQJ JURXQG GLVWXUEDQFH SHUPLWV

SHU SHUVRQ

*Also available, Confined Space Pre-Entry Online

Jim Barbondy – Saskatchewan 306.960.2261

Bill Smith – Northern Alberta 1.877.537.3505

A8

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Action towing are heroes to truck Lloydminster-John Buhnai keeps a photo album of his oilfield vehicle rescues with his Action Towing & Recovery company, located west of Lloydminster. It’s not done out of some morbid fascination with vehicle wrecks, but rather from pride for a job well done.

His office fridge magnets hold a few of the many thank you notes the company has received from drivers and owners of trucks that were safely rescued following road accidents or breakdowns.

“My motto is, ‘If it’s a job worth doing, it’s a job worth doing well’ ” he said. “We specialize in damage free recovery. We go with the attitude it’s somebody’s equipment and we have to take care of it.”

The photo albums are conversation starters and show how some of Action’s tows are done using specialized equipment in all weather and road conditions.

A wintery day in November, 2007, was one of the memorable moments for Action Towing, and cause for more photos, when three huge SuperBs, owned by the same company, skidded off an icy stretch of Highway 16 between Marshall and Lashburn within two hours of each other.

Two of the trucks rolled over and the other truck stayed upright while its freight van tipped over. All of the trucks spilled their cargo of lumber, pipes and structural steel.

Action Towing sent five tow trucks to the scene along with hired oilfield pickers to clean up the cargo from the ditch. Crews used a unique air cushion recovery unit to right the overturned freight vans.

“If you just use a tow truck, you will break the freight in half,” said Buhnai. “The best way is to use a combination of tow trucks and air cushion

Action Towing owner, John Buhnai is dwarfed by his monster tow truck, his employees called the “Tow Mater,” after the character in the animated movie Cars. Action Towing is located west of Lloydminster.

recovery.”

Air inflates the cushions which can lift overturned vehicles to a 60-degree angle then tow truck cables hooked on recovery slings do the rest.

Action towing has six heavy-duty tow units, three of which are used to haul equipment pulled on lowboys.

“It gives us the versatility to haul and tow,” said Buhnai.

Action often gets the call to rescue disabled or wrecked oilfield vehicles in Saskatchewan and Alberta where they are licensed because of their specialized equipment and experience.

ɸ Page A9

We also manufature storage tank parts: Patent #2362105

“THE QUICKEST AROUND!” www.suretuf.com

• Chimes and Doors • Firetube Throats and Blinds • Envirovault Doors • Stack Pups & Flanges • Cut to fit Floors & Roofs and more • AUTOCAD Drawings and Designs • CNC Plasma & Oxyacetylene Cutting • Custom cutting up to 8” thick • A.P.I. 653 Tank alteration and Repair in yard or field

VERY COMPETITIVE STEEL SALES B31.3 Pressure Piping Alberta and Saskatchewan Q.C. Journeymen B-Pressure Rig Welders

New Distributor for Southern Saskatchew an

COR CER ITIFED

P. eng. Stamped, Patented Design Free standing, zero ground disturbance, Slide in legs and pin together system.

Cuts down on set up time.

Accessories: sting doors, crossover stairs, Geo-textiles, etc.

All types and sizes of liner available. Fire retardant liners & coatings available.

WE WILL BUILD TO SUIT OUR CUSTOMER NEEDS. C.O.R. Certified set up crews are available.

SINCE 1973

www.TSMSupply.com Estevan, SK 306-634-6494 Weyburn, SK 306-842-4604 Melita, MB 204-522-3238 Moosomin, SK 306-435-2969 Oxbow, SK 306-483-2522 Redvers, SK 306-452-3470

Phone: ((780) 780) 8 875-0032 75-0 0032 Fax: (780) 808-2689 Cam’s Cell: (780) 205-8316 Clayton, C.E.T./A.Sc.T./A.P.I.653 Clayton’s Cell: (780) 205-1599

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

A9

owners and stranded drivers alike ɺ Page A8 “We’ve been here for almost 15 years doing this job and we do it really well,” said Buhnai. “We have well trained staff and really good equipment.”

Tow Mater The king of the Action Towing fleet is a 60-ton tandem tri-drive tow truck with two 30-ton winches and a 30-ton under lift on the back, along with tool boxes for carrying specialized equipment. It’s one of the world’s biggest tow trucks.

The huge yellow monster is called the “Tow Mater” named after a tow truck in the Disney film Cars. “It just seemed to be the favourite name of everybody in the shop as we were building the truck,” said Buhnai.

The truck was bought from Kenworth and the rigging was added on site.

The powerful beast can tow tractor trailer units that haul oil or water, service rigs, flushbys, coil tubing trucks, gravel trucks – any and every kind of truck in the oilfield.

“Oilfield trucks are getting bigger all the time and we are keeping up with the demand,” said Buhnai. “One of the reasons we built the truck for due diligence. When a company hires us to tow their vehicles, they have faith we can do it safely.”

Action Towing also has pickup trucks and a skid steer – a bobcat used to unload spilled cargo at accidents sites and to plow snow to make towing easier and to prevent damage to towed vehicles.

Action Towing has kept pace with oilfield activity and Buhnai says, “in the last year, things have slowed in the oilfield. We’ve noticed it, too.

“Winter is our busiest time of the year, though. When you have icy roads or blizzard conditions, that’s when there’s more accidents. We might go for a week without any accidents then there will be a whole bunch at once.”

When accidents involve injuries or death, the RCMP, ambulance crews, fire fighters and rescue squads complete their jobs before Action Towing gets called in to pick up wrecked vehicles. “They do a super job for what they do,” said Buhnai.

Sometime Action towing is called to rescue disabled or wrecked locallyowned oilfield trucks in places such as Regina or Fort McMurray for repairs or maintenance.

Emmission controls Buhnai points to new electronic pollution controls for causing for many truck stalls or breakdowns. “The equipment causes the engine to quit. A lot of new trucks have engine problems,” he said.

Buhnai and his wife Ginette know a thing or two about trucks as they owned a trucking company before switching to towing.

Action Towing & Recovery responds to all kinds of stalls and accidents including this oddly positioned truck.

“Oilfield trucking is kind of a thankless job most of the time,” said Buhnai.

“Towing is more gratifying. When someone is broken down out there and you come and rescue them, they are usually happy you are there to help them.

“There is a big difference in clientele. We get cards sometimes from people who thank us for the job we’ve done. Sometimes we’ll get a phone call about one of our drivers who did an exceptional job.”

All of Action Towing drivers have their Transportation of Dangerous Goods tickets and other required oilfield qualifications.

“We have a lot of good men who have been with us a long time and help us though,” said Buhnai.

Buhnai’s right hand man is his son, Jonathon, who is a licensed heavy duty mechanic. Action has 10 employees, some of whom work in Action’s entity Tiggers Truck Parts on the 17-acre site.

Torque Rings • Minimizes damage to tapered threads • Blocks sand and fluid from entering threads • Increases torque capacity of API connections • Improves & maintains flow performance of pipe connections • Extends the life & durability of pipe and API connections • Stays in place; run pipe with confidence • Eliminates pump anchors

Dual Action Production Pump Rod Pumping System The patented Continuous Production SystemTM or CPSTM is the only production pump that draws fluid from the top of the pump and from the bottom of the tail joint in one stroke.

Advantages: Compatible with CO2 and steam applications One stroke with Double Flow Slower Stroke equals Less Wear Continuous Movement of Fluid & Solids Use less Energy

www.2HotTools.ca (780) 875-2468 SUPPLIER OF INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY AND PRODUCTS TO THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY HERE AND AROUND THE WORLD!

A10

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Weyburn-Estevan brings in 81.9 per cent ɺ Page A3 The top price paid for a single licence was $2.2 million paid by Villanova Resources Inc. for a 5,050-ha (12,480-acre) block offering split rights and situated within the Steelman Midale and Frobisher Beds Pools, 30 km northeast of Estevan.

Lloydminster area summary The revenue received in the area was $2.4 million, an average of approximately $332/ha ($135/acre).

This compares to $2. 8 million, an average of $635/ha ($257/acre) at the October, 2008 sale.

The sale was restricted to 52 leases.

The top purchaser of acreage in this area was Canadian Coastal Resources Ltd. who spent $395,071to acquire six lease parcels.

“We do t hings

right automatically” Largest inventory of parts and exchange units in the midwest

See us for: Allison Transmission Light & Heavy Duty Transfer Case Clutch Differentials Light & Heavy Duty 3912 - 44th Street, Hwy. 16 East, Lloydminster Phone (306) 825-4454 • Fax (306) 825-3170

The top price paid for a single lease in this area was $210,567 paid by TriHawk Energy Ltd. for a 259-ha (640-acre) parcel situated adjacent to the Carruthers Cummings Oil Pool,15 km south of Maidstone.

The highest dollar per ha in this area was received from TriHawk Energy Ltd. who paid $1,570/ha ($635/acre) for a 32.5-ha (80.5-acre) parcel situated within the Rush Lake Mannville Oil Pool, 20 km northeast of Maidstone.

Kindersley-Kerrobert area summary The total revenue generated in the area was $2.1 million, an average of $122 /ha ($49.2/acre).

This compares to $6.6 million, an average of $356/ha ($144.02/acre) at the previous sale. The sale included five licences and 42 leases.

The top purchaser of acreage in this area was Prairie Land & Investments Services Ltd. who paid $569,851 to acquire seven lease parcels.

The top price paid for a single lease in this area was $388,500 by Prairie Land & Investment Services Ltd. for a 518-ha (1,280-acre) parcel situated six km west of the Forgan West Viking Oil Pool, 12 km south of Elrose.

This is the highest dollar per hectare in this area at $750/ha ($304/acre).

The top price paid for a single licence in this area was $234,472 paid by Canadian Coastal Resources Ltd. for a 2,256-ha (5,577-acre) block situated six km east of the Dodsland Viking Oil Pool, 19 km northwest of Rosetown.

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

A11

China mission sows seeds for oil and gas investments

By Geoff Lee Regina – After leading a delegation of resource companies to the 2008 China Mining Congress Nov. 8-14, Meadow Lake MLA Jeremy Harrison reports the trip paid for itself with a Memorandum of Understanding for one company and greater exposure for oil and gas investment opportunities in Saskatchewan.

Since the focus of China Mining 2008 was mineral exploration and mining, the MOU was for a gold company.

However, Harrison says no one missed an opportunity to promote investment in the oil and gas sector.

Harrison is also the Legislative Secretary to Energy and Resources and Oil Sands Development minister Bill Boyd and he feels it was a very positive and productive trip.

“The purpose of the trip was to attract investment to our province especially in light of the global financial crisis,” he said. “One of the few markets in the world where there is access to capital is China.”

The China mining show is one of the premier mining shows in the world and proved to be a great networking opportunity for oil and gas prospects in Saskatchewan and for the seven company representatives who accompanied Harrison.

“There is one group from China that will be heading to Saskatchewan in the near future as a direct result of the trip. It was very worthwhile,” said Harrison.

“We are always happy to host investors.”

There were no attendance figures available for the 2008 show, but the 2007 congress attracted over 3,000 delegates from 45 countries.

Before the delegation left, Harrison told the media, “Our government wants to continue building relationships that will results

in increased Asian investment in our province, creating jobs and economic development opportunities for Saskatchewan people.”

Harrison was joined on the China mission by senior officials from the Ministry of Energy and Resources and Enterprise Saskatchewan to pitch investments.

“We pointed out the tremendous opportunities for investment in our province whether it is a potential oilsands development or a conventional oil and gas operation,” said Harrison.

“There is already significant Asian investment in the sector in the province. We met with a gentleman who already has a significant stake in the Bakken field and he indicated to us that investment would be increased going forward.”

Harrison admitted it is a different world with oil priced around $40 a barrel compared to last year’s high of over $147 a barrel, but he is confident commodity prices in general will recover in 2009.

“Obviously, there is going to be an impact on development when you are dealing with oil at the current price,” Harrison said in mid-December. “Things have appeared to have slowed down somewhat but we are optimistic the industry is going to be very successful in the future.”

Harrison told the Pipeline News he believes Saskatchewan is one of the best jurisdictions in North America to weather the global financial and credit crisis and thinks investors will see the investment potential in the oil sector.

“In terms of unconventional heavy oil, it would be the oilsands,” said Harrison. “There is tremendous long-term potential there. We want to see the oilsands develop in Saskatchewan.

“In terms of conven-

tional plays, the Bakken is the biggest one going on right now in North America. With about 25 per cent of the formation in Saskatchewan, we’ve seen a tremendous amount of work being done. That’s reflected in the land sales and increase production of oil in that particular part of the province.”

“The purpose of the trip was to attract investment to our province especially in light of the global financial crisis” - MLA Jeremy Harrison

Check out all the models at www.yamaha-motor.ca

Call OJ’s Credit Hotline at 1-877-842-3332

1966 CCJ DLX Jon Boat

1860 CC DLX Jon Boat

Phone (780) 842-3332 Toll Free 1-877-842-3332

2509 - 14 Avenue Wainwright, AB T9W 1V7 Email ojsprod@telus.net

A12

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

DESIGN ENGINEERING MANUFACTURING

Eleven years and expanding!

• API threading • Surface grinding and valve repair • Aluminum and “B” pressure welding • Custom design • Custom machining • Wellhead flanges • Rod hangers • Heavy duty C vices • Rod breakers • BOP test nipples • Sandline balers and baler bits • Tubing drains

5602 59 AVENUE LLOYDMINSTER, ALBERTA PHONE: 780.875.6535

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

A13

Environmental headlines CAPP seminar Calgary - Enform, the training, certification and health and safety services arm of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, will host the 2009 Environment Issues Seminar Jan. 22 in Calgary.

The seminar is the first in the 2009 CAPP Stewardship Seminar Series and is expected to draw more than 300 oil and gas employees with an interest in the environment to the Westin Hotel in Calgary.

“We will also be webcasting this course to Fort St. John, British Columbia and our training facility in Nisku, Alberta,” said Caroline Johnston, Enform’s environmental program manager.

“This seminar pertains to environmental issues and there are guest speakers who will address issues such as regulatory and legislative changes in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and the federal government pertaining to upstream oil and gas industry.

“We talk about air land, water, waste and wildlife and reclamation issues,” said Johnston. For example, the reclamation criteria for Alberta will be changing based on the results of pilot project run last summer.”

Other topics include the new land use framework in Alberta, a cumulative effects policy, a fuel gas efficiency best management practice and topics on water and wildlife such as access management and grizzly bears.

Enform is owned, directed and partially funded by six upstream petroleum industry trade associations and has more than 50 years of experience and expertise in the delivery of world-class petroleum industry training courses and safety initiatives.

As a non-profit organization, all revenues are re-invested back into the organization to further the development of courses, course delivery methods, service offerings, facilities and safety awareness initiatives.

competency assessment • Distance education courses — e-learning and other self-study courses • International training and customized training in 30 countries • Course manuals and books • Health & safety certificate of recognition (COR) program — certifying partner for the petroleum industry • Safety services and resources — industry recommended practices (IRPs), petroleum safety conference, safety stand-down week, information, awards and support • Competency assessment program — leads to Alberta government issued Designated Occupation certification for qualifying candidates • Management of western Canadian spill services — the petroleum industry’s commitment to spill preparedness and environmental protection.

PRODAHL ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES LTD. Your full service secondary containment specialists

4201 - 37th Ave., Lloydminster, SK

Phone: (306) 825-5933

Enform offers programs and services in the following areas: • Technology courses — engineering, production, drilling, well service and petroleum fundamentals • Safety courses — hazardous substances, driver training, safety management and sector-specific courses • Environmental courses — land management, decommissioning and reclamation, waste management and spill response • Career development courses — management, pre-employment and

24 HOUR SERVICE

ERNIE HARVEY Owner / Operator

Cell: 306-821-2227 brenkartransfer@gmail.com LOCAL OR LONG DISTANCE HAULING OILFIELD TICKETED

Competitive Rates Light Oilfield Hauling Picker Service

Fax: (306) 825-5935 Cell: (780) 871-1380 e-mail: prodahl@sasktel.net

• New for 2008. FACTORY DISCOUNTS and LOCAL FABRICATION make our prices more competitive than ever.

• Lightweight & user friendly for quick installations and relocations.

• Available in three wall heights - 25”, 33” or 45” - choose any size or shape to fit your needs. All are zero ground disturbance.

• We fabricate 30 or 40 mil liners which can be mounted at top or bottom.

Complete with Geotextile if required.

• Sting doors and crossover steps available in various sizes.

• We offer full service installations or technical support for your personnel.

DEALERSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE

Lloydminsters Only Locally Owned & Operated Coiled Tubing Specialists

• Supplying the Midwest with new coiled tubing • Parts and accessories for coiled tubing • Quotes on all sizes of coiled tubing

Phone Joe Reck: 780-808-1952 Phone Collin Morris: 780-808-4132 Fax: 780-875-9700 Lloydminster, AB

A14

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Yoga works wonders for desk bound oil worker Promoting ± Health & Wellness Lloydminster – Dave Barr, who has a desk job as a senior project co-ordinator for Universal Industries in Lloydminster, resolves to be able to bend like pretzel sometime in the future. He also wants to slim down to 200 pounds soon.

For now, he is just thankful he can touch his toes when bending forward – without back pain – thanks to yoga.

Yoga tends to work every muscle of the body stressing flexibility over strength. It combines poses with breathing, posture and relaxation exercises.

“My chiropractor suggested it,” he said. “I was having troubles with my back for a long time. My job is in the office as a white collar worker.

“When you are sitting at a desk, the muscles in the back of your leg tend to stay in the flexed position. When you stand up, it puts stress into the back of your spine. I needed to get into yoga to increase my flexibility.”

Barr attends a ninety minute class at Serenity Yoga Studio in Lloydminster every Wednesday night in Lloydminster under the instruction of Daniela Tobler.

She teaches hatha yoga which focuses on stretching, strength conditioning, breathing and balance.

“Back problems can come from poor posture and weak muscles in the back and the core,” said Tobler.

“Strengthening and stretching those muscles will help to manage pain.”

Barr hurt his back nearly 10 years ago when he slipped on ice, but after his initial recovery and two

mising o r p m o c n U d by 26 e k c a b y t i qual ition. d a r t f o s year

18OLE

204GR

188GR

168GR1

178GR

170LE

weeks of lost time, his back became a constant problem.

Sometimes he took pain killers to get through the day.

“I would usually be going to the chiropractor for an alignment once every six weeks,” he said. “For six weeks it would be fine and then something would go wrong again. Since I have been doing yoga, I haven’t had any back problems for over nine months.”

Barr thinks yoga is ideal for anyone with back problems working in sedentary oil patch jobs like his including truck drivers, long haul drivers and shop workers.

“Back problems seem to one of our problems at Universal with people calling in with injuries. If you are stretched and flexed, that may not prevent an injury but it will make it less severe,” said Barr, who also works out at the gym two or three times a week.

Since starting yoga, Barr’s productivity has improved since his lost time from work due to back pain has been completely reduced.

“For me, the yoga has been great. The fact I can get up in the morning and my back doesn’t hurt is an added bonus,” he said.

Tobler says the yoga she teaches is physically gentle and “you go at your own level. We usually start with a sequence of warm up exercises. We basically do forward and backward bending, twists and opening up in the hips. We also work on strengthening the core – the front and back of the body.

“A lot of the focus is on breathing and relaxing.

When your body is relaxed, so is your body and viceversa,” she explained.

Serenity Yoga Studio offers morning and evening classes for beginners and intermediates, Monday to Thursday taught by owner Dale Foss and Tobler.

Barr says when his male buddies and contacts in the oil patch hear about his yoga “they kind of smile. It’s not a manly sport for sure, but it’s getting to be acceptable,” he said.

“To me it wasn’t a matter of it being manly or not, I just needed my back fixed. It has helped my problem.

“My brother also suggested to me. He’s a farmer and was having problems with his own back. I figured I would try it. Once I started, I haven’t look back.”

Some of the poses have macho-sounding names like the cobra, the warrior three, and the upward facing dog.

Barr said even the simplest exercises were tough for him to learn at first given the nature of his injury.

“My legs were probably the tightest part of my entire body which really put a lot of pressure on my lower back. I wasn’t even close to touching my toes. Now I can stand on my head. It’s slowly coming.”

Barr says with the new year it is a good idea for everyone to resolve to be a better shape in 2009 and he thinks corporate fitness plan would reduce time lost due to accidents and injuries.

“I’ve seen with some field jobs where they kick off a morning safety meeting with a certain amount of stretching,” he said. “I think that’s a great idea because most of the time, unused muscles are prone to being damaged.”

198GR

Call OJ’s

Phone (780) 842-3332 Toll Free 1-877-842-3332 Email ojsprod@telus.net 2509 - 14 Avenue Wainwright, AB

Credit Hotline at 1-877-842-3332

Yoga has helped Dave Barr from Universal Industries in Lloydminster to improve his balance and provide relief for his chronic back pain.

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

A15

Resolve to be healthy in the oil patch in 2009

Fred Sirett is a gas Àtter for Guest Controls Ltd. in Lloydminster. He and his wife Lynn also own Muscle Beach, a store selling a variety of meal replacement products for oil workers along with muscle building powders that Fred recommends for bodybuilders like him.

Photo by Geoff Lee

Lloydminster - Oilfield workers who resolve to lose weight and shape up in 2009 have only a few days left to finish off those high fat holiday turkey sandwiches and start making personal lifestyle changes.

The countdown is underway to the second annual 12-week Body Challenge at Muscle Beach in Lloydminster. The sign-up deadline is Jan. 12.

Last year, 40 people registered for the lifestyle makeover at the store, operated by bodybuilder

Fred Sirett, who is a fulltime gas fitter for Guest Controls Ltd., and his wife Lynn, a licensed fitness trainer who specializes in nutrition.

“We will take body measurements at the start and every four weeks and set participants up with a nutrition plan,” said Lynn.

“If people want help with a fitness plan, we offer that as well.

“What people don’t realize is the 80 per cent of fitness results will come from diet. We offer everyone support and edu-

cation that increases the success rate. This year, we will track everyone’s goals and help with their diet to keep them in the direction they are going.”

Proceeds from the entry fee go toward prizes that include a gift certificate, sessions at the in-store infrared sauna and supplement products such as protein powders, fat burners and muscle building mixes. The 12week Body Challenge is sponsored by AllMAX Nutrition.

Fred has a strong

780-875-4529 • #1 5202 12 ST • T9V 0W1

FACILITY FEATURES:

Check us out in Parks and Recreation www.lloydminster.ca

• WEIGHT FLOOR • 2 ICE RINKS • LEISURE ICE • CHILDCARE • FITNESS STUDIO • INDOOR 240 METRE FITNESS TRACK • CYCLING ROOM • MEETING ROOM/BANQUET HALL • …AND MORE

Serenity Yoga Studio

Hwy. 17 south around the Corner from Fabutan STRETCH, STRENGTHEN, BALANCE AND BREATHE • Reduce Stress • Gain a sense of peacefulness & well-being • Increase fitness and flexibility • Energize and feel good about yourself

Dale Foss 780-808-9366 Beginner & Intermediate Tues. & Thurs. 5:15-6:30 pm & 7-8:30 pm Wed. morning 9:30-11:00 am

Daniela Tobler 780-872-2332 Beginner: Mon. 5:30-7:00 pm Intermediate: Wed. 5:30-7:00 pm

hockey and softball background in Lloydminster and started Muscle Beach two years ago to help fellow oil patch workers make healthier food and lifestyle choices.

“It’s go-go all day long for guys in the oilfield. It deteriorates the health of a lot of guys,” he said. “Guys at camps don’t have a lot of choice as to what they can eat and driving a truck – there’s no exercise.”

Fred manages the sales, servicing and installation of burners used in the heavy oil industry in Saskatchewan and Alberta to treat oil.

“The burner division is our biggest since Alberta and Saskatchewan decided to strictly enforce Code BI49 governing gas regulations this year,” he said.

Burners are installed in treaters and are safer now that they are regulated with automatic shutoffs in case of a flame out.

“The spinoff from that has meant a lot more work for burner companies. You also need a gas fitter to install and service

Promoting ± Health & Wellness them,” said Fred.

To stay in shape for work, Fred lifts weights and ingests meal replacements and muscle building supplements sold at Muscle Beach. He’s convinced that education is the key to making lifestyle changes.

“Everyone is going to make New Year’s resolutions,” he said. “The reason most people give up is they don’t see results. The biggest problem is lack of education. We make an effort to inform customers how to use our products properly.

“It’s like this – anyone can drill a well, but you have to understand what you are doing to get it right. With supplements, you have to know how to use them.”

Lynn uses her expertise to provide oilfield workers with weekly nutrition advice online or by phone and she and Fred

will recommend high-end meal replacement products and vitamins that anyone can take with them.

“I would say 50 per cent of store customers, are guys I met in the oil field,” said Sirett. “Health and fitness is one of the most talked about issues today. We provide the support system. Obesity is everywhere, even in the oilfield.

“We can set people up with a meal plan that’s healthy and doable with their work schedules. We can also provide people who are on the road or at camps with information how to make healthier food choices.”

As for bodybuilders, Fred says everyone wants a quick fix, “but if you don’t have the nutrition behind the supplement, you will just temporarily gain muscle. We are trying to teach people how to live a healthier lifestyle.”

Hwy 17 South - Unit#15A 1804 50th Ave Lloydminster 780-875-9868 Free Shipping on orders over $99

NEW INFARED SAUNA Mention this ad for • Natural Pain Relief FREE • Increased Flexibility s e ssion • Natural Body Healing • Relaxation and Stress Relief • Assist in Weight Loss and Control • Improve your immune System • Effortlessly detoxify and remove stored toxins from your body • Improves Skin Condition and Helps Treat Cellulite • Boosts moods and Helps Fight Seasonal Depression

MENS AND LADIES WORK OUT GEAR PERSONAL TRAINING SERVICES & MEAL AND New: NUTRITION PLANS Bebe Sport & SUPPLEMENTS MB Yoga Line MUSCLE BUILDING PRODUCTS FAT BURNERS MEAL REPLACEMENTS PROTIEN HAMMER NUTRITION LINE TO FUEL ENDURANCE JOIN THE 12 WEEK BODY CHALLENGE

FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN ENTER IN STORE BY JAN 15TH!!

A16

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

New ¿tness programs speak Lloydminster- Work and working out go hand in hand for many oilfield companies who have purchased corporate memberships for their employees in 2009 at the Lloydminster Common Wealth Centre.

It’s an investment tool that centre supervisor Patrick Lancaster says companies can use to increase the fitness of employees and improve their balance sheets.

“A lot of companies have acknowledged by increasing their employees’ physical fitness, it increases productivity, reduces sickness and time lost due to stress,” said Lancaster. “Overall they get healthier, happier employees.”

Memberships allows full access to all facilities including two hockey rinks, a small leisure rink, two field houses, a weight room, a walking track, special fitness and meeting rooms and a child minding zone.

The Centre offers a 10 per cent discount to corporate employee memberships provided an enrolled company offers their employees at least an additional 10 per cent mark down.

“The actual employee will get a minimum 20 per cent discount which makes it attractive to access the facility,” said Lancaster.

“We have a lot of oil companies and oil service

companies that take advantage of that program.”

The Common Wealth Centre runs on oil patch time and is open from 5: 30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Friday and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekends.

Specialists are available to tailor a fitness program for individual oilfield workers who may have specific concerns related to their jobs.

“If you are looking to build strength or you if you are concerned about your back or your core fitness, if you do a lot of lifting, we have the equipment and the personal trainers to accommodate your needs,” said Lancaster. ɸ Page A17

CARA DAWN

STAY WARM

WHILE YOU WORK THIS WINTER...

TRANSPORT LTD.

Box 1905, R Regina, eginna, SK S4P 3E1 Ph : 306-721-8888 • Toll Tooll Free Free 1-800-723-3324 1-8000-723-3324 Ph.: Fax: 306-721-5118 Email: caradawntransport@sasktel.net

DAVE WELLINGS Cell: 306-536-3861

RICK ALLEN Cell: 306-536-7656 4006 - 50th Avenue Lloydminster, AB Ph: (780) 875-4800 Toll Free: 1-888-875-9288

#3 - 602 Circle Drive E. Saskatoon, SK Ph: (306) 653-4800 Toll Free: 1-877-653-4800

GORD BLOMMAERT Cell: 306-537-7565 CANADA/USA – BONDED CARRIER

OILFIELD SERVICE LTD.

780-875-7939 Fax: 780-875-3699 Box 135 • Lloydmisnter, SK • S9V 0Y1

Dale: 780-205-2774 • Kevin: 780-205-1291

Over 40 years of service

• 18 /30 / 45 Ton Cranes • Winch Truck • Tank Movers • Hi Boy & Low Boys

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

A17

out to oil patch employees ɸ Page A17 Alta-Sask Sports Physiotherapy & Wellness Inc. has set up shop at the facility and offers a full range of employer services, treatments, vocational and WCB claims rehabilitation programs and fitness evaluations.

“It’s a good fit because they deal with getting people back to work,” said Lancaster.

The fitness centre was built with the help of donations from oil companies. A pump jack in the entrance foyer includes a video with a rotating list of corporate and private donors. Numerous oil companies have purchased naming rights for building features and recreational facilities.

One of the meeting rooms is named the OTS room and is rented to oil companies and groups for seminars, and small board meetings or safety talks.

Catering is available from one of the privately-owned food service kiosks in the building.

“A lot of people like to book a meeting because of the fact it’s a new building,” said Lancaster. “We have

a reputation for being clean.”

Common Wealth Centre is starting off 2009 with a more aggressive marketing and advertising campaign “to get more people active” said Lancaster.

Here’s the wording for a new TV ad promoting new spin classes for 2009: ‘Are you looking for new ways to meet people and get in better shape? Spinning is one of the more popular forms of indoor exercise. It provides a low impact, high intensity cardiovascular workout that builds both strength and endurance all at your own pace.’

A private operator will also run a new Pilates studio at the Centre in 2009. “We will have a lot more to offer all oilfield workers this year,” said Lancaster.

As for those New Year resolutions, Lancaster says, “the trick is to retain those people. Around March or April, some people begin to lose their motivation.

“I would suggest to people, if they are getting a membership, to have a plan coming in, and if they don’t have a plan, talk to one of our personal trainers.”

AGI Storage Tanks ONE OF CANADA’S LEADING MANUFACTURERS OF STORAGE TANKS

Above Ground Storage Tanks: Meet All Environmental Regulations Easy to Install & Move Affordable Built to Custom or Standard Specifications • We build ULC, UL, Flameshield, API-650, 620, 12F • 7–2,500 bbl • 2,273–200,000 L Horizontal Contained

• 2,273–110,000 L Jacketed Underground • 2,273–120,000 L Vacuum Monitored • 1,250–5,000 L Rectangle • 5,000–200,000 L Single Wall Vertical

AGI’s innovative design, custom manufacturing process and comprehensive service combine to make ASTs one of the most cost-effective, efficient means of storage available today.

CALL US TO DISCUSS YOUR NEEDS: Patrick Lancaster, supervisor of the Common Wealth Centre, Lloydminster’s newest recreational facility, is bracing for a jump in corporate memberships from oil companies with the start of the new year. Lancaster leans on a sponsored “pillar of the community” concrete beam.

Photo by Geoff Lee

1-800-746-6646 401 Hwy #4, PO Box 879, Biggar, SK S0K 0M0 Tel: (306) 948-5262 Fax: (306) 948-5263 Email: info@envirotank.com Website: www.envirotank.com

FULL FLUSHBY & PRESSURE SERVICES BODY VACS, STEAMER/PRESSURE WASHER SERVICES SALTWATER DISPOSAL PUMPING SERVICES

24 HOUR SERVICE Ken McConnell Owner/Operator 24 HR Dispatch: 780-205-9001 Mike #: 403*11*29001 Fax: 306-397-2697 Box 238 Edam, SK rackenent@hotmail.com

A18

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Portability drives sales at All Weather Shelter

Justin Simpson, a truck mounted x-celerator for Pro-Rod in Lloydminster works on a vehicle inside an All Weather Shelter. Pro-Rod likes the portability of the shelter since they rent their work site.

Edmonton - All Weather Shelters is a company that can literally weather a hot or a cold climate and economic storm fronts.

The company sells more the 250 portable shelters each year to oilfield, industrial and agricultural users worldwide and they are looking at tapping deeper into the Saskatchewan oil and gas market, boom or no

boom.

“The demand for our product is still going strong,” business owner Craig Sims who started the business during the Alberta oil boom in 1996.

“I think part of the reason for that is that even when people are shutting down, they have to get their equipment under storage.

“This is something

Call OJ’s Credit Hotline at 1-877-842-3332

Commercial leasing programs available.

Built to get you there and back - again and again.

Rhino 700 FI SE

Rhino 450

Rhino 700 FI

Grizzly 550 FI

Kodiak 350

Kodiak 450

YFZ450

Grizzly 700 FI

Phone (780) 842-3332 Toll Free 1-877-842-3332 Email ojsprod@telus.net 2509 - 14 Avenue Wainwright, AB

Raptor 700 R SE

Check out all the models at www.yamaha-motor.ca

– if they decide to move off their property – they can take the building with them and re-erect it wherever they are going.

“The nice thing about them is they are portable. They go up quickly from the order date to completion. Most people who are doing exploration work don’t own the surface rights.

They are just there temporarily so the building can be taken down and moved.”

Sims sees a lot of potential in Saskatchewan, given the popularity of All Weather Shelters in the Alberta oilsands.

“In Alberta, all the oilsands are leased from First Nations so you can’t build anything permanent. A lot of customers buy them because they are durable.”

All Weather Shelters are engineered fabric-covered buildings designed to exceed weather conditions anywhere in the world. The shelters are covered in woven polyester and are assembled in Edmonton using structural steel and galvanized frames. Shelters come in a variety of widths up to 126 feet.

The company built a 126-ft by 230-ft shelter for a covered hockey rink for Suncor in Fort McMurray but they can go as large as 100-ft by 400-ft.

Prices range from $600 for a small greenhouse structure to over $2 million. Shelters can also be rented.

Sims says he will take a wait and see approach to setting up a branch office in Sas-

katchewan.

“From Edmonton, we’ve been able to service everything from one location,” he said. “When we first got started we had offices everywhere, but it just got confusing.

We have outside sales staff and installers who travel and look after customers.”

In Lloydminster, companies such Pro-Rod and Husky Oil Ltd. have purchased All Weather Shelters for shop space.

Pro-Rod uses their shelter for manufacturing continuous rods.

Area manager Dean Passey says they bought it since they didn’t need a permanent structure.

“It’s been very useful. We’ve had it for a few years now and we haven’t had any issues,” he said. The shelter is kept in place with screw piles.

The buildings come with optional heating by natural gas, propane or ceramic electric heaters. They can be ordered with manual or automatic overhead doors and lighting solutions.

Fibreglass insulation provides an R-20 value.

“When the weather get crappy, we’re busy,” said Sims. “Our busiest time is from August to the end of January. Right now, it’s pretty crazy.

“Companies use them to service trucks or water pumps. Mechanics don’t like to work outside with a tarp thrown over them.”

All Weathers Shelters have been sold to places like Libya and Australia and are used by diamond companies in the Arctic.

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

A19

Cold weather heats up sales Lloydminster – More oilfield workers are buying their winter clothing at Northern Factory Workwear in Lloydminster and Saskatoon and now they can prove it.

The Lloydminster-based outfitter has recently introduced an embroidery service to add company logos or names to everything from safety jackets and coveralls to work boots and gloves.

It makes sense, since Factory Workwear has over 300 corporate accounts with half of their sales attributed to the oilfield customer from Lloydminster to Saskatoon where a second store opened four years ago.

“The demand has gotten greater and greater with the oilfield getting busier,” said Pam Beznoska who started the company in 1993 with her husband Neal.

“We’ve expanded four times over the years. We’ve tried to keep up with the demand.”

Factory Workwear is now located on 50th Ave. in Lloydminster and on Circle Dr. in Saskatoon where Beznoska says their industry customer base is “a little bit different with a mix of construction and industrial but the oilfield in definitely becoming busier. Our oilfield specialty is fire retardant clothing and CSA approved work boots and gloves.”

For the staff at Factory Workwear, cold winter temperatures are good for business and for customers looking to purchase Factory Workwear clothing with comfort, durability and safety qualities.

Carhartt, Caterpillar, Wrangler, and Action West are some of the most popular outerwear brands stocked by Factory Workwear.

“One of our most popular items is the Helly Hansen thermal underwear,” said office administrator, Crystal Grob who works at the Lloydminster store. “It’s popular due to the technology that goes into it. It keeps you warm and dry. It uses your own body heat and keeps you warm and dry.

“With our winter boots, there is technology there too. Our Baffin boots have up to seven layers of insulation so some are good for -70 C.” Store sales are slower overall in 2008 due to the economic slowdown and warm weather right up to the beginning of December when this interview took place, but Beznoska says business is still good.

“I think people shop here because we have such a wide variety of workwear and we try to give the best service that we can. We have knowledgeable staff and that’s what you need to have for the oilfield.”

Factory Workwear recently took over their entire building on 5oth Avenue to add an onsite warehouse and more retail space that Grob says gives the company another competitive edge.

24 Hour Service

“We have the big sellers like coveralls for corporate accounts on hand. No one else can compete with that because they don’t have the space.”

Factory Workwear has also added a clearance area for fire resistant clothing and every year there is a special sale on fire resistant products.

“We now offer onsite embroidery and promotional products, “said Grob. “We can embroider logos; do heat presses and silk screening so we can knock out the competition that way, too. The turnaround is quick. It’s not just for oil related clothing. We’ve done stuff for hockey teams, school sports teams and we have personalized gift bags for weddings.”

Factory Workwear also carries winter wear for consumers with name brands like Columbia jackets and Merrill casual footwear. The stores are stock upscale Canadian made goose down parkas.

“If it’s cold, we’ve got you covered,” said Grob. “We are ready for cold weather. “ Ditto the enthusiasm from Beznoska who says cold weather is good. “When it gets cold people realize they need good clothes to stay warm when they are working outdoors.”

Northern Factory Workwear has two outlets in Lloydminster and Saskatoon to outÀt oil workers with rugged and warm winter clothing. At the Lloydminster store, Cyrstal Grob displays a popular Àre resistant safety jacket.

ATTENTION Are boggy leases or roads keeping

Oilwell Servicing Ltd.

you from your service work?

30 years 1978 - 2008

MATTING for SALE or LEASE

• 3 Free Standing Rigs Available • 1 Mobile Double Double • 2 Mobile Fr ree Standing Single Doubles

Specializing in...

• Workovers • Completions • Abandonments • Pump to Surface

Description: 4 section 2” x 6” rough spruce construction placed sideways on ends (6” deep) (8’ x 40’) FLAT (no hinges) (8’ x 50’) FLAT (no hinges) (4’ x 12’) Hinged Matting (hinge in centre)

Lloydminster

(306) 825-7914 Darryl Garrison Cell (306) 821-2815

Call Darryl at 1 (780) 808-1829

A20

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

They should make bigger business cards:

By Geoff Lee Lloydminster – A business card can say a lot about a person and the company they keep.

The card handed out by Clayton Gessner, who manages and owns C’s Oilfield Consulting & Construction Service Ltd. in Lloydminster, indicates there’s a lot of oil smarts for hire behind the words.

The card includes a

lengthy list of C’s oilfield services along with a handy conversion tables and formulas sought after by those in the know.

“I make my cards a tool,” said Gessner who was busy folding some in two when Pipeline News showed up to interview him about the consulting side of his business.

“I used to go around for area foremen who looked after batteries and

my background was in pumps and gas compression and water injection packages,” he explained.

“I was always asked ‘What can I do to put away more water or pump more pressure?’ So I took all of the formulas I used to figure out and put them on my business card.”

This engineering information such as conversion tables for volumes,

“ The hydraulic experts”

Clayton Gessner holds up one of his unique business cards for C’s Consulting & Construction. The card includes handy measurement conversion tables and formulas used for to solve all kinds of engineering calculations.

Photo by Geoff Lee

Hydraulic Specialists for over 30 years Our specialized rebuilding and machining facilities, combined with a large inventory, allow us to service or supply any hydraulic component your industry requires.

If preventative maintenance and cost savings are your priorities, call NORCAN or visit our website at www.norcanfluidpower.com for your hydraulic solutions.

FLUID POWER LTD. www.NorcanFluidPower.com 3053 Faithfull Avenue, Saskatoon, SK. • PH. 306.384.9100 • Fax 306-384-9102 OTHER LOCATIONS: Calgary, Edmonton, Kamloops, Richmond, Prince George, Campbell River

We are Canada’s largest supplier of Industrial, Safety and Fastener products.

With 155 branches coast-to-coast, 5 distribution centres and the largest inventory in Canada – we have what you need, when and where you need it! For over 100 years we’ve been supplying Canadian customers with the products required to keep their businesses running. Additionally, we help you save time and money through our broad range of value added services including industry leading inventory management and e-business solutions.

Call us today to learn how your company can save time and money.

1.888.602.0000 www.acklandsgrainger.com

® ™ The Acklands-Grainger logo is a trademark of W.W. Grainger Inc., used under license by Acklands-Grainger Inc. © Acklands-Grainger Inc. 2008. All rights reserved.

WHEN IT COMES TO SUPPLYING THE OIL & GAS INDUSTRY, WE WROTE THE BOOK.

rates and pressure acts as a no-brainer for selling clients on C’s ability to handle their consulting needs on above ground completions and repairs.

“Customers call us and tell us what their problem is and sometimes we will meet them on site or we will go there ourselves,” said Gessner. “We take care of the whole job from start to finish with one bill at the end.

“We basically organize the men and equipment and get the job done. That’s it in a nutshell.

“We oversee the project, make sure things are happening in a timely manner and make all of their and our safety rules and policies are followed to a tee. We organize the trucking, the big pickers and the cranes.” he said “We are doing a lot of single well completions right now and we are doing a repair on a

battery for Canadian Natural Resources.”

A single well is typical in the Lloydminster area, where there’s a thicker emulsion of oil and sand that doesn’t lend itself to be piped.

Oil is mostly trucked to a facility where it’s treated.

A single well is basically the pumping unit, the tank and the containment unit.

C’s installs containment products from Suretuf Containments, another Lloydminster company owned by Gessner, to complement single well set ups.

“A lot of people sell containment systems, but don’t provide service and can’t set it up. With Suretuf, I can give the customer the full meal deal,” said Gessner. “I can sell them the tank, the containment and the set up, and give them one bill.”

C’s also repairs and fixes components and

will be putting in water disposals for other customers. “We have a fairly broad customer base,” explained Gessner.

What sets his company apart in consulting says Gessner is experience and qualifications.

“Every guy here has hands on experience.

Nobody consults for me without working their way out of a truck first.

“That’s the big difference with us,” he explained. “A lot of guys get a calling card and say they are a consultant but they make lack the practical experience that we have.”

As it states on C’s business card, Gessner has his lettered designations to work on both sides of the border as a Certified Engineering Technologist (C.E.T.) and an Applied Science Technologist (A.sc.T.).

He is also a licensed API 653 tank inspector. ɸ Page A21

For Sale

Nice Equipment & Trucks all in Good Shape 4 Tridem Vac Trucks 3 Pressure Trucks 3 Body Vac Trucks Serious inquiries please call

780-871-1238

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

A21

Multifaceted C’s Oil¿eld & Consulting ɺ Page A20 Gessner grew up in Estevan where he once worked for Waterflood Service & Sales Ltd. helping to design and oversee the construction of water injection and gas compression packages.

He also logged time on the design and construction of Trinidad drilling rig #1 and has experience running crew trucks and completions and has a mechanic’s background.

His fellow consultants namely, service manager, Ken Parkin, C.E.T. and John Scully are also well qualified and experienced.

“We work together as a team to get the job done,” said Gessner. “All three of us have a little bit of different experience. Ken, for example, is an experienced welder.

“We bounce ideas off each other and try to come

up with the best solutions. We also have a wide selection of journeymen trades people in place so if we have a question we’ve got all kinds of qualified people to ask.”

C’s moved to a new site on Range Rd. 13 south of Lloydminster in 2007 and is awaiting approval from the County of Vermillion allowing him to construct a new 80 ft. by 160 ft. shop. “It’s an old story in this area,” said Gessner.

A new building is needed for new office space for C’s employees and to park vehicles indoors. Part of the shop will have a designated wash bay.

C’s has a fleet of construction vehicles including portable welders, bobcats and dump trucks and pickerequipped service trucks and crews.

Some of Cs construction equipment and crews are

C’s Consulting & Construction does a lot of consulting for single well set ups using Suretuf containment systems made in Lloydminster. The Suretuf containment shown surrounds a 750-barrel tank. The project well is located south of Lloydminster. SureTuf containment units feature slide-in legs and pin-together panels. This cuts set up time in half.

assigned to Gessner’s hobby business in acreage home building and real estate.

Despite the slowdown in the oil patch over the global financial crisis, Gessner says he’s still going flat out.

“I am trying to remain optimistic on the economic situation despite the negativity in the media,” he said.

“We don’t charge for overtime, or fuel surcharges or miscellaneous services. That’s why we’ve managed to stay pretty steady.

“We do get our slow times too, but we try to do some projects. I try to save up a rainy day list. During spring break-up, I’ll have the welders repair some tanks and crews will help out. With my property development projects, my guys will do cement work or yard work. I try to give them their eight hours a day.”

Clayton Gessner logs a lot of hours consulting in the Àeld on ground facility construction and repair.

Photo by Geoff Lee

For Single & Multi-Pass Fire Tubes Natural Draft Burner Applications from 100k to 20m btu in: •Tanks • Dehy’s • Saltbath Heaters •Line Heaters • Treaters • Refridge Units • FWKO’s • Reboilers 23 - CSA B149.3-07 Compliant Process Heater Module Assembly Variations Available • Proven Performance • NoX as low as 15PPM • CO’s ranging 0-5PPM • Combustion EFF up to 88% • Noise Emissions from 78 - 84 Decibles

A Truly CSA B149.3-07 Compliant Preassembled Process Heater Module

780-744-3974 Toll Free: 1-866-744-3974 Box 12118 Lloydminster, AB www.kenilworth.ca Kenilworth .indd 1

8/22/08 4:10:20 PM

A22

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

GREAT DEALS COME AT YOU

Faster Than You Think

39% OFF

33% OFF

Retail

Retail

06 CF700 (Blk)

07 Z1 Jag 1100 4 Strk (Blk)

SALE $7300 $165/mth

SALE $9000 $203/mth

30% OFF

33% OFF

Retail

Retail

07 F8 LXR (Blk/Grn) SALE $8600 $180/mth

08 M1000 153"/162" (Blk/Org)

PLUS up to $500 Cat Cash on All Snowmobiles

28 Years

& Still Riding

Strong

206 - 14 Ave. Wainwright AB T9W 1L5 • Phone 842-2562 / 1-800-431-CATS Hours: 8 - 5:30 p.m. Mon. to Fri., Sat. 9 - 3 p.m.

www.donsspeedparts.com

SALE $10,500 $210/mth

NEW SNOWMOBILES

07, & 08 One Year Warranty 06 CF700 (Blk) 136”x15”x1.25” 07 Z570 121”x0.75” (Org) 07 Panther 370 15”x136”x1” (Blk) 07 Z1 Jag 1100 4Stroke 128”x1” (Blk) 07 CF800 SP 136” (Org) 07 CF1000 136”x1.25” (Grn) 07 F500 128”x15”x1” (Grn) 07 F600 128”x15”x1” (Org) 07 F600 LXR 128”x15”x1” (Grn) 07 F800 LXR 128”x15”x1” (Blk/Grn) 07 F1000 SP 128”x15”x1” (Org) 07 F1000 LXR 128”x15”x1” (Blk/Grn) 07 T660 Turbo Trail 121”x15”x1”(Blk) 07 T660 Turbo Touring 136”x1” (Blk) 07 Bearcat 660 WTT (Blue)20”x156”x1.25” 08 F800 128”x15”x1” (Org) 08 CF600 136”x15”x1.25” (Blk) 08 CF1000 SP 136”x15”x1.25”(Org) 08 M800 162” (Blk/Org) 08 M1000 153” (Blk/Org) 08 M1000 162” (Blk/Org) 08 M1000 162” SP (White)

RETAIL

CASH

PMT

$11999 $6900 $7000 $13499 $13199 $14300 $9399 $10999 $11799 $12899 $15199 $15099 $12499 $13099 $13500 $12199 $11399 $15299 $12999 $14599 $14999 $15499

$7300 $5000 $5000 $9000 $9000 $9500 $6600 $7500 $8100 $8600 $9999 $9999 $7900 $8900 $10000 $10200 $9000 $11000 $9500 $10500 $10500 $11000

$165 $120 $120 $203 $203 $206 $152 $170 $175 $180 $225 $225 $164 $202 $206 $205 $182 $220 $206 $210 $210 $220

2009 Snowmobiles In-Stock Now! Call for Pricing

2008 Arctic Cat Snowmobile Dealer of the Year 4 Time Achievement

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

A23

Founding motto continues to bond oil wives club Lloydminster - It’s not the Harper Valley PTA or a rich ladies social circle. There is nothing scandalous or standoffish about the Oil Wives Club of Lloydminster.

Like each of the 39 clubs in the Association of Oil Wives Clubs, the function and motto of the Lloydminster chapter is to foster friendship.

The theme of the 2008 convention held in Drayton Valley was “Redneck Reunion.” No one came wearing white gloves as club president Joy Wareham dispels any outsiders’ notions she and her 24 club members are “those snooty people whose husbands work in an ivory tower.”

“A lot of people don’t realize our husbands are the actual workers. Some are in offices but most are in the field.”

Oil wives clubs are a sisterhood that marked its 50th anniversary in 2006. The Lloydminster club was formed

by charter members Lynne Leard and Bunny Coutney on March 13, 1980 and membership has fluctuated over the years to as many as 50.

‘Whether it’s out in the field of in the office…behind every hard working man in the oilfield is probably a wife, and next to him, she and her sister oil wives are the only people who truly understand life in the oil patch’ reads a promotional piece celebrating the club’s 25th anniversary in 2005.

Karen Ebel, a former AOWC president and a member of the Lloydminster club since moving from Brooks in 1992, says the idea for oil wives club “started out in the wildcatting days when wives followed their husbands from rig to rig and stayed in trailers in little out-of-the -way places.

“They would get frustrated because a birthday or an anniversary would come along and the well would blow

in. Something went wrong on the rig and the husband couldn’t be there.”

Back in 1951, in Redwater Alberta , oil wife Dean Hunter got together with other likeminded women who decided it didn’t matter to them if the well blew in; they were going to go out once a month for camaraderie and have some fun. A club was born and the rest is history you can read on the new www.oilwives.com website.

The main membership requirement is that 86 per cent of annual household income should be derived from the exploration, refining and administrative and marketing branches of the oil and gas industry.

The Christmas dinner party held at the Lloydminster Legion was the final social event of the year for the border city chapter, but they also have dances, bowling nights, buffets, and they mix games and entertainment with monthly business meetings. ɸ Page A24

RAY FOY New Truck Sales

MOBILE STEAM SERVICE IS OUR SPECIALITY

• TRAVIS BOTTORFF New Truck Sales • JASON FLANAGAN New Truck Sales • RICK MCMAHON Used Truck and Trailer Sales

Astro Boiler has been in the oilfield service industry since 1989

The all new

PETERBILT HYBRID

80 HP

will be featured at the Cattlemen's Corral Crop Visions Show at the Lloydminster Exhibition Grounds January 20 & 21, 2009

50 HP BUS. (403) 377-2391 • CELL. (403) 793-4616 1 (306) 461-5525 P.O. BOX 250 • TILLEY, ALBERTA • T0J 3K0

Frontier Frontier Peterbilt Peterbilt Sales Sales Ltd. Ltd. 5201-40th 5201-40th Avenue Avenue Lloydminster, Lloydminster, SK SK

306-825-3553 306-825-3553

www.frontierpeterbilt.com www.frontierpeterbilt.com

“Industry Leading Quality and Service Since 1987” 6150 - 76 Avenue, Edmonton, AB T6B 0A6

Phone: 780-440-2855 Fax: 780-440-1050 Email: brotherscoating@shaw.ca www.brotherscoating.com

Specialists in Internal & External Coating Applications Epoxy Linings • Metalizing • Fiberglass • 100% Solids Epoxy Pipe, Bends, Tanks & Vessels

A24

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Oil wives club

The Lloydminster Oil Wives Club held its annual Christmas dinner at the Lloydminster Legion Dec. 16. By the Christmas tree were Karen Abel with original 1980 charter members Lynne Leard who had joined an oil wives club in Swan Hills in 1973, and Brenda Robinson.

Kim Leipert Ph. 306.825.5355 Cell: 306.821.2880 Fax: 306.825.5356 www.heavyoilfieldtrucks.com peddlerconsignment@sasktel.net Coil tubing drilling rig

2007 Acterra 4x4 Combo unit 6 cube tank, 6” boom, like new.

Ready to work.

National Oil Well RT-100 injector, compact for quick and efficient moving, basically new!

1996 Mack flushby unit 3x5 triplex pump, 42 ft flushby mast, 50,000 lbs, HL-25 Pullmaster winch

Cardwell single/ double telescoping service rig 69ft telescoping derrick.

Level 4 inspection.

NEW LOCATION! Corner of Hwy 16 & Upgrader Road, Lloydminster

ɸ Page A23 Making friendships is still what it’s all about and that proved to be a godsend for Wareham who arrived in Lloydminster in 1996 homesick for Newfoundland and the smell of the ocean.

“When I first moved here I hated it – I could cry every day,” she said. "Then one of the members took me to supper and I enjoyed it and they made me feel welcome. I joined and I’ve been on the executive board ever since.

“There are two of us in the club from Newfoundland. We are teaching everyone Newfoundese.”

While the wildcatting days are gone, the need for oil wives to get together is as strong as ever.

“The guys aren’t getting transferred like they used to, but some women have husbands who are working overseas, “said Ebel. “You’re almost like a single parent until they’re back home again. You’re running the kids to hockey, to basketball and everywhere. It’s not like he’s home every night at five o’clock. We understand this.

“We’re like a sisterhood. We know what it’s like not to have our husbands home all the time.”

Ebel’s husband, Les works for BJ Services Company in the bulk plant on a 12hour shift, 14 days on and 5 days off. At one time, when he worked in the oil patch near Brooks, he worked 21 days on and six days off. Before they moved to Lloydminster, he was gone 14 to 16 days at a stretch.

Wareham’s husband, John moves rigs for Transco Energy Services Ltd. “When he’s away, I run the kids,” she said. “I also run a daycare out of my home, so I’m working and running the kids.”

Wareham was re-elected to a second term as president and is one of eight members on the executive board. “I guess they like me,” she said when asked to explain her electioneering success.

One of the main business items for the Lloydminster club in 2009 is planning for this year’s AOWC convention in Ebel’s hometown of Brooks. The theme is “You’re in the Movies.”

Ebel might dress up as a character in It’s a Wonderful Life, as that’s the way she feels about AOWC conventions since attending her first in Lethbridge in 1986 after joining as the Brooks Oil Wives Club in 1983.

“I had such a good time. I haven’t missed a convention since,” she said. “The convention is my weekend. I don’t have to cook or clean up my room. I attend the meetings to keep up with association news, but the basis is still to foster friendship.

“Some members get stuck in the mindset they are just part of a little club here, but we are part of an association that’s been around over 50 years and has 900 members.”

FORT GARRY INDUSTRIES THE TRUCKERS BEST FRIEND • • • • • • •

Intrax Suspension Full Flap packages Michel’s Tarp LED Lights Load/unload lights Dual cranks Powder coated silver wheels • Tow Hooks • Sidewall Vents

HGF Triple Axle • • • • • • • • •

2009 Midland SL3000

Tri Axle End Dump Air Ride ABS Auto Slacks 24.5 White Steel Wheels Sealed Gate Michels Tarp LED Lights Alum Checker Plate on Front & Rear Posts

HGF Super B

2009 Load King 42’ Tri Axle Flat Deck • • • • • •

Air Ride ABS Auto Slacks Sliding Suspension Tow Hook Rear Strobes

• • • • • •

24.5 White Steel Wheels LED Lights Swing Out Lights Full Pick Up Throat Live Roll Prepped Flap Packages

5701 63 Avenue, Lloydminster — Sales • Parts Toll Free 1-800-661-9709 or 1-780-875-9115

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

A25

Full Tilt ahead for CE Franklin expansion

Construction crews work on the ceiling of a new 54,000 sq. ft. warehouse and mechanic shop for CE Franklin and its acquired Full Tilt engine and crane repair and maintenance businesses. CE Franklin bought Full Tilt in 2007. Emile Bourassa, who owned Full Tilt, owns the building and the 10-acre property in Lloydminster. The move in date is Feb. 1.

Lloydminster – Emile Bourassa’s expansion plans, hatched two years ago when his company, Full Tilt Field Services was sold to CE Franklin Ltd., are going full tilt head in 2009.

Officially, CE Franklin refers to the relationship with its Full Tilt division as being “powered by CE Franklin.” Full Tilt’s Emile Bourassa owns the building and the land it sits on.

Effective February 1, CE Franklin will set up its supply shop of valves, pipes, flanges and fittings for the oilfield alongside its respective Full Tilt engine and crane shops in a 54,000 sq. ft. warehouse Bourassa bought in 2007 to accommodate growth and the takeover by CE Franklin.

The new building is located on 39th Street and is part of a 46-acre site Bourassa purchased for the development of an industrial park, called Bourassa Light Industrial Park.

It is subdivided into two and four-acre parcels with 10-acres allocated for the new CE Franklin base. It’s the only industrial property on the Saskatchewan side of the border for sale, according to Bourassa.

“We’ve been working on the new building for two years,” said Bourassa who will manage the three shops. “I was already working on it when CE Franklin bought us out. We built the new building to grow into.”

It only took five years for Full Tilt to outgrow its current repair headquarters on 52 Street where heavy duty mechanics repair and maintain light and heavy duty off-road vehicles used in the oil industry. Full Tilt grew to 45 employees.

Bourassa owns his existing Full Tilt buildings and is shopping around for suitable lease tenants.

Bourassa said CE Franklin bought Full Tilt

as a “missing link” to their growth plans. “They sell equipment but they had no way of servicing it.”

The new location offers plenty of space for CE Franklin to park the 12 service trucks that Full Tilt accumulated.

Bourassa began his business 10 years ago with a single service truck working from his own acreage north of Lloydminster.

The current fleet of service trucks is made up of two and three ton vehicles equipped with cranes and compressors.

Full Tilt will continue to build deck packages and Fassi brand crane package for trucks right up to a 50ton picker package.

Full Tilt also retains

its position as Royal Cargo and a Trailtech dealer.

In addition, Full Tilt will continue to be the western Canadian IMT dealer of service bodies, cranes and compressors all of which are for sale at the new warehouse.

The huge warehouse will be equipped with 23 bays for mechanics to work on everything from forklifts to off road vehicles and oilfield engines.

CE Franklin will house its equipment in a walled off section of the complex.

The new building will feature 17,000 sq. ft. of space for offices on two floors with an employee gym and a customer lounge. A grand opening is in the works.

Emile Bourassa, who owns the building that CE Franklin will occupy on Feb. 1, rests his arm on one of his former Full Tilt vehicles that will be maintained in one of 23 mechanics bays.

Happy New Year! Wishing you all the best in 2009!

LLOYDMINSTER 6203 - 56 Street, Lloydminster, AB www.firsttruck.ca Nelson Homes has been a housing industry leader for over 55 years.

Through our dealership network we provide panelized home packages across Western North America and overseas.

Financing available onsite O.A.C.

Start the New Year off with a NEW Oilfield Float or Scissorneck!

Some Examples:

We are currently looking to expand our dealership network in your area.

If you are a builder interested in reducing costs, increasing productivity, and partnering with an unmatched history contact us today.

Please direct inquiries to: Shane Tomayer, Territory Manager - Prairies Region.

E-mail: stomayer@nlc.ca Phone: 800 661 6534 ext 370

NEW LOW PRICING!

HEAVY DUTY OILFIELD TRUCKS AVAILABLE ON THE GROUND! Call for Special Pricing! 780-875-6211 or 1-800-661-3926

A26

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Reece to rely on it's cash Àow to fund its capital operations Medicine Hat-Reece Energy Corporation will start 2009 with a simple but frugal capital budget for the exploration and production of oil and gas in Saskatchewan in the wake of lower than expected oil prices.

“We don’t want to take any more bank debt and we don’t expect to raise any more equity,” said Lorne Swalm, Reece’s president and CEO. Gone is the projected $30 million capital budget that Reece’s board of directors announced in November.

Reece is a publicly-traded oil and gas company headquartered in Medicine Hat Alberta.

“We could probably raise capital, but it would be so diluted to our shareholders that I don’t want to do that,” said Swalm. “In 2009, we will be spending our cash flow.

“It is difficult to determine our cash flow when the price of oil and gas is headed downward. We expect our cash flow to be between $20 million to $50 million. Our capital budget would be equal to that.

“At $100 a barrel, we would be spending something in the order of $60 million. At the current price ($38 on Dec. 18) it’s more like $20 million.”

Swalm says most of Reece’s capital will be generated from the com-

pany’s Dodsland Viking light oil play near Kindersley where Reece drilled most of its wells in 2008.

“We will spend half of our budget there, almost half of it in the Lower Shaunavon formation and a little bit in the Bakken,” he said.

In 2008, Reece drilled a total of 26 long-reach multi-stage fractured wells in the Kindersley area. They also drilled 15 vertical gas wells at 50 per cent ownership (7.5 net) and in December, 2008, they drilled one vertical gas well near Coleville that they hope will be a Mannville gas well.

Reece also plans to continue its joint venture with Anterra Energy Inc. in 2009 to explore and develop land in the Lower Shaunavon zone.

“In 2008, we drilled one well and we also bought a bunch of land,” said Swalm. “We hope to drill two or three wells in partnership with Anterra.”

Reece acquired 12 sections of land on 50/50 basis with Anterra and 23 sections of land under their full ownership at land sales in 2008.

“We spent $3.5 million down there in 2008 and we had hoped to spend more than that in ’09, however; we will be limited to our cash flow for capital to spend, “said Swalm.

In the Bakken area of southwest Saskatchewan, Reece anticipates

drilling about four to six wells (50 per cent) or (two to three net) in 2009.

Swalm says the low price of oil along with so many changes in the economy, makes it difficult for the company to plan.

“It’s disappointing, We could have really made some hay this year,” he said. “Now we are going to have to be tentative.”

Swalm says all of Reece’s activity is in Saskatchewan because he was born and raised in Kindersley

and knows the resource potential and because there is a better royalty structure than Alberta.

“The government of Saskatchewan “has been very understanding about what it takes to keep the economy moving ahead,” Swalm explained.

“They are not afraid to talk about it. That’s very helpful. They have left the royalty regime alone and helped where they could. They are being rewarded with lots of activity.”

You’ll be seeing less of this next year from Reece Energy, as it pulls its horns in and uses money on hand for drilling. This iron roughneck was in use a Reece well in June.

IF IT IS BIG N’ UGLY WE CAN HAUL IT! Member of

ISN • LOI

Box 1602 Lloydminster, AB S9V 1K5

Cell: (780) 808-9123 Fax: (306) 825-3518 Email: diambtran@msn.com

• The coordinating and instrumentation of oversized/ overweight load moves.

• Winch/highway tractors • 40 wheel combinations • Tri-axel hydraulic tank trailers

• Tandom-axel hydraulic tank trailers • Trombones, drop decks, scissor neck trailers • Spreader Bars • Pilot cars • Man baskets • 6 - 30 ton pickers

Diamond B offers our clients a diversity of services and equipment options, working together to deliver products safely.

Specializing in Overdimension & Overweight

NEW 45 TON PICKER

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

A27

Calendar relives Saskatchewan’s oil history Lloydminster-Saskatchewan’s oil and gas history has been a long time in the making, but it will take a few more months before it’s printed as part of a 16-month Canadian Petroleum Discoveries calendar book.

The ambitious project is the brainchild of Randal Kabatoff who has successfully published back-to-back 16-month calendar books on Alberta’s oil and gas history through his Soul of Alberta production company.

He calls them calendar books because each of the first two publications, titled, Alberta Petroleum Discoveries features more than 100 rare photographs, time-lines, maps and 10,000 words of text over 44 pages. He also plans to compile both Alberta calendars into a book.

The rich history of Saskatchewan’s oil and gas industry will be included in a 2010 Cana-

dian calendar that will printed this summer and will feature a provincial energy time-line tagging the first official commercial well in Lloydminster in 1944.

Coleville was next in 1951, followed by a major discovery in Fosterton near Swift Current in 1952.

“The purpose of the calendar book is to help stimulate people’s interest in history,” said Kabatoff who produced the two Alberta calendars in partnership with the Canadian Petroleum Discovery Centre southwest of Edmonton.

Proud of history “All of the things Canadians are proud of, it’s their history,” said Kabatoff. “I think if the history is presented in a way that is accurate and respectful, people will be interested in it.”

In researching oil and gas discoveries in Saskatchewan, Kabatoff found there was not a lot written about Sas-

katchewan’s oil history and what was available often had competing information.

“Some people would say the oil discovery in Lloydminster was the first and others would talk about Estevan. It seemed like Saskatchewan was 10 different countries the way they talked about the oil industry,” said Kabatoff.

“I found information about oil discoveries in a piecemeal fashion, but I found I had to piece together the story myself. I’ve got over 400 words to date on the timeline of different oil and gas discoveries in the province.”

First oil?

Kabatoff says there are two answers to the question of where oil was first discovered.

One, he said is where there is drilling and they hit oil – that could be called a discovery, “but it doesn’t mean it was a major producing field.

“So quite often,

there is drilling that hits oil or gas. That warrants historical reference but it doesn’t mean it led to a commercial oilfield.”

According to Kabatoff, the first exploration in Saskatchewan occurred in the 1880s in the southeast part of the province. Gas was discovered by accident in Estevan in 1911 by a resident named Joseph Frank who was drilling for water.

Once the Canadian calendar comes out, Kabatoff hopes to print a

follow-up edition based on reader feedback.

“One of the saddest things for me was to learn some historical photographs are gone forever or were destroyed,” he said.

“I am hoping people will want to share stories, photos and facts that they know and offer that to us so we can do a revised edition,” he said.

The Alberta Petroleum Discoveries calendars have been acclaimed by energy

industry workers, their families, schools, the general public, government. His first first one earned Kabatoff a multimedia award from the Petroleum History Society.

Encana purchased 1,200 copies of the original calendar to include in their oil information package they distribute to Alberta schools. The new 2008/09 calendar is also on sale at the www. soulofalberta.com website. It sells for $19.95. ɸ Page A29

The caption reads “Simpson Oil Co. No. 1, Simpson, SK, Aug. 22, 1926.”

This photo is part of the Canadian Petroleum Discoveries calendar.

Troy Illingworth Cell: (780) 808-3183 Tim Sharp Cell: (780) 871-1276

Office: (780) 847-4666 Fax: (780) 847-4661

Box 82 Marwayne, AB

Welders, Service Crews, Lease Mowing & Bobcat Service

P.O. BOX 224 MARWAYNE, AB T0B 2X0

• • • • • • • • • • •

SUSPENDED WELL COMPLIANCE INSPECTIONS GAS MIGRATION TESTING VENT FLOW MONITORING REMOTE WELLSITE INSPECTIONS STABILIZED SHUT-IN PRESSURE MONITORING GAS SAMPLE COLLECTION SURFACE CASING VENT FLOW TESTING CHROMATOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS CUT/CAPPED WELL CASING LOCATING PRE-ACQUISITION WELL SITE INSPECTIONS IN SITU SOIL REMEDIATION OFFICE: 780.847.2567 | FAX: 780.847.3277 KERRY: 780.205.3495 | RYAN: 403.588.2597 DOULLSITE@TELUS.NET | WWW.DOULLSITE.COM

A28

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

PIPELINE NEWS Saskatchewan’s Petroleum Monthly Saskatchewan’s Petroleum Monthly

Over 35,000 circulation

targeting the Oil and Gas Sector!

YOUR ADVERTISING TEAM

SE Saskatchewan and SW Manitoba

Jan Boyle

Cindy Beaulieu

Glenys Dorwart

Kristen O’Handley

Deanna Tarnes

Sales Manager 21 Years Experience

16 Years Experience

15 Years Experience

8 Years Experience

3 Years Experience

SE Sask and SW Manitoba - for all of your advertising needs contact: Ph: 306.634.2654 Fax: 306.634.3934 Email: adsales@estevanmercury.ca

SW Saskatchewan SW Sask - for all of your advertising needs contact: Ph: 306.773.8260 Fax: 306.773.0504

Doug Evjen

Andrea Bonogofski

Sales Manager

abonogofski@prairiepost.com

devjen@prairiepost.com

2 Years Experience

4 Years Experience

NW Saskatchewan and NE Alberta NW Sask - for all of your advertising needs contact: Ph: 780.875.6685 Fax: 780.875.6682 Email: daniela@pipelinenews.ca

Daniela Tobler Sales Manager

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

A29

Canadian Petroleum Discoveries calendar out soon ɺ Page A27 “It was not an easy sell,” said Kabatoff of his first Alberta oil calendar. “We had to do a lot of calls. We found a lot of people in the oil and gas industry were busy with today and not thinking about yesterday. Even though it was an award-winning and best selling piece, it was a lot of leg work to make the connection.”

What helped to sell the calendars was a decision to allow oil and gas companies to print their name on a tab on back cover.

Leduc sparks interest Kabatoff ’s interest in oil and gas history was stoked when he viewed photographs of the Leduc discovery of 1947 at the provincial archives and he began to sell custom framed historical photographs.

“Part of my background is publishing and design and I had published a few calendars before.

I thought I would combine the two ideas and put pictures in the calendar which are also for sale.”

Kabatoff says the project challenged him because as he puts it, “I’m not an historian, I am not a writer and I was too busy to read a lot of books.

Also, I only knew the Leduc discovery story. The challenge was to find written oil history and sort it all out.”

Kabatoff is nearly finished his research of oil and gas history in all 10 provinces and three territories rep-

resented in the Canadian Petroleum Discoveries calendar, but as of December, he had yet to decide which month Saskatchewan will fill.

“People will be surprised to read about the history of oil in Saskatchewan,” he said. “There are quite a few references to drilling in the 1800s.

Once the Hudson Bay Company sold their property to Canada, the Geological Survey of Canada really got going to identify natural resources. Companies like Shell and Imperial also played major roles.”

The caption reads “Shell Estevan No. 1, Estevan, SK, March 14, 1953.” Look for these images and more in the Canadian Petroleum Discoveries Calendar due out this summer.

*** CORRECTION *** On page C23 of our December, 2008, edition, we had a case of mistaken identity in a photo. With the story “Finding the right person for the job,” the person on the right is not Heide Burginski. Her name is Bev Josuttes-Harland.

We apologize for the error.

CANADA’S FAVORITE COLUMNIST

ATV / SLED DECKS Adjustable width decks also available

Diamond Doctor Matt Fisher answers life’s big questions.

His passion for his work and his customers continues to change lives daily.

• Easy to load & unload • Reversible ramp for your snowmobile & quad • High quality brushed aluminum requires no maintenance

Dear Matt, Is it better to have a smaller diamond of better quality, or a big ol’ rock who cares the quality?

• Rounded headache rack • 4 side LED lamps • Super Clamps Included • Strongest (and longest) ramp system on the market

Re-usable and High Resale Value

Absolutely. The alternative -- no diamond at all -- is one of the real tragedies in life.

©2008

(780) 875-0203 LloydMall Lloydminster

Lloydminster Paint & Supplies Ltd. Daryl (780) 875-4454 or (780) 871-4109 5628 - 44 Street, Lloydminster, AB

• Our customers testify that we have the best looking deck on the market - and it is built to last • If a customer decides to purchase a different pickup the deck can accommodate either Short & Long Box trucks

A30

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Look after the pennies...

By Brian Zinchuk

Pipeline News Near Calgary – This edition Pipeline News is focussing on consultants, also referred to as drilling supervisors. Douglas Tompson of Tompson solutions grew up between London, England and Saskatoon. He’s worked his way up in the usual manner, starting as a roughneck, and now is working in southern Alberta. Saskatoon is still

home, and he and his wife Diane spend time at Redberry Lake when he can get away.

1. Name and age?

Douglas Tompson, Age: Mid thirties...

2. Where do you call home? How much moving about do you do?

Saskatoon, SK. I worked in NWT, BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. I’ve driven 50,000km on

the company truck in the past 12 months.

3. How long have you been working in the patch?

Since I was 18 years old. I was old enough to drink in Alberta but not in Saskatchewan or B.C. 4. What got you into it?

Strong entry level wages. I stayed because I enjoyed it. If money is the only reason that attracts a worker to the rig,

Education with ENERGY

FALL PROTECTION COURSES

One Day or Two Day Fall Protection Training using our trailer-mounted simulator. Let us bring the training to you!

The Energy Training Centre meets the energy and safety training and education needs of the oil & gas sector.

1.888.ETC.7972

• Full-time programs serving labour market needs • Broad selection of industry training • Safety certi¿cations & testing • Customized training for business available • Funding for on-the-job training • Job Start/Future Skills

For a list of all of the courses available please visit our website.

www.greatplainscollege.ca

1•866•296•2472

Biggar • Gravelbourg • Kindersley • Maple Creek • Macklin Outlook • Rosetown • Shaunavon • Swift Current • Warman SK Pipeline_ETCAd_Jan.08.indd 1

11/26/2008 2:14:28 PM

Working as a drilling supervisor, sometimes you get to see some stunning vistas, such as this one near Three Hills, Alta., as photographed by Douglas Tompson.

they’ll quit after a few pay cheques.

5. What was your career path? Where did you work, what did you do?

I started as a roughneck, and I worked my way up on the rig crew and took as many courses as possible. I volunteered to work extra shifts and fill in on days off if required. I managed to work my way up until I was in a position to be offered a position as the oil company representative.

6. What are you doing now? Do you stay with one particular rig, or oil company?

I’m starting a small drilling project near Calgary, AB. I’m getting my maps, phone lists, and service company list prepared. Once we start drilling, we’ll be operating 24/7 until it’s finished. The more notice and the more communication that is available to service companies, the

better everyone works and the sooner that problems are discovered and resolved. The better it works, the better the project turns out. If the project is especially well run, it will lead to further employment both for myself and the service companies that contributed to the project’s success.

My grandmother used to tell me to “look after the pennies and the pounds would take care of themselves.” My grandmother is probably responsible for teaching me one of the most important lessons of being a consultant. A small drilling project can have lots of individual instances of savings that can add up to substantial savings.

These substantial savings can be the difference between a project being above or below a psychological figure.

At the end of the day, it may only be a couple of hundred dollars. However, it could be the difference between a project costing $999,900 and a project costing over a million dollars.

Look after the pennies and the pounds (dollars) will take care of themselves. If an oil company

is about to make a decision on whether to continue drilling, I’d like to think that someone decided that they would continue if the previous/ current project stayed under a certain figure.

It may be only a couple of hundred dollars but it could be the difference between being above or below the figure. Maybe that would be a good title for your article...Look after the pennies, and the pounds (or dollars) will take care of themselves. Don’t forget to give my Grangran the credit!

7. What is a ‘consultant,’ and how does one become one? How did it come about for you?

A consultant is the oil company’s field representative.

Consultants vary depending on the operation. There are construction, drilling, completion, pipeline, and a variety of others. I am the eyes-and-ears-andvoice for the oil company on the drilling rig site.

I schedule the services and update companies on timing. I follow the oil company’s Drilling Program as economically as possible. ɸ Page A31

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

A31

...and the pounds will take care of themselves phone the drilling manager at 07:30. Not 07:29 and not 07:31. I have approximately 5 minutes to answer questions and request information before the next consultant phones the drilling manager. I help to update and coordinate the service companies and drilling rig on the latest plan based on weather, drilling progress, and updates from Calgary. I work closely with the rig manager and the drilling rig crew.

10. I understand you worked in the North Sea. Care to elaborate?

I was fortunate to have an opportunity to work in the North Sea as part of the drilling rig

crew. I got the job by getting my Offshore Survival Qualifications during my spring break. Once I was qualified, I marketed myself as a British Citizen with Canadian oilfield experience. It was a great experience! I learned a lot and got to see some of the biggest rigs in the world. Plus, the food was great!

11. How many communications devices do you keep on your person at one time?

I have a Blackberry at all times. While I’m in the truck, I have a 2 way VHF radio, and a satellite phone.

12. What are the pitfalls of doing this sort of work?

Lots of driving, lots of hours, and a lack of time with my wife and familly.

13. What do you see for the upcoming year or two in the business? Has the drop in the price of oil had an impact, or will it have an impact?

I think I’ll be spending more time at home doing renovations and less time drilling. I see myself finishing a lot of renovations at home.

Within two years, I expect to be a lot better at drywalling at learn how to stucco. I hope to be able to have our home finished and start the yard.

14. Any words of wisdom?

Wear your seat belt.

Make sure other occupants wear their seat belts. Use cruise control to drive at the speed limit and pull over when you’re tired. Install a rotating beacon on your truck with a toggle switch in the cab.

- Nylon Slings - Ridgid Tools - Pipe Fittings

- Hydraulic Hoses & Fittings - Safety Equipment

306-778-6294 #3 - 1071 Central Avenue N Hillside Plaza, Swift Current, SK skswf@stores.fastenal.com www.fastenal.com

Transportation and Logistics Rig Transportation Services Pipe Storage Facility 3297 North Service Road W. Swift Current, SK. S9H 4G5

Direct: 306.773.1660 Toll Free: 888.221.1022 Fax: 306.773.1660 rheitt@flintenergy.com

40229221•09/05/08

CONTRACTING INC. • Concrete Work • Carpentry • Pre-Engineered Buildings • Custom Design & Manufacturing • Site Trailers • Wellhead Shelters • Self-Framing Metal Buildings • Utilidor

Douglas Tompson

• Office Trailers • Tex Fencing • Containment Buildings

We are Canada’s largest distributor of industrial, safety and fastener products

40265741•10/03/08

www.acklandsgrainger.com

26 Locations Across Saskatchewan

1-888-313-3302 Website: www.jamalcontracting.com Email: jamalcontracting@shaw.ca

40229200•08/08/08

ɺ Page A30 8. Are you an independent contractor? Who do you work for i.e. oil company?

I’m self employed with my own company, Tompson Solutions Inc. I provide field-based wellsite supervision on drilling rig sites in Canada.

I’m qualified to work as a drilling supervisor on land based and offshore drilling rigs. I’ve recently added an International designation to my well control qualifications.

9. What do you do in a day?

Electronic reports have to be submitted to Calgary by 07:00 that sumarize the previous 24 hours. I’m scheduled to

A32

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009 #4633 2008 GMC SLT NEW 3/4 4X4 6.0L

#5052 2008 Chevrolet LT NEW Crew 4x4 Diesel

#4578 2008 Chevrolet NEW W/T 4X4 Crew

#5111 2008 Chevrolet NEW Dually 4X4 Diesel

#4998 2009 Chevrolet NEW Uplander

#5137 2009 Buick NEW Enclave

$41,273*

$45,170*

$38,000*

$33,198*

$22,500

$35,250*

#5169A 2005 Chevrolet LT Diesel Crew 4X4

#5200A 2008 GMC SLT 4X4 3/4

#5085A 2006 GMC SLT Crew 4x4 Diesel

Consignment 2000 Suburban 4x4

#5110B 2000 Chevrolet 4x4 Ext

#5106A 2006 Buick Rendezvous CXL AWD

$25,500*

$39,900*

$28,900*

$6,500*

$5,900.*

$21,000*

#5062A 2001 GMC SLE Diesel ext 4x4

#Consignment 2003 Pontiac Montana 7 pass

#5023A 2007 GMC SLE Ext 4X4

#5061A 2006 GMC SLE Diesel 4X4 Crew

#5219A 2006 GMC SLE Z71 4X4 Ext

#5181A 2004 Pontiac Aztek

$19,000*

$9,900*

$25,900*

$26,500*

$21,500*

$7,800*

#4727A 2007 GMC SLT Acadia AWD

#5091A 2003 Chevrolet Silverado

#5204A 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer

#5218A 2006 GMC SLE Z71 4x4 Ext

#5004A 2007 Chevrolet Uplander

#5197B 1998 F150 4X4

$37,800*

$10,350*

$20,000*

$21,500*

$16,500*

$8,000*

#5065A 1990 Chevrolet V 6 5 SPD

#5126B 2007 Kia Sportage AWD 2.7

#4972A 2005 Chevrolet LT Crew Z71 W DVD

#4962B 2001 Dodge 4x4

#5124A 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe

#5222A 2006 Chevrolet REG CAB 4X4

$1,550*

$18,700*

$22,000*

$6,500*

$16,500*

$15,500*

#5079A 2003 GMC SLT Envoy XL

#4949B 2007 Durango Hemi 4X4

#5198B 2001 Ford XL 4X4

#5143A 2006 GMC H/D Crew 4x4

#4952 2009 Pontiac NEW Vibe AWD

#5156 2009 Chevrolet NEW Malibu

$12,500*

$26,500*

$6,900*

$18,500*

#4966A 2004 Chevrolet Malibu V6

#5180A1999 Ford Mustang

#5152 2009 Chevrolet NEW Cobalt LT

#Consignment 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt

Finance x72 mnths @ 7.0%

SASK

Finance x 72 mnths @ 7.9%

very low km

Finance x 72 mnths @ 7.9%

$22,000*

#5140A 2003 Pontiac Grand AM GT

#5203B 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt

Finance x 72 mnths @7.9%

Take over lease

$16,235*

$335/mnth*

$7,900*

#4614A 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt SS Supercharged

#4614A 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt SS Supercharged

#5155A 2004 Chevrolet Impala

#4076 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix GT Demo

14000Km

low km

$18,900*

$18,900*

$8,900*

$19,900*

$18,800

#5149A 2007 Chevrolet Impala LS

#5012A 2008 Chevrolet Impala

#4104R 2007 Chevrolet HHR LS

#5013A 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix

#4996B 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix GT

$15,500*

$18,900*

$15,900*

$17,700*

$13,800*

$11,500* #4734B 2007 Chevrolet HHR LT

*

$23,800*

$15,900*

$5,000*

CALL DONNA FOR YOUR FINANCE REQUIREMENTS SALE PRICES UNTILL Jan 10,09

1 888-773-4646

$8,500* #5078A 2007 Chevrolet HHR Special Edition LT

#5176A 2005 Chevrolet Impala LS

$10,900*

SALES POSITION OPEN CONTACT LARRY ALWARD

www.collegeparkgm.com

1 888-773-4646

PIPELINE NEWS Saskatchewan’s Petroleum Monthly

B-Section January 2009

Listen for the duelling banjos

The city of Estevan is willing to provide serviced industrial lots for a proposed Energy Training Institute expansion, and might be able to line up a rig to put on it. Weyburn is playing with their cards close to their chest. Both Estevan and Weyburn are lobbying hard to entice the school to their communities.

Estevan Mayor Gary St. Onge.

Story and photos

by Brian Zinchuk Weyburn – With the marked shortage of trained workes for the oilpatch over the most recent boom, Southeast Regional College is looking to expand its Energy Training Institute (ETI).

The two most likely candidates for a location are Estevan and Weyburn, and each city is rallying to the cause of attracting the expansion.

If you stood in Midale and faced south, you could probably hear the duelling banjos, with Weyburn in your right ear, and Estevan in your left.

It’s a high stakes proposition, this proposed expansion, with the promise of jobs, and more importantly, the ability to train people for jobs that are already out there. This is not a Highway 39 rivalry between the Red Wings and Bruins. In this match up, who wins counts in the real world.

Estevan hard done by Estevan is already smarting from losing several provincial/regional institutions to Weyburn in recent years. They’ve seen both school boards and the health district headquarters, along with several provincial agencies, move to their rival down the road.

Local business people, including the Estevan Oilfield Technical Society, and the mayor of Estevan have told Pipeline News they feel enough’s enough. “Estevan wants to fight for that facilty,” Jim Wilson of Estevan’s OTS says.

“We want it here bad. It should be here. The industry is,” says Estevan Mayor Gary St. Onge. He

notes one company has mentioned providing the use of an old drilling rig. “Why not train these guys right here?” he asks.

“We’re prepared to give them one or two of these lots for nothing,” he says of new industrial parcels recently serviced.

Weyburn cites Regina proximity She doesn’t play poker, but Debra Button, the mayor of Weyburn, is keeping her cards close to her chest. She reports her community is mobilizing to attract the ETI expansion. “We’re working hard to attract it here,” she says, noting a proposal is being put together. “Who can offer the most carrots?

The Weyburn proposal is a committee of industry, business, and city representatives. “We want it here, dammit,” she says with a smile.

“Weyburn it the perfect fit – one hour away from Regina, hotels, the airport. Southeast Regional College is based here.”

“We’ve been working on this for about 16 months,” she noted in early December.

Button adds Weyburn was a good fit for school offices and the health region. As for the disgruntlement of Estevan, she says, “Estevan’s doing just fine.

This isn’t going to take the meat and potatoes.”

In the middle In the middle of all this is the regional college, and its general manager, Trent Jordens, who is acting as project manager. He’s already being bombarded with people bringing forward their case. When Pipeline News called, he had just gotten off the phone with a senior civic official from one of the communities.

“Oh yeah, for sure, it’s a hot topic,” he says. “People want to have the high visibility and the jobs.”

People are wondering what is needed for infrastructure and services, Jordens explains, and the idea has opened up a lot of out of the box thinking.

The idea is still very much in its infancy, he explains, and it’s going to be June before the business plan is ready. “We’ve seen a dramatic increase in our safety training and specialized oil training. We’re doing a lot of training for other regional colleges,” he says, noting they have been “busting at the seams.”

The most of current ETI training is done between Estevan and Weyburn, with the majority in Estevan.

That includes training for the mines, power, energy, and SaskTel, he notes.

Some of the concepts they are considering is including new directions – wind, solar, and geothermal

Weyburn Mayor Debra Button.

energy as part of the package.

And nuclear?

“That is definitely not out of the question,” he says, noting northern US states that are big into nuclear power.

“We want to be able to hedge our bets with a diversified business plan. If the energy sector slows, we can still keep classes full.”

“We want to look at a more international training institute, not just a southeast college – more of a centre of excellence,” Jordens explains. That includes drawing people from Alberta, Manitoba, and the U.S. He notes Enform in Alberta took 25 years to be where it is now, including a lot of industry association participation.

They want to have partnerships, including SIAST and the universities. The University of Regina, for instance, would like an interpretive centre for carbon dioxide sequestration, and hopefully some kind of on-site research facility, he notes.

With an expansion of the Energy Training Institute still in its infancy, it’s hard not to think of another infant that had two claimants – the mothers who appeared before King Solomon, claiming the same baby. Solomon suggested they split the baby in two, and each have half, until the real mother said the other could take it in order to spare its life.

It may take the wisdom of Solomon to make the decision between these two cities, because barring it being located in Midale or split down the middle, this story has just begun.

rving e S w No

ESTEVAN,WEYBURN & AREA

#300 - 1236 5th Street Estevan, SK

COMMERCIAL

•

INDUSTRIAL

Services Offered

•

RESIDENTIAL Project Types

• Wood Frame Shops • Condominiums • Project Management • Budgeting & Design • Pre-Eng. Metal Buildings • Specialized Custom Homes • Design Build • Turn-Key Construction • Commercial Retail • Development Coordination www.wilhelmconstruction.ca

306-637-3230

B2

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Back in ...

Story and photos

by Brian Zinchuk Midale – It’s a nice night for December, warm, with hardly any wind. The moon is so bright, you could drive without headlights.

It’s a good night if you’re working outdoors on Precision Drilling Rig No. 409, just northeast of Midale. Rig No. 409 has been kept busy working in Apache Canada’s Midale field, where they are implementing a carbon dioxide miscible flood project.

The next day will turn out to be frigid, when it comes time for the crew

to rig out. Headlines will speak of the deep freeze Saskatchewan has fallen into. But tonight, at least, it’s warm as the rig trips out for its last hole before Christmas. The rig is going in for a retrofit and inspection, so they will miss the cold weather.

Donning his blue Nomex jacket, safety glasses and hardhat, Brielle Lisoway heads out of the command centre shack to do his rounds.

Since they’re tripping out, he’s not in the doghouse as much as when they’re drilling. Touring the rig, he talks with the hands as they go about

A lot of steam comes off the shakers in winter.

January Clearance Sale

634-8384 Advertising

1209 4th St., Estevan

For All Your Marketing Needs

It’s not a Christmas tree, but it is brightly lit.

their business. One has a question about fluid levels, and how much they have on hand.

Lisoway is the drilling supervisor on this job. He’s one of four, who split the job into 12 hour days and 12 hour nights, with two week rotations.

His counterparts are Gilbert Nicolay, working days, and Jim Cusack and Glen Mauer on the other crew. Cusack used to work in the Gulf of Mexico, while Mauer hails from Estevan.

Before going to sleep, Nicolay confers with his counterpart on the status of the rig. He grew up near Kenosee, and lives in Regina, but at one point worked in the North Sea, where “We actually brought Prince Phillip out.”

The drilling supervisor, or consultant, depending on who you talk to, is the oil company’s representative on the site. He’s actually subcontracted through Pajak Engineering, but don’t let that fool you. What the drilling supervisor says on lease is law.

“Everything goes through us,” Lisoway explains, whether it is dealing with local services or ensuring the mud is the right mix.

It’s apparent from the set up of the command centre. In the middle, looking out a large window at the rig, is the drilling supervisor’s position. The supervisor can cook up lunch and make a pot of coffee or check email without ever taking their eye off the rig for more than a few seconds. ɸ Page B3

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

B3

Saskatchewan for now ɺ Page B2 At one end of the trailer, to his right, is geology. They’ve rigged out already, so that end is quiet. To his left is the directional drilling crew, with Don Lukasiewich acting as directional driller, and Radek Marszalek doing the surveying while drilling. The day crew is Ed Bradish, directional driller, and Mike Watts, doing the measuring. They work for Sperring Drilling, now part of Halliburton.

Family thing Like most drilling supervisors, Lisoway has worked his way up from the bottom. It’s a family thing, see, with his brother-in-law Don Hynd, calling him up for work initially on seismic crews. “Don would phone me up and I would work seismic rigs with him,” Lisoway explains, having worked on truckmounted t o p -

drives, drilling holes for explosives.

“Then Lawrence would call me up when he needed a roughneck.”

Lawrence Lisoway, Brielle’s late brother, was a driller for many years.

Another brother-in-law, Blake Ritchie, also used to be a driller.

Of Lawrence, he notes, “He’d ask me to come and roughneck for him. The money was pretty good, so I ended up staying. He was a driller for a lot of years, then went into the safety side of it.”

Walking around the well, he notes, “There’s always something new.

There’s always something new to learn. Every well is different. It’s never the same.”

He explains the process of underbalWorking the rigs has been a family thing for Brielle Lisoway, originally of Stenen, Sk. His brother and two brothers in law have worked the rigs at various times.

Celebrating 30 Years in SE Saskatchewan!

ancing the well, twice, but it’s incomprehensible to the layman like this writer. Maybe it’s the late hour. He knows it inside and out, however.

Underbalance units are not always necessary, but safer, and good to have around.

“Safety standards have improved threefold,” he says. Some of the has to do with younger generations adopting newer practices. “You don’t see a lot of the older rig hands, more guys in their 30s, 40s.” he says.

“I’ve consulted for four and a half years now. I’ve been in the oilpatch for 15 – started right from roughneck to tool push to consultant,” Lisoway explains.

Farming for oil The youngest of six children – four girls, and two boys - Lisoway grew up on a farm down a sandy road, near Stenen, about an hour north of

Yorkton. He and his wife, Michelle, and their two children, Brandon, 14, and Brett, 10, moved to Turner Valley, southwest of Calgary, after spending eight years in Yorkton. At the time, he was spending his summers consulting for Apache near Hinton and Fox Creek, and his winters near Zama, Alta. But now, after a move to Alberta in 2006, he’s been working in Midale, just two-and-a-half hours from Yorkton. He started as a drilling supervisor with Apache, and so far, that’s the only company he’s worked with in that capacity.

“We used to live in Yorkton. We moved because it was closer to work, and I ended up here (Midale),” he says with some irony in his voice. Now the company considers him to be a Saskatchewan hand, so he’s likely to keep work-

ing around here, too.

Still, there are benefits to working on this side of the province. It’s only a few hours drive from that farm down the sandy road, which he has since taken over. “We have about 120 head of cattle,” he says, noting his wife’s proficiency around livestock. It’s just beef, and enough grain to provide some feed. Some friends keep an eye on things when he can’t.

Asked about some drilling that is happening in that area these days, Lisoway notes a well was drilled in the 1950s not far from their farm. He suspects there’s something under there, and notes he’d like to drill on it some day.

“I gotta work the oilpatch to support the farm,” he says with a smile.

Perhaps, some day, that farm just might pay off with oil under it?

Regina, Sask.

Custom Industrial Accommodation

SVEIN BRYEIDE CONSTRUCTION Ltd.

Skid shak office & wellsite units

• Earthmoving and Oilfield Construction • Lease Preparations and Restorations • Pipeline Construction and Maintenance

• 12’ x 28’ • 12’ x 56’ • 12’ x 24’ • 12’ x 40’ 10’ wide models available

• Trackhoe and Backhoe • Road Building, Dugouts • Dozer Ripper and Winch Cats • Lowbeds and More • Motor Scrapers, Graders • Snow Removal HWY. 47 N. AT BENSON Fax: 634-9798 • Cell: 421-0203

634-6081

Sales & Leasing

Ph: (306)529-7539, (306)731-7199 www.hardshak.com

Prairie Mud Service “Serving Western Canada With 24 Hour Drilling Mud Service” Head OfÀce:

Estevan, Sask.

Tel: 634-3411 Fax: 634-6694 Ray Frehlick, Manager Cell: 421-1880 Ken Harder Warehouse Manager Cell: 421-0101

Calgary Sales OfÀce: Tel: 403-237-7323 Fax: 403-263-7355 Chuck Haines, Technical Sales Cell: 403-860-4660

Swift Current Warehouse: Derek Klassen - Cell: 306-741-2447

Environmental Division Darwin Frehlick - Cell: 421-0491

Lacombe Warehouse: Darcy Day Day - Cell: 403-597-6694

Kindersley Warehouse: Len Jupe - Cell: 306-463-7632

Mud Technicians JAMIE HANNA Cell: 421-2435

JIM MERKLEY Cell: 483-7633

WAYNE HEIN Estevan, Sask.

Cell: 421-9555

IAN SCOTT Oxbow, Sask.

Cell: 421-6662

JASON LING Carlyle, Sask.

Cell: 421-2683

GERALD SMITH Cell: 421-2408

CHAD STEWART Cell: 421-5198

B4

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Estevan housing shortage Estevan – The housing shortage in Estevan is drawing serious concern, with what amounted to an emergency meeting held Nov. 27 to address the issue.

The local ministerial association called them meeting, after numerous people had come to their respective churches, seeking help. In addition to the church leaders, concerned citizens, business people, and city officials were present. Approximately 60 people attended the meeting at Living Hope Community Church.

The shortage has been fuelled primarily by growth in the local oilpatch.

The point was reinforced in mid- December, when the Estevan Mercury proclaimed on its front page the vacancy rate was officially 0.0. There was simply no slack left in the market, period.

13th Biennial Saskatchewan

Oil & Gas Show Exhibition Grounds, Weyburn, SK

June 3 & 4, 2009 Set-up and golf tournament—June 2, 2009 ➟Chairman: Ron Carson, Carson Welding & Maintenance

By Patricia Ward, Weyburn Review

➟Vice Chairman: Dennis Krainyk, Apache Canada Inc. ➟Honourary Chairman: Hon. Bill Boyd, Minister of Industry & Resources

Home of the Saskatchewan Oil Patch Awards

THE SHOW YOU WON’T WANT TO MISS… ■ Golf Tournament ■ Exhibits ■ Socializing ■ Barbecue ■ Hospitality ■ Keynote Industry Speaker: John Gormley, June 4

Sponsored by…

WEYBURN OIL SHOW BOARD P.O. Box 1450, Weyburn, SK S4H 3J9 Tel: (306) 842.3232

Fax: (306) 842.4348

e-mail sk.oilshow@sasktel.net Web Site: www.oilshow.ca Office located at Prairie Agencies Ltd.

33 Fifth Street NE, Weyburn, SK

Platinum Sponsors:

Gold Sponsors:

Ministry of Energy and Resources

Bronze Sponsors:

Approximately 60 people turned out on Nov. 27 to tackle the Estevan housing shortage.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

Rev. Mike Sinclair of the ministerial association was one of the organizers.

“We’ve been involved with the issue, discussing it for the last year,” he says. They sent a letter to city council in the falls, asking for issue to be addressed. Sinclair says they thought it was a good idea to “plug people together.”

Sinclair said there is a “need to turn the heat of a hotspot for oil into a hotspot for housing.”

William Sinclair was present in a personal capacity, having served ten years as a minister. “I already know the shortages from an employer standpoint,” he says, having recently worked for a local dealership. He says there is either nothing available, or it is exorbitantly priced. He says the company ended up buying a house in town as a buffer zone for employees until a place could be found for them in town. They couldn’t even get hotel rooms for visiting senior managers, at one point earlier this year putting one up in a trailer. “It was a camper for him.”

“There are people we have known sleeping in their vehicles. One was a woman with a young kid. She was typical of a lot of things.”

Another concerned citizen who wanted to remain anonymous told Pipeline News “We see it on a daily basis – people coming to the community needing housing.”

The group put together four lists of people to work on particular aspect – emergency housing, short term, long term, and a final catch-all group for anything missed.

Similar breakout groups were formed that evening, brainstorming for ways to address the issue.

Emergency housing Emergency housing was defined as 24 to 48 hours. People in this situation have been coming to churches with emergencies. They used to use hotel space to address this need, but there was no hotel space left. One idea would ask hotels to keep one room available on a rotating basis to be used for such emergencies.

Using defunct schools was identified as one possibility, perhaps using emergency cots requisitioned from the emergency measures organization. The old billiard hall was another possibility. ɸ Page B5

In 20 seconds, your skid steer or CTL can be a self-propelled scraper

Ashland

w w w. a s h l a n d i n d . c o m

Customer comments:

“

Moving Dirt has never been so cheap

“

“ “

“

I’ve dramatically reduced my fuel cost per yard

“

you have to see it to believe it

watch it NOW!!!

www.youtube.com Search: “Ashland Ground Hog Scraper”

',* '(/,9(5 '803

$1,000 Rebate Factory Sales Representative:

George S. Adair Swift Current, SASK 306-774-8559 mobile 306-773-0996 of¿ce 306-778-7421 fax gadair@shaw.ca

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

B5

spurs emergency meeting ɺ Page B4 Supervision would be needed, it was noted.

A centralized list for available rentals was suggested.

Churches could also be called upon to provide space. Oilfield trailers not in use could be another option, possibly donated from the local business sector.

Hooking up with Fort McMurray and Regina, seeking guidance from the, was also put forward.

Short term housing To address short term housing issues, one idea was to open extra rooms up to boarders. Construction of housing in garages was another.

Vacant commercial space could be made available for housing.

Smaller communities surrounding Estevan could be brought into the picture was another idea.

If some people are living in camper trailers, perhaps quonsets could be built to put those trailers in.

Schools closed in surrounding communities could be used for housing was another suggestion.

Long term housing In the long term, much of the focus was on bringing more units on stream.

However, there was a lot of resignation to the fact is it difficult to keep homebuilding tradespeople building homes. They often get attracted to the oilpatch.

As such, modular housing was given a lot of consideration, saving time and construction.

“We can’t keep these guys. That’s the problem,” said Dan Custer, a Saskatoon architect that has been working in the Estevan area for 30 years.

Even if you could bring in more builders, the question was asked, “Where are you going to house them?”

Rent controls was one suggestion, while lobbying the province from money derived from Crown land sales was another.

Granny flats were suggested, as was attracting builders to the community.

As for available land on which to build, it was noted that churches actually held a substantial amount of land.

Nadine Elson owns rental property. She came to see how people can think outside the box, and to help educate. Some people might be nervous about renting out to strangers, she feels. “I’ve had rental property for 20-odd years. There are ways of screening people,” she notes, when considering boarders.

Sales Representatives Troy Smith Moosomin, Sk 306-435-7095 Garth McLearn Lloydminister, Ab 780-808-1902 Clint Busse Swift Current, Sk 306-672-7672

A breakout-group discusses long term solutions to Estevan’s pressing housing shortage.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

Custom Designed/Built Homes (A Division of Total Energy Services Ltd.)

TRUCKING

RENTALS

• 400 BBL Tanks, Lined, • Pickers Sloped, Steam Coiled, • Bed Trucks • Winch Tractors Sumped & Sour Serviced, ACID Enviro-Vac Units, • Texas Beds Flare Tanks • Rig Mats • Invert Systems

MIDALE 306•458• 2811

midale@totaloilÀeld.ca

636-1640

BAKER PETROLITE John Prette 421-9676

Matt Clausen 421-6214

Rob Hildebrand 421-3495

Blair Heaman Virden, MB 204-748-7963

Dominic Cote 421-0973 Dustin Hockey 421-3623

to Magnificent...

• Surface Sump Tanks • Caterpillar Loaders • Vapor Tight Equipment • Portable Flaring Equipment • Flow Back Separators • Pre-Mix Systems

Estevan OfÀce 83 Devonian Street

Bob Garrow 421-3235

from Modest...

Mike Rookes 204-851-5382 Nolan Balon 461-6012 Virden OfÀce

204-748-6858

Any size...

We deliver homes up to 36’ x 96’

Any stage...

Foundation, framed, roughed in, or fully finished

Any where...

Built on your site in the Weyburn area, or in our yard for delivery anywhere on the northern Great Plain

Custom Canadian Homes Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Canada visit us across Highway 39 from the Ramada Inn phone 306 842-4414 toll free 1 888 842-4005

www.customcanadianhomes.com

B6

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Millwright assisting in Africa

This was just a portion of Brian Mustard’s crew working with ExxonMobil in Chad. From left: Brian Mustard, Mbairo (Mech.Tech.), Piet (Mech Advisor), Anoop (Mech. Advisor) , E.J. (Mech. Lead), Kemi (Mech. Tech.), Bottom row: Lary (Mech.Tech), Pascal (Toolroom keeper).

Photo submitted

Benson – After spending several years in sub-Saharan Africa, Brian Mustard now wants to send something back – books. Lots and lots of books. A shipping container-full, if he can swing it.

Last Pipeline News heard, he had three pallets of books to ship overseas. “I would like to get enough books to fill a shipping container and monetary donations to send it,” Mustard told Pipeline News. “That 20foot shipping container of books would create

E-Line • Production Testing • Slickline • Swabbing • Technical Reporting • Well Optimization Wireline (306) 634-1070

Well Testing (306) 634-6503

Optimization (306) 634-6502

www.cansub.com

Estevan, SK

the biggest English library in Chad."

It’s a long tale of how this former SaskPower millwright would come to seek sending books in metal boxes overseas.

The 33-year-old came from Anola, Man., attending high school in Oak Bank, Man. After school, he moved to Vancouver, where he started his industrial career.

There he made rail and lifting components for seaport container shipping cranes for Hillmar Industries. “What I initially wanted to do was underwater welding,” he says.

From there it was back to Winnipeg, where he worked with Pritchard Engineering. “They specialized in hydraulics, machining, millwrighting and manufacturing,” Mustard explains. The company serviced the manufacturing, power, mining, and oil and gas industries.

“In four years, I had

taken 24 courses through Red River College for electrical engineering, machining, hydraulics, millwrighting, power engineering, and pressure welding.”

Now with his interprovincial millwright ticket, he was also trained as a non-redseal machinist plus an industrial maintenance electrician and a certified welder. He got his millwright ticket by challenging the exam.

“Things were really stagnant around Winnipeg ten years ago,” he says, noting work through the millwrights’ union had him doing overhauls in Manitoba, Saskachewan, and British Columbia. Shortly after that, he found work with SaskPower in Estevan, working as part of a heavy maintenance crew on the local power plants from 2000 to 2006.

“I said I’d put in five years with them. I did five and half.”

ɸ Page B7

• SASKATCHEWAN • ALBERTA • MANITOBA

• OilÀeld Construction • Pipeline Construction • Trucking & Picker Trucks • Directional Boring • Hydro Vac • OilÀeld Maintenance • Enviromental & Safety Service NEW • Insulating & Metal Buildings

ESTEVAN 306-634-9900

EMAIL: carson@carsonwelding.com

ALIDA 306-443-2281

LAMPMAN 306-487-2281

CARLYLE 306-453-6190

HALBRITE 306-458-2583

SWIFT CURRENT 306-773-9585

ELITE • LLOYDMINSTER 780-808-8450

WAINWRIGHT, AB 780-842-4220

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

B7

Class Pays Brian Mustard of Benson works on a vapour recovery compressor overhaul in the later stages of assembly.

Photo submitted

Creating a library ɸ Page B6 “I was out in B.C., visiting my sister, and I got a phone call from a recruiter, asking if I would be interested in working in Chad, Africa.”

The call out of the blue came from a posting of his CV on Monster.ca.

It would see him working for ExxonMobil.

“I took that offer and did that for two years,” he says, with it ending this past August. There he worked in predictive maintenance and mechanical advising on a 200,000 bbl/day operation. That included; gas compressors, pumping stations, and turbine (four 30 megawatt GE) power generation units, quite a bit of juice for “out in the middle of Africa.”

“There isn’t much more than oilfield in that area,” he says, noting there were a few small villages. “The climate was something – three seasons: wet season, hot season, and unbelievably hot season.”

“I never thought I would feel 50 degrees C, or the sensation of my eardrums being hot,”

Mustard recalls.

“Part of my role was mentoring engineering staff and technicians.

A lot were engineers or professors.

“One was a professor of math and physics with a golden heart. He spent most of his money from his job at ExxonMobil, on building a free a school in N’jedemena, Chad.”

The man’s name is Sebastien Koumte, and he’s also working on a medical clinic, also free to the public. After helping with money for building material, Mustard is now starting a donation program for books for the school. He’s looking to get his hands on any English-language books he can find, no matter their age or condition.

Now Mustard is operating out of Benson, where he moved to six years ago while working with SaskPower. With his multi-disciplinary background, he’s getting established in “mechanical consulting,” operating under the name IndusDynamic.

“With my roles

and experience on major projects, predictive maintenance, and project advising” he notes, “and, with so many new projects in the planning, implementation and production stages in the Estevan area, I'd be able to fill some gaps in a lack of quality assurance on those levels. What I offer is planning oversight, and project management.”

That includes project planning, design modifications and site co-ordination on equipment installations and overhauls.

If collecting books and starting a new business venture weren’t enough, Mustard is also trying his hand at real estate. “I ended up buying a few properties,” he says, including lots in Benson, a quarter section across the highway, and a joint venture on a three unit apartment in Benson. “A lot of my time has been spent between getting the ball rolling on mechanical consulting and real estate development.”

Anyone with books to donate can contact Mustard at 306-6340123.

Elias Fork Lift Plows • We build 8, 10 & 12 ft blades • Easy to install • Wings for snow catching • Built rugged

Elias Scale (306) 445-2111 • www.eliasscales.com inquiries@eliasscales.com • North Battleford, Sask.

USED MODELS SN 989274

2007 KENWORTH T800 150,000 km, C15(550 hp), 18 speed, 13.2 lb Front Axle, 46,000 lb Rear Axle, 240 WB, 36” Bunk

SN 891218

2006 PETERBILT MODEL 379 758,000 km, C15(475HP), 18 Speed, 12,000 lb Front Axle, 46,000 lb Rear Axle, 220WB

SN 849411

SN 648160

2006 PETERBILT MODEL 379 463,000 km, ISX(450 hp), 10 Speed Ultra, 12,000 lb Front Axle, SUPER 40’S, 185 WB, Very clean unit

SN 820817

2004 PETERBILT MODEL 378 GRAVEL TRUCK 652,000km, C15(550 hp), 18 speed, 14.6 lb Rear Axle, Rz166 - 46,000 lb Tri drive, 285WB, 22 foot Gravel Box

SN 966761

2005 PETERBILT MODEL 378

2002 KENWORTH T800

762,000 km, ISX(475 hp). 18 Speed, 14.6 lb Front Axle, 46,000 lb Rear Axle, 48HR Bunk

1,193,000 km, Detroit S60(435 hp). 13 Speed, 12,000 lb Front Axle, 40,000 lb Rear Axle, 70 Inch Bunk, 230 WB

Karl Haselhan

Truck Sales Representative Call: 306-421-2918

Frontier Peterbilt Sales Ltd. #1 Frontier Street, Highway 39 East, at the Shand Road, Estevan, SK Phone: (306) 636-6320 • Fax: (306) 636-6321 Open Monday to Friday 7:30 am - 8:00 pm Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

B8

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Nuclear may be added to Sask energy mix Bruce Power is looking at three potential nuclear power projects in the coming years, with announcements of expressions of interest in Alberta, Ontario, and now, Saskatchewan.

On Nov. 27, Bruce Power released their initial feasibility study for

Saskatchewan, citing three possible locations for nuclear power development – Prince Albert, the Battlefords, and Lloydminster – all along the North Saskatchewan River.

Bruce Power thinks Saskatchewan will need another 1000 megawatts

(MW ) of power generation capability by 2020, but is considering building two reactors, each capable of producing 1000 MW. The surplus power would be meant for export, primarily to Alberta.

Similar projects for Bruce Power are also

under consideration for Peace River, Alberta, and Haldiman-Norfolk, Ontario. Each project cites two 1000 MW reactors. The Ontario project would be adjacent to the current Nanticoke coal fire plant, with the intention of replacing its power production.

When asked if the Saskatchewan project was a replacement for the Alberta project that was announced earlier, Steven Cannon of Bruce power says, “We’re looking at two separate projects.”

Currently in Saskatchewan they are looking at a region, while Alberta’s project is more focused on a location near the town of Peace River.

It’s no coincidence the northwest region of Saskatchewan is under consideration for the project.

“Specifically, the growth in demand in northeastern Alberta, which is fueling the province’s growth, is also a significant opportunity for Saskatchewan,” the report says.

“To build, operate and manage a nuclear power plant is a considerable undertaking and one of the most important factors considered

by Bruce Power is the availability of human resources. For this reason, a number of areas were excluded from the assessment process due to a lack of sufficient infrastructure regionally to host a nuclear power

Bruce Power’s plant on Lake Ontario.

Iron Wolf Slasher • Bush Cleaning • Mulching Frozen Topsoil for Lease Building • Mulching Topsoil for Pipeline Right of Ways

Don Biette 421-6004

TO KEEP YOUR FUTURE

ON TRACK. Lots of times, changes in life also affect your investments.

That’s why there’s never been a better time to schedule your free portfolio review. We’ll talk about the changes in your lfe, and help you decide whether it makes sense to revise your investments because of them.

A portfolio review will help ensure our investments are keeping pace with your goals. Call or visit your local Edward Jones advisor today.

Tyler Knibbs Estevan, SK S4A 1Y3 306-634-4870 www.edwardjones.com

Kipling - 736-2308

Michael Biette 736-7511

Photo courtesy Bruce Power

NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT

Orville R Acton, CFP 119 3rd Street N.E. Weyburn, SK S4H 0W4 306-842-4628

Estevan - 634-5233

plant. It is estimated a nuclear facility would require 2,000 people during construction and 1,000 during operation.”

Several other locations were dismissed.

The report notes, “Consideration was also given to Lake Diefenbaker and possible locations near Estevan, where coal facilities currently operate. Sites near Lake Diefenbaker were excluded because of the lack of infrastructure and population. Although Swift Current has considerable infrastructure that could support a facility, the most viable sites were located a significant distance from the city reducing the viability of this location. ɸ Page B10

Dwight Hall 421-3778 Typefaces are as follows:

Large Ad

Member CIPF

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

B9

Estevan is in the process of opening up a new industrial area on the east side of the city, just southeast of Wal-Mart.

The project is called the Glen Peterson Industrial Park.

“That will be the first industrial area we have with paved roads,” notes Mayor Gary St. Onge.

It’s not going to be long before they are ready, he explains, noting most of the dirt work is done.

There are 13 lots in the subdivision, and the city has already had expressions of interest. So far, the interest has all bee oilpatch related, but is not a requirement.

The city is also willing to give up one or two of these lots for a new Energy Training Institute expansion, as part of the city’s package to attract the project currently under consideration.

Servicing of lots in Estevan’s new Glen Peterson Industrial Park saw a substantial amount of dirt scratched before the snow Áew.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

Estevan building

RON'S The Work Wear Store Ltd. Check out our large selection of OilÀeld Products: DuPont™

NOMEX

FR Coveralls, Bib Overalls, Shirts & Pants

CSA Work Boots from KODIAK, JB Goodhue, CAT Hard Hats, Replacement Suspensions and Accessories Safety glasses, Rubber gloves, Work gloves

and so much more!

Estevan – Estevan got a lot of coverage from CBC in late November, but not all of it was positive, with stories on rising crime and drug use.

“It’s always great, anytime we get some publicity,” noted Estevan Mayor Gary St. Onge, but he felt there was a negative slant to CBC’s reporting.

He noted that all the businesses in the city are busy, and there has been over $100 million in building permits over the last four years, over $30 million in the last year alone. There’s also been approximately 30 housing starts over the same year, a change from five or so years ago, when the city was

discounting lots.

St. Onge notes there are still a lot of Alberta trucks around Estevan, and wonders if they’re short term, or planning to stay.

If they do, they might want to consider some of the new lots coming available on the north side of the city.

Another subdivision will feature modular homes built by WinAlta.

“We’re more concerned about getting housing done,” St. Onge noted, when asked about the modular development. This is the first time a private developer has expressed interest in the city in 30 years, he noted, and it is being welcomed. It also

frees up the city from tying up its own money in development.

There’s a need for affordable housing, he acknowledges, defining

that as a house around $200,000 as being “more affordable.”

“Is $200,000 affordable to a guy working at McDonalds?” he asks.

WE CARRY SIZES FOR THE BIG AND TALL DARE TO COMPARE BUT SEE US LAST 202 MAIN CARLYLE 453-6167

112 2ND ST. WEYBURN 842-3006

1210 4TH ST ESTEVAN 634-8232

* Bed Trucks * Winch Tractors * Pickers

RIG MOVING Phone: 482-3244 1120 East Avenue Weyburn, Sask.

S4H 3E4 Ph. 842-7290 Fax 842-7277

Welcome to Industrial Electric Hei-Bro-Tech Petroleum Services A Division of 24-7 Enterprises Ltd.

• Fluid levels • Dynamometers • Pressure surveys (automated & manual) • Foam depressions • Equipment sales (new & used), rentals & repairs • Repairs done on all models including: Sonolog, Echometer, DX, etc.

• Major parts and supplies in stock at all times

Box 4, Midale, SK S0C 1S0 Phone: (306) 458-2367 or (306) 861-1001 Fax: (306) 458-2373

Industrial Electric (Weyburn) Ltd is a major maintenance and installations contractor for manufacturing and processing industries in the oil and gas sector. For over 35 years, IEW has provided high quality maintenance and installation services for some of Canada's largest companies.

From general electrical contracting to complex installations, IEW's committed group of electrical professionals is prepared for any project. Our growing team of electricians and instrument mechanics maintains exceptional standards of quality and customer service.

Check us out on the web www.industrialelectric.ca

Exceeding expectations IEW is committed to the highest standards of quality.

Join the IEW team Exciting opportunities with a superior employer.

E-mail resumes to: employment@industrialelectric.ca

B10

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

CBC highlights Estevan, the

By Brian Zinchuk Estevan – When CBC Radio Saskatchewan sought to highlight a community that exemplified Saskatchewan’s boom, Estevan quickly topped the list.

“I came two weeks ago to find a spot and get a sense of what was happening here. Man, after 10 minutes, this was the place to do a show,” ex-

plained Leisha Grebinski, a producer with CBC’s The Morning Edition.

She notes how other car dealers and retail stores in other communities have been making major discounts to draw business. That hadn’t been the case in Estevan. “You can see they don’t need that,” she noted. “There is no economic doom and gloom here.

LECLAIR TRANSPORT

Lyle Leclair - Cell: 306-421-7060 Larry - Cell: 306-421-7131 General Oilfield Hauling

The program ran a remote studio session in Estevan’s Days Inn hotel on Nov. 26, after two days of stories leading up to the remote. Approximately twenty were present at the conclusion of the session, including the mayor, president of the local chamber of commerce, and several police officers.

Grebinski spoke to about a dozen men who work on the rigs, but she noted they were the hardest to find, as they are working long hours.

One story that stood out for Grebinski was the safety trainer whose own son lost a finger shortly after going to work on the rigs. ɸ Page B11 CBC Radio Morning Edition Host Sheila Coles talks about the pluses and minuses of Estevan’s boom.

REDLINE WELL SERVICE Bruce Power Chris Scholpp 421-0557 Phone: 487-7790 OfÀce: 487-2201 redlinewell@sasktel.net

• Completions • Consulting & Supervision • Contract Battery Operating • Production Management • Canada & USA 24 Hour Hot Shot Service

has power ɺ Page B8 “Estevan was promising because existing facilities that use water and require infrastructure are already located in the region.

However, Bruce Power excluded the Estevan

option because the role that region will play in terms of future clean coal generation will be considerable in the future. To locate a nuclear facility, in addition to such a significant amount of coal, would have concentrated too much electricity in the province in a single location. The Estevan region currently has 1,000 MW of generating capacity and the available water resources are used extensively.

If the coal plants were to be shut down in Estevan a nuclear facility would have been more viable. However, given the government’s investment in clean coal technology, Bruce Power concluded that region will continue to provide a significant amount of Saskatchewan’s electricity for generations to come.”

Right now Bruce Power is not naming a preference between Lloydminster, the Battlefords and Prince Albert. Cannon notes, “It the new year, you’ll see concerted efforts to talk to the communities.”

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

B11

boomtown of Saskatchewan

CBC Radio Morning Edition Host Sheila Coles, left, wraps up the show’s remote from Estevan. About 20 were present at the end of the show highlighting the city’s growth.

ɺ Page B10 On the plus side, CBC heard a lot about businesses doing well, including those not directly related to the oilpatch. But the negative side showed a shortage of housing and an increase in crime in the city.

Sheila Coles is the host of the Morning Edition, and spent three days in Estevan. Her impressions?

“Growth, money. [I] couldn’t believe the signs of a prosperous economy.”

She noted new retail developments and big trucks being prominent in the community. “It’s so odd seeing that when everything you’ve seen on the news is recession, doom and gloom.

As a provincial radio host, her perspective is province-wide. Asked about what she is seeing elsewhere, Coles noted the rest of Saskatchewan is doing fairly well right now. Of the epicentres, Coles said, “Estevan is leading the pack.”

She wonders about potential for growth in Saskatchewan’s north, and its impact on aboriginal people and the environment.

Such remotes aren’t very common for CBC, with their previous one taking place in Saskatoon in September, focussing on housing. “We try to find an issue that has a lot of story-telling potential,” Coles said. They had considered a town hall at the broadcast centre in Regina, but decided to go, “where it is really booming, and where the stories affecting people live.”

BERT BAXTER TRANSPORT LTD.

DOUG COLPITTS Owner/Manager

Box 609 Carlyle, SK S0C 0R0 Bus: (306) 634-8084 Cell: (306) 577-8833 Fax: (306) 453-6478

Hey Girls!

Just wanna have fun?

Join the Oil Wives Club of Estevan, a social club for women whose significant others work in the oil patch.

We understand relocation and how hard it may be to meet people in a new town.

With our long established “Links of Friendship” via over 29 clubs in B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan, you will always have a group of friends wherever the patch may take you and your family.

301 Kensington Ave. Estevan, SK. Phone: (306) 634-3616

3902 - 75th Ave. Leduc, AB. Phone: (888) 835-0541

www.bbaxtertransport.ca

GEE BEE CONSTRUCTION KIPLING SASK

Alan Batters 736-2332 (Office) 736-7855 (Cell) 736-2334 (Fax) geebee@sasktel.net

Our motto is “Fostering Friendship” and we meet every third Thursday of the month... just to have fun and a meal.

Come out and meet with women who share similar interests and take the opportunity to make life-long friendships.

Our next meeting will be held January 15, 2008.

For more information call Cindy Beaulieu at 634-4970 or Connie Spencer at 634-1012 Check out our website at: www.oilwives.com

TRENCHING EXCAVATING GRAVEL TRUCKING WATER&SEWER DEMOLITION PIPELINE&OILFIELD CONSTRUCTION PICKER TRUCKS

B12

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Modular keeps coming up Estevan – One of the solutions to Estevan’s oil-inspired housing crunch that keeps coming up is modular

homes. If workers can’t be found to build homes in Estevan, get them built elsewhere and shipped here.

Mark Bittman of Covenant Homes stucco can be installed. is doing just that. He’s been selling “My plan is do do something this modular homes for six years, hav- spring, a showhome on the southwest ing worked as a manager at Thunder edge of town in the R.M.,” he says, City, where they used to sell modular noting there is some family property homes. there.

He used to sell a local product, but It’s tough getting respect for modhas begun bringing in an American ulars, Bittman notes. But they can help product that can build CSA-approved alleviate some of the housing crunch, homes. They are built in Montevideo, and relatively quickly.

Minnesota.

“Modulars will work, provided you Bittman says there are challenges have a spot to put them on.” in building in Estevan. First, a lot can “This problem exists in every little range from town, with no Th is problem exists in every $60,000 to place for peo$ 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 . little town, with no place for people ple to live. MiThen, you Macoun, to live. Midale, Macoun, Weyburn, dale, have to secure Weyburn, EsEstevan, Carduff – they’re all a builder, “If tevan, Caryou can find duff – they’re feeling the influx of workers one, if he can all feeling the -Mark Bittman buildyour influx of workhouse within ers.” a year, you’re doing well.”

“There’s definitely a demand for In comparison, a modular home affordable housing,” according to Bittcan show up much quicker. “A person man. “Not a lot of young people are can order a house and get it in six to going to by a lot and build a house in eight weeks. Open stock, you can have Estvan. They can’t afford a $400,000 a house in two weeks. house.”

The home itself, not counting lot His product, finished, if moved and or basement, can cost $60 to $90 per set up in Estevan, would range from square foot. Basements can range from $250,000 to $350,000, depending on $40,000 to $60,000, depending on the lot, basement options, size and fintype. ishing.

If vinyl is a no-go, perhaps for arGarages are optional. So far, all of chitectural controls, it’s possible to get his clients have done garages themthe exterior unfinished, so that brick or selves, after the fact.

“

”

“E XPERIENCE, S ERVICE & S AFETY Y OU C AN T RUST.”

Rockwell Servicing Box 549 Estevan, Sk. S4A 2A5

Tel (306) 634•5522 Fax (306) 634-3238

www.ensignenergy.com

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

B13

Frontier joins Estevan chamber

Doug Miller, general manager of Frontier Peterbilt, is glad to have a new branch in Estevan, but a lack of housing makes it difÀcult to attract workers.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

Estevan – The Estevan Board of Tourism, Trade and Commerce has a little tradition for new members – they are welcome to give a brief presentation introducing themselves to the group.

In December, it was the turn of Frontier Peterbilt Sales Ltd., who has opened an Estevan branch.

Doug Miller, general manager, spoke of the need for a branch in Estevan, adding to their bases in Saskatoon, Regina, and Lloydminster. “We’re excited to be here. We want to add to the community. We don’t want to take from it.�

While he acknowledged things have slowed down in Lloydminster substantially, he notes, “Frontier has no doubt about the opportunities in

*VU[YVS LSTPUH[L WHYHMĂ„ U PYVU Z\SWOPKLZ HUK HZWOHS[LULZ PU VPSĂ„ LSK WYVK\J[PVU HUK PUQLJ[PVU ^LSSZ

The environmentally friendly alternative. www.dpsmicrobial.com

Estevan.�

He noted the need to hire more employees, “but we can’t ďŹ nd any place for them to live.â€?

He noted the people they have in the branch have been so helpful in assisting new sta. “We advertise across Canada.

The problem we’re having is housing.

How can we bring people to the city if there’s no accommodations for them to live in?�

The company has about 210 employees overall, including about 22 in Estevan. “We bought 77 acres,� he noted, explaining they use about seven acres, and have sold about six or seven plots.

There have been a lot of inquiries, he added.

Red Deer, AB

Calgary, AB

Frobisher, SK

Increase Sucker Rod Pump Efficiencies & Run Life in Horizontal, Deviated, Slant Wells. Pump Deeper Into The Bend!

The Eagle Traveling Valve Ͳ A Sucker Rod Pump Enhancement Ͳ Performs as Efficiently Horizontally as it does Vertically.

Increased Production x

The Eagle Traveling Valve when installed on a regular API sucker rod pump can increase the overall efficiency of a pump when run off vertical. Regardless of angle the Eagle Valve pulls itself open & closed immediately at the extreme ends of the stroke by the frictional drag created between the drag plunger and the pump barrel.

With conventional pumps landed at an angle, ball seating can be delayed. Often times 20% or more of the stroke movement occurs before the ball can reͲseat itself properly. x

Normal Pump Plunger

The exclusive design provides greater flow capacity (23 % more than a standard valve of the same size).

Increased Pump Life x

Pump Barrel

Both ball and seat are always stationary & centered within the valve Ͳ prevents uneven wear on the valve. x

Eagle Traveling Valve (attaches to pump plunger)

The ball rotates within every stroke, creating a self lapping effect on the ball & seat Ͳ extends life. x

Instantly opens on the Downstroke Instantly closes on the Upstroke Eagle Traveling Valve Drag Plunger

The ball and seat can be reversed which doubles operational life, at no additional cost.

Reduced Service Costs x

Standing Valve Closed Standing Valve Open

Greater pump efficiencies may result in; slower pump jack speeds = less pump jack, tubing, and rod wear.

The Eagle Valve’s unique, exclusive, patented design in travel valve technology works wonders in gassy fluids, increases pump efficiency, and reduces or eliminates fluid pound, & tapping bottom.

Over 130 Eagle Valves have been run on pumps used to pump water from horizontal CBM wells landed at approximately 82 degrees.

For more information on how a Solution Valve can be installed on your next pump contact Ryan or Don at Conn Pumps, # 208, 110 – 11th Ave. S.W. Calgary, AB, T2R 0B8 Ph: (403) 262Ͳ5151.

B14

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Crescent Point cuts spending Crescent Point Energy Trust has set its 2009 capital expenditures budget at $225 million, which is expected to provide production growth of four per cent to 38,250 bbls of oil equivalent per day in 2009, up from expected production of 36,750 BOE a day in 2008. This year’s capital budget is $425 million, according to Daily Oil Bulletin records.

The trust also announced that it has entered into an agreement to complete a strategic Bakken consolidation

acquisition of Villanova Energy Corp., a private oil and gas producer, for consideration of 4.625 million trust units and the assumption of approximately $23.6 million of net debt. Total consideration is approximately $123.1 million based on a five day weighted average trading price of $21.51 per trust unit.

Villanova is currently producing approximately 1,750 BOE a day, comprised of 95per cent Bakken light oil which is adjacent to and contigu-

Local Distributor for:

Odour Control Systems

ous with Crescent Point's Bakken production.

Crescent Point said its $225 million capital budget for 2009 will be directed primarily towards the southeast Saskatchewan Bakken light oil resource play and will include the drilling of up to 105 (82.3 net) wells, 90per cent of which are expected to be in the Bakken, and the fracture stimulation of up to 122 (106.5 net) Bakken horizontal wells. The trust expects its 2009 capital development activities to add production at a cost of approximately $17,000 per flowing BOE. The trust also announced that Shelter Bay Energy Inc., a private oil and gas producer in which the trust has a 21per cent ownership, has set its preliminary 2009 capital expenditures budget at $150 million, which will include the drilling of up to 88 gross Bakken horizontal wells.

Shelter Bay expects to grow production to more than 5,700 BOE a day in 2009, up more than 80per cent from expected production of 3,100 BOE per day in 2008, and to exit 2009 with production greater than 7,200 BOE a day.

Crescent Point's and Shelter Bay's combined 2009 capital budgets of $375 million will preserve the financial flexibilities of the trust and the company in a lower commodity price environment while still growing production in 2009.

Crescent Point and Shelter Bay have more than $470 million of available cash and bank line providing significant financial strength entering 2009.

By the end of 2009, Crescent Point expects to have a fracture stimulation inventory of 100 wells remaining.

At budget prices of

Enviromentally Friendly Removal of H2S

Sized to your speciÀc needs For more information call Phone: 306-842-2008 Fax: 306-842-2009 www.edgeoilÀeld.ca Cost Effective Easy to Install Non-Toxic

H Y D R O VA C S E R V I C E S 306.388.2225 - 306.421.5954

$55 (U.S.) per bbl WTI, $6.75 (Cdn.) per mcf AECO natural gas and a US$0.80 exchange rate, a typical Crescent Point Bakken well generates a 103per cent rate of return with a 12 month payout, the trust said.

The 2009 capital expenditures budget also provides for the drilling of up to 14 (8.3 net) nonBakken wells, mostly in Saskatchewan.

In addition, the trust has allocated $26 million for facilities, land and seismic, directed primarily towards the Bakken area.

Since inception in the first quarter of 2008, Shelter Bay has acquired the rights to 240 net sections of undeveloped Saskatchewan land, including 211 net sections in the southeast Saskatchewan Bakken light oil resource play and 29 net sections in the emerging Lower Shaunavon play in southwest Saskatchewan.

Shelter Bay is the third largest land holder in the Bakken light oil resource play. It currently has over $165 million of cash and $100 million of unutilized bank line with a Bakken drilling inventory of more than 450 locations.

Shelter Bay's 2009

SpeciÀc Targeting

Ralph French

Direct (306) 577-8553

Greg Cutler

Office/Shop: (306) 457-3774 Fax: (306) 457-2735

Contact your local Pipeline News Sales rep. to get you

24 HOUR EMERGENCY (306) 455-2741

35,000 Circulation

Direct (306) 577-1950

Tank Trucks

budget includes the drilling of up to 88 gross horizontal wells and fracture stimulations in the Bakken play. 2009 production is expected to grow significantly to an annual average greater than 5,700 BOE a day, almost double its expected 2008 production of approximately 3,100 BOE per day.

The Villanova acquisition is expected to close on Jan. 16, 2009 and is subject to Villanova shareholder approval, court approval, and other conditions typical of transactions of this nature. Owners of Villanova shares representing approximately 86per cent of Villanova's issued and outstanding shares have signed lockup agreements and have agreed to tender their Villanova shares to the plan.

Crescent Point expects that the acquisition will provide at least 47 low risk Bakken development drilling locations as well as capital and operating flexibility in the Bakken play with significant production and reserves growth potential. Crescent Point's undeveloped land holdings inthe Bakken play will increase to 413 net sections.

r.frenchtransport@yourlink.ca

on your career ad!

30 Ton Picker Winch Trucks DENNIS TROBERT Owner - 421-3807

Bed Trucks

634-3009

Estevan

Norm Meyers

Low Boy & High Boy Trailers

Sales - 421-8640

General Oilfield Hauling

Les McLenehan

Vacuum Truck Services

Dispatcher/Sales - 421-8810

Steam Cleaning

Septic Tank Service

634-3144

67 Devonian Street, Estevan, Saskatchewan

Portable Bathroom Rentals Pressure Washing

Dry Steam Boiler

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

More lots, more homes, more young families

B15

EX-BAR™ is a custom engineered front end protection system that strengthens your truck and protects your investment.

With the toughest allaluminum construction, EX-BAR™ is not just a dress up... it’s a real protection!

Now available at:

634-2815

A continued demand for new houses in Weyburn has pushed the city to continue developing new lots and to begin the process of annexing more land.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

Weyburn – Weyburn, like many oiltowns in Saskatchewan, is seeing a push for more housing.

The city is in the midst of an annexation process which would see ten quarters of land eventually slated for residential.

Its building numbers in recent years have seen substantial growth. In 2007 there were 131 residential units built, with 81 multi-family units and 50 single family dwellings.

The numbers is down for 2008, with 98 units built to the end of November.

Multi-family counted for 20 unites, but single family units were up a whopping 56 per cent, at 78.

Lloyd Montgomery manages the Weyburn North American Lumber. With yards in Carlyle and Weyburn, he says, “We’ve had a huge increase in sales.”

It’s a change from the late 1980s and 1990s, when he says, “We had a pretty dry spell around here.”

“We’ve become more oil-oriented,” he notes.

“We’re probably involved in 20 to 30 housing starts this year, and we’re not the biggest player.

There’s still a push, but it’s not as intense as it was a year ago, he notes.

Now, houses may be on sale for a month or more.

“A year ago, there were posters on a light post downtown looking for

anywhere for a place to live.”

A lot of this was catching up, he says. “For years, Saskatchewan was nowhere near replacement value. We needed to catch up.”

Their end clients are mostly young families, “The best demographic we can hope for,” he notes.

If they’re not directly employed in the oil business, they’re employed by a business that’s benefitting from it.

The day Pipeline News stopped by, Montgomery notes they had a young customer come in that morning. He had just bought a lot in Griffon, and a mobile home to put on it. Asked what he does, his response was, “Uh, working the rigs.” ɸ Page B16

445 4th Street, Estevan

JUST ARRIVED! Several sizes to choose from

NEW SHIPMENT OF OFFICE TRAILERS! Equipped with air, heat, fridge, coffee maker, microwave, electric toilet & satellite.

RENT OR PURCHASE ONE 2006 PRE-OWNED UNIT Available for sale!

GET YOURS WHILE SUPPLIES LAST! "Where Adventures Begin"

921 Government Rd. S., Weyburn, SK.

mlw@sasktel.net 1-877-842-3288....CHECK US OUT ONLINE AT....www.minardsleisureworld.com

Office: 306.483.2194 Cell: 306.483.7897 Fax: 306.483 2292 INFO@ABOLUTELOCATING.COM

Based out of Virden, Manitoba, Oxbow, Weyburn, and Arcola

B16

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Weyburn’s housing growing New condos are coming up on the northeast corner of Weyburn.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

ESTEVAN PLASTIC PRODUCTS LTD. Your One Stop Shop For Fibreglass Tanks 500 Barrel 1 piece fibreglass Tank 15’ diameter x 16’ high

650 Barrel 1 piece fibreglass Tank 15’ diameter x 20’ high

780 Barrel 1 piece fibreglass Tank 15’ diameter x 25’ high

We manufacture these engineered Fibreglass Tanks

400 Barrel - 12’ diameter x 20’ high 500 Barrel - 12’ diameter x 25’ high Also Manufacturers of: • Fibreglass Belt Guards • Internal Fibreglass of Steel Tanks • Tank Skimmers • Insulated Wellhead Shelters

Toll Free: 1-888-638-6433 or 1-306-634-6400 Plant: 1-306-388-2344 Fax: 1-306-634-7828 email: eppl@sasktel.net

website: www.estevanplastics.com

ɺ Page B15 In Weyburn, it is possible to find builders, Montgomery notes. It’s possible to start in less than a month, he says.

More lots The spike in demand has meant the city had to move quickly on new house lots, according to Doug Mulhall, Weyburn manager of community services. Sales have gone as much as five lots a week, or a day.

That has meant taking farmland to finished lots in one year. “To do it, you have to bust your butt,” Mulhall says.

“We’ve been fortunate. We sold out of lots in 2007, 2008. We had a few months each year where we sold out.”

In 2006, they sold 37 net lots, another 70 net lots in 2007, and 69 to the end of October, 2008.

The city is already in the process of developing new lots. Seventy-five went on stream in August.

“When demand triples in one year, it’s a big push for everybody.”

For the last 18 to 24 months, the city has had effectively zero rental vacancies.

There’s a shortage of affordable housing, civic officials note. Rental rates have gone up, but new rental units have not.

The new Ramada hotel has been packs since the day it opened, and construction has started on another hotel next door, Mayor Debra Button says.

She adds, “The province isn’t stepping up to the plate. It all comes to money.”

She says a provincial infrastructure program is needed.

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Mooncor delays Sask shale gas Mooncor Oil & Gas Corp. says it is continuing with a focused land acquisition strategy in both southwest Ontario and western Canada, increasing production at Lloydminster, preparing to complete and test the corporation's well at Lonestar and continuing public consultation and disclosure communications at Woodbend, Alta.

The company has scaled back operations at Whitehill Lakes, Sask, Bashaw, Alta, and CrossďŹ eld, Alta..

The Whitehill Lakes shale gas and heavy oil, Bashaw and CrossďŹ eld projects have been delayed primarily to enable Mooncor to maintain its working capital position, which would allow it to move forward with its prioritized projects.

A low key land acquisition strategy is ongoing on a Western Canada shale gas project, Mooncor said. An update of this project will be released before year end.

Mooncor's second well at Lloydminster has been put on production.

Both wells are being restricted to 25 bbls of oil per day each (40 bbl a day net to Mooncor).

Sand production issues continue but are showing signs of improvement.

Once the sand issues are mitigated, well production will be increased to produce at higher rates of up to 100 bbls of oil a day each (160 bbls a day net to Mooncor).

At Woodbend, west of Lloydminster, the company said it has commenced its public consultation and industry disclosure communications. To date, local municipal and special interest stakeholders have been provided an overview of the proposed project whereby Mooncor will be seeking regulatory approval to commence a seven well Blairmore pool exploration and development drilling program. The ďŹ rst well is anticipated to be drilled upon receipt of the drilling licence approval with up to six additional wells contingent upon success.

:LUHOLQH 6HUYLFHV

‡ 23(1 +2/( /2**,1* 6(59,&(6

Estevan Office: Phone: (306) 634-2681 Fax: (306) 636-7227

‡ &$6(' +2/( /2**,1* 3(5)25$7,1* 6(59,&(6

Three Star ENVIRONMENTAL * Environmental Protection Plans * Impact Assessments * Pre-Site Assessments * Environmental Audits & Assessments * Well Site & Battery Abandonments * Drilling Waste Management * Pre/Post Water Well Testing * EM Surveying * GPS Mapping

+LJKZD\ (DVW %R[ (VWHYDQ 6DVNDWFKHZDQ 6 $ $ %XV

443-2429

)D[

FAX: 443-2453 BOX 160, ALIDA, SASK. S0C 0B0 www.threestarenvironmental.com

Energy Services Ltd.

Complete Fluids Management Integrated Services • Innovative Solutions • Drilling Fluids Design and Engineering • Solids Control Equipment • Environmental Drilling Waste Management • Reclamation and Remediation ALLIANCE ENERGY SERVICES IS UNIQUELY POSITIONED TO PROVIDE RAPID & RELIABLE SERVICE THROUGHOUT SASKATCHEWAN AS WELL AS THE REST OF WESTERN CANADA & THE USA Estevan Saskatchewan #92 Highway 39E S4A 2A7 Phone: 306.636.1585

Calgary Alberta (Head Office) 1840 840 7th Ave SW T2P 0Z9 Toll Free 877.663.9769

w w w.al lianceenerg y.ca

Denver Colorado (US Operations) 555-17th Street 80202 Toll Free 866.596.1008

Email: info@al lianceenerg y.ca

B17

B18

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

SURFACE BIT RENTAL HOT SHOT SERVICE LIGHT OILFIELD HAULING 24 HR SERVICE CELL: 306-421-3728 RES: 306-634-7538

CHAD FROESE

Does your oilfield waste go to a safe place?

Did you know that Plains Environmental is the first class 1A rated disposal facility in Saskatchewan and that our facility secures your waste from ground, water, as well as airborne contamination?

Did you know that our facility is the only one in Saskatchewan fully licensed to accept Upstream, Midstream, Downstream, NORM and Industrial waste?

There is a safer way to dispose of your waste.

For more information Phone (306) 728-3636 Or look us up at www.plainsenvironmental.com

Midale à apping You know it’s windy when your temporary structure is horizontal instead of vertical.

SAFE - TEE MANAGEMENT

OH&S Consulting Group

When hiring Scott Land, YOU hire the Advantage...

([FHOOHQFH LQ +HDOWK 6DIHW\

Excellence in Health & Safety!

2+ 6 &RQVXOWLQJ *URXS

6DIH 7HH 0DQDJHPHQW 6DVNDWFKHZDQÂśV RQO\ FRPSUHKHQVLYH 2FFXSDWLRQDO +HDOWK 6DIHW\ &RQVXOWLQJ )LUP LV SOHDVHG WR DQQRXQFH

02%,/( 75($70(17 81,7 6,7( 6$)(7< (07 6(59,&( 2XU 0RELOH 7UHDWPHQW 8QLW ZLOO DVVLVW HPSOR\HUV DQG FRQVXOWDQWV LQ PHHWLQJ DOO ILUVW DLG UHJXODWLRQV

â&#x20AC;˘ Surface Acquisitions, Freehold Mineral Leasing, Administration Projects â&#x20AC;˘ No project is too small or too large â&#x20AC;˘ Most active Land Company in Saskatchewan & Manitoba, with a proven 25 year track record â&#x20AC;˘ Experienced Field Agents â&#x20AC;˘ Competitive Rates, Including an Emerging Company Plan (ECP) package to all Junior Start-up Companies

)8//< 672&.(' :,7+ $// 6833/,(6 $8720$7(' (;7(51$/ '(),%5,//$725 (07Âś6 5(*,67(5(' 1856(6

x x x

Scott Land & Lease Ltd. 1460 - 2002 Victoria Avenue Regina, SK S4P 0R7 Toll Free: 1-888-939-0000 Fax# 306-359-9015 www.scottland.ca

285 6(59,&(6 x

'58* $/&2+2/ 352*5$0 '(9(/230(17 7(67,1*

:25.,1* 6$)(/< :,7+ )/$00$%/( &20%867,%/(6 &21),1(' 63$&( (175<

x

)/8 6+27 &/,1,&6

x

(0(5*(1&< 5(63216( 3/$11,1*

48$17,7$7,9( ),7 7(67,1* 86,1* 7+( 3257$ &2817 3/86

x

(03/2<(( +($/7+ $66(660(176

x

&35 ),567 $,' $(' 75$,1,1* + 6 $/,9(

x

7'* :+0,6 *5281' ',6785%$1&(

x

x

x

x

352-(&7 +($/7+ 6$)(7< 0$1$*(0(17 &2175$&7 6$)(7< &225',1$7256

x

2&&83$7,21$/ +($/7+ 352*5$06

x

x

+($/7+ 6$)(7< 0$18$/6 x

+($5,1* 0$33,1*

7(67,1*

$1'

6281'

We've Got What You Need To Get The Job Done!

,1'8675,$/ +<*,(1( 6(59,&(6

TIMBERS

285 2&&83$7,21$/ +($/7+ 6(59,&(6 $5( 12: 02%,/( :( %5,1* 285 0(',&$/ 6(59,&(6 72 <28 :,7+ 285 1(: 2&&83$7,21$/ +($/7+ 75$,/(5 9LVLRQ 6FUHHQLQJ %ORRG 3UHVVXUH 6FUHHQLQJ )OX 6KRW &OLQLFV Employment Health Assessments (PSOR\HH KHDOWK DVVHVVPHQWV

+HDULQJ 7HVWLQJ )LW 7HVWLQJ

/XQJ )XQFWLRQ 7HVWLQJ 'UXJ $OFRKRO 7HVWLQJ

Kurtis Greenman, Mineral Manager 306-790-4350 Chad Morris, Surface Manager 306-790-4363 Laurie Bielka, Assistant Branch Manager 306-790-4360 Crown Sale Inquiries 403-261-6580 Main Line 306-359-9000

All lengths in stock up to 20'

â&#x20AC;˘ SNOW FENCE â&#x20AC;˘ FOIL FACE INSULATION â&#x20AC;˘ MOTOR HOUSES

IN STOCK - 10'X10' Site Delivery - No Problem! â&#x20AC;˘ 24 Hours

(PDLO DGPLQ#VDIH WHH FRP

7HO (VWHYDQ

7HO 2[ERZ

Email: admin@safe-tee.com Tel: (306) 634-9050 (Estevan) Tel: (306) 483-2480 (Oxbow)

:HE 6LWH ZZZ VDIH WHH FRP

)D[

Website: www.safe-tee.com Fax: (306) 483-2175

Weekdays 7:00 am - 5:30 pm; Sat. 7:30 am - 5:00 pm After Hours call CHAD 634-0195

REDRIVER LUMBER 481 Devonian St. Ph: 634-2114 or 634-2143

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Manitoba extends oil exploration program

B19

Three Star TRUCKING LTD. • OilÀeld Tank Trucks • Hot Oil Trucks • Pressure Trucks • Vacuum Trucks • Bobcat & Gravel Trucks • Payloader • OilÀeld Reclamation 2-WAY RADIO EQUIPPED 24 HOUR SERVICE Ken Boettcher - 443-2474 Res Edgar Bendtsen - 443-2350 Res Tim Boettcher - 443-2488 Res Jim Boettcher - 443-2205 Res Grant Anderson (204) 686-2201 Res

Winnipeg – The province of Manitoba extended its Drilling Incentive Program for another five years to January 2014, Science, Technology, Energy and Mines Minister Jim Rondeau announced Dec. 12. The program offers incentives to encourage investment in the exploration for and development of Manitoba’s petroleum resources.

"We believe extending the incentive program will make it more attractive to the oil industry when considering investing in Manitoba's oil and gas resources," said Rondeau. "The package offers important incentives for exploration and development drilling, horizontal wells and enhanced oil recovery projects, and companies have indicated they are pleased to hear it is continuing."

"The continuation of this program allows the Manitoba oil patch to be competitive with Saskatchewan and the other producing provinces," said Brad Thiessen, Manitoba committee chair, the Small Explorers and Producers Association of Canada. "Hopefully the program will sustain the high levels of activity that Manitoba has seen in the last number of years."

443-2424 FAX: 443-2433 BOX 160, ALIDA, SASK. S0C 0B0

Manitoba is extending its drilling incentive program for another Àve years. The Enbridge terminal at Cromer, west of Virden, has work on the go.

In early December, the highway south of Cromer was thick with rigs working on both sides of the highway. The province would like to keep it that way.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

Talisman Energy Inc. We are energetic about people Talisman Energy Inc. is one of the largest independent Canadian oil and gas producers. Based in Calgary, Alberta, Talisman is involved in the exploration, development and marketing of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids.

Talisman believes that being a responsible and welcome member of the communities where we operate is an essential part of our business strategy.

Our employees live and work in our local communities.

How we work: Our commitment to community relationships is based on community consultation, local beneÄts and respecting diverse cultures.

We work safely: Talisman is committed to conducting its business safely in an ethically, socially and environmentally responsible manner.

We work smart: The technical proÄciency of our employees, combined with our innovative leadership means we work efÄciently and effectively.

We work responsibly: Talisman’s ability to conduct our operations in a safe and environmentally responsible way has a direct bearing on its people, reputation and business success.

(780) 875-0203 LloydMall Lloydminster

www.talisman-energy.com

ɸ Page B20

L & C Trucking Ltd. Phone: 634-5519 or 634-7341 24 Hwy. 39 E. Estevan

• • • • •

GENERAL OILFIELD HAULING TANK & TREATER MOVING 24 HOUR PERSONALIZED SERVICE PIPE CUSTODIAN PUMP JACK HAULING

B20

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Exploration program extended ɺ Page B19 During the past five years, the oil industry has spent $1.5 billion while drilling over 1,000 new wells in the province and providing employment for more than 1,500 Manitobans. As well, oil production in the province has doubled since 2004 to more than 22,000 barrels a day.

"The drilling incentive program, together with

FACTORS WESTERN Are you looking for a new form of Ànancing?

Does your business have: - expansion plans - limited cash Áow - credit worthy accounts - restricted bank credit - a successful product or service Factors Western can help!

Big or Small we Do All

Website: www.factorswestern.com email: cbezaire@factorswestern.com

Phone: 634-9939 Cell: 421-8642 Fax: 634-9976

Custom Metal Fabricating: Manufacturing, Sales & Repair • Welding • Fabricating • Hydraulics • Painting • Sandblasting

Leading the industry in production & specialty chemicals

OIL TREATING COMPOUNDS

501 6th Street & Highway 39 East Estevan, SK Phone: 634-8388 Fax: 634-8389 Email: doallmetal@sasktel.net Website: www.doallmetal.com

o Y l

r o

advantages of low drilling density and low drilling and production costs, make Manitoba an attractive place to pursue oil and gas investment opportunities," said Rondeau. "We believe extending our program will lead to more drilling activity and therefore new discoveries."

Additional information regarding the Manitoba Drilling Incentive Program can be obtained from the Petroleum Branch at 204-945-6577 or at www.gov. mb.ca/itt/petroleum.

• Machining

: r u

F

For Àve more years Manitoba will be extending its drilling prgram. Work is already underweray at the Enbridge terminal.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

l A

• Hot Oiling • Flowline Cleaning • Tank Cleaning • Dry Steamer Boiler

ESTEVAN OFFICE

CARLYLE OFFICE

634-7627 Fax: 634-7827 Kelly: 861-6045 Jeff: 421-7973 Chad : 421-0338 Lyle: 421-2491 Armand: 421-8286 Darcy: 421-1551 Ryan: 421-9140

453-6494 Fax: 453-2598 Trevor: 577-8046 Mike B: 577-8153 Mike L: 577-8982 Paul: 577-1916 James: 577-8650

• Flowline Jetting • Frac Fluid Heating • Back Pressure Trucks • Steam Heaters

Phone: (306) 634-4797 or 634-7334

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

B21

NuVista Buying Properties For $53 Million NuVista Energy Ltd. has entered into an agreement to acquire certain natural gas properties located in its Ferrier/Sunchild, Wapiti and northwest Saskatchewan core areas.

The acquisition cost, payable in cash, is estimated to be approximately $53 million after closing adjustments. The acquisition has an effective date of Oct. 1, 2008, and an expected closing date of Jan. 20, 2009.

Completion of the acquisition is subject to customary conditions and rights of first refusal with third parties on a minor portion of the acquired assets.

The asset purchase will be part of NuVista's previously announced 2009 preliminary capital budget of $290 million of which approximately $75 million

has been allocated to acquisitions.

During the first half of 2009, NuVista said it will reduce exploration and development capital expenditures in order to fund this acquisition and maintain its financial flexibility.

Approximately 75 per cent of NuVista's exploration and development program is now planned for the last half of 2009 which is expected to result in NuVista participating in 90 -100 wells Current production from the acquired properties is approximately 1,600 bbls of oil equivalent per day, with a 78% natural gas weighting.

These properties consolidate NuVista's interests in existing core areas at very attractive metrics,

with more than half of the production being operated, the company said. At Oct. 1, 2008, company interest proven plus probable reserves were estimated by a third-party reserves evaluator to be 4.8 million BOE. Proven reserves were estimated to be 3.5 million BOE. The acquisition will be financed with bank borrowings and cash flow from operations as part of NuVista's overall 2009 capital expenditure budget.

With the closing of the acquisition being earlier in the year than previously budgeted, forecast 2009 average production is expected to increase slightly to between 27,500 BOE a day and 28,000 BOE per day.

Member of CAODC, locally owned with four free standing double rigs and two free standing single rigs

Kelly LTD.

Ron Newett - 861-1062 • Al Vilcu - 861-5253 Field Supervisor - Darren Wanner • 861-9990

Southern Range Well Servicing Ltd.

Box 895, Weyburn, SK, S4H 2L1 southernrange@sasktel.net Bus: (306) 842-3401 Fax: (306) 842-3402

Girard Bulk Service Ltd. General Oilfield Hauling Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta 8 to 30 Ton Picker Service Winch Trucks, Bed Trucks Air-Ride Equipment Tank Rentals

634-8888 - ESTEVAN, SK

1-888-458-2270 458-2270 www.lynco.ca

P.O. Box 240 Midale, SK S0C

PROPANE

Proud to Serve the Oil Industry

* Bulk Petroleum & Propane * Cardlock * Propane Accessories * Lubricants ESTEVAN OXBOW ALIDA CARLYLE REDVERS 134 4th Street 637-4370 483-2826 443-2466 453-2262 452-3216

B22

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Odyssey Environmental responds to recent tanker spill on Highway 39 Weyburn - On Dec. 18 at approximately 09:25 a.m., the Weyburn Fire Department received a complaint of an oil spill on Highway 39 just north of the junction with Highway 13. A partnered response among members of the Weyburn Fire Department, Weyburn Police Service, Weyburn RCMP Detachment, Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management, Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure was initiated.

Police investigation revealed that a tanker truck transporting 3600 litres

of 5W30 oil traveling south on Highway 39 experienced a mechanical malfunction with its drive shaft that resulted in it falling to the roadway, redirecting itself and puncturing the truck's oil transportation tank.

Upon realizing what happened, the driver of the truck immediately pulled over the shoulder of the highway and contacted emergency services.

Approximately 3600 litres of 5W30 oil drained from the tanker truck onto the highway and into the ditch to the east of the highway. The Weyburn Fire Department was able to apply spill booms to contain some of the oil. Odyssey Environmental Ltd. of Weyburn, Saskatchewan was called in to clean up the spill.

At approximately 11:45 a.m., the south-bound lane of Highway 39 was temporarily closed to facilitate the cleanup of the spill. The south-bound traffic was re-routed until the highway was re-opened at 3:30 p.m.

Acutec Messenger • Spill Prevention Monitoring.

• Tank level inventory reporting.

• Equipment runtime monitoring.

• Pressure or temperature sensor monitoring.

• Turbine Áow meter volume reporting.

• RectiÀer monitoring.

• Analog and modbus input channels • Four Discrete input channels NO/NC (Real Time Clock Onboard)

Acquire, Exploit & Explore A Proud Producer in Southeast Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan OfÀce: #6, 461 King Street Estevan, Saskatchewan S4A 1K6 (306) 637-3462 www.tristaroilandgas.com

Satellite Communications

See us for all of your instrumentation needs!

T LASED O T ACK LT BUIALER B

SKL TRAILERS

DE

Environmentally Friendly Heating.....

lable i a v A Now ooking for b r frac. ou on y

NOW STOCKING 200+ UNITS IN REGINA & SASKATOON

WE DO IT ALL! • Full Service Dealership • Trailer & Equipment Repair • Office Trailers • Truck Bodies

• Equipped with a 16m Btu Propane Fired Burner that Heats 400 BBL Tanks to 450C in 60 Minutes!

• Inlet and Outlet Temperature Gauges.

• Based out of Carlyle, SK and Pipestone, MB. • Special Pricing Available.

• Mini Cranes • Plows • Complete Trailer Parts Centre • Custom Shop

NEW LOCATION

18 McLeod Rd. Emerald Park, Sk. 5 mins East of Regina

Phone for more Information:

Leon 577-7133 • Don or Ken 483-2828

For Bookings Call: Dispatch 483-2848

306-721-0800

18 McLeod Rd. Emerald Park, Sk.

3525 Idylwyld Drive N. Saskatoon, Sk.

www.skltrailers.com

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

B23

Semi in ditch

All Rig Towing of Brandon was called out to dissect this rig that hit the ditch near Carlyle Dec. 4. The load of seed shifted, and the end result was splitting the trailer.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

Farm Buildings • Post Buildings

Call Today for Competitive Pricing!!

• Dimensional Frame • Engineered Steel Buildings Includes: metal roof, metal wall, metal flashings (outside corners ridge roll, base flash, eave flash, gableflash, J channel, drip flash), steel insulated walk in door and lockset.

Construction Crews Available.

* Prices do not include taxes

12” Sliding Dual Compound Mitre Saw

$

33750

$

2520

Handy Horse Folding Steel Sawhorses

$8.85

2x8x16’ sp.

$12.50

1x6x8’ sp 240 pcs. per li. ft.

$456.00

Metal Cladding

"Thinking windows?

Shop and compare!"

Many types & proÀles available.

WINDOWS AND DOORS

PVC Windows - Metal clad windows Patio and garden doors - Insulated steel doors

Call for comparative pricing!

Now stocking various lengths of Galvalume & white/white metal.

Farm and industrial, galvanized, galvalume and coloured.

26, 28, 29 & 30 gauge metal ordered to suit your size and needs.

Phone for pricing with your individual requirements!

WOOD COUNTRY ESTEVAN

1 ton Dodge Dually with a goose neck 32 ft. deck trailer.

Canada HSE Registered

Great Service for Great People!

2x6x16’ sp.

Insist on CWD windows and doors.

LIGHT OILFIELD HAULING

“24 HOUR” HOTSHOT SERVICE

Rough Spruce Lumber

CWD

TRANSPORT LTD.

MCLEAN

TISDALE

Hours: Mon. - Fri. 7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.; Sat. 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Ph: (306) 634-5111 Fax: (306) 634-8441 407 Kensington Avenue, Estevan

MONTE DZUBA TYSON DZUBA (306) 861-7689 (306) 861-6483 RES: 842-1409 • FAX: 842-1221 Weyburn, SK. Serving Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba!

10

1st invoice for new customers % billing out of Estevan & Weyburn

off

• Full Service Trucking Company • Top Quality Rig Moving Experience

Trucking Estevan Ltd. 88 Devonian Street, Estevan, SK. Ph: 634-4041 (24 hr) • Fax: 634-4040

www.samstrucking.ca

B24

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Drill Collars with handling equipment 4 1/2 Equipment Annual BOP Unit Well Head Flanges Fishing Equipment Rod Overshots Mobile Catwalk Trailers Mud Motors (both Ă&#x20AC;uid and air) Drill Bits & Mills Casing Scrapers Tubing Bailers Tubing Swivels

PIPELINE NEWS Saskatchewan’s Petroleum Monthly

C-Section January 2009

Doing the happy dance: Weyburn needs room – a lot of it

By Brian Zinchuk

Weyburn is seeking to expand a half mile in almost all directions. Discussions are underway with the Rural Municipality of Weyburn on annexation of the land to expand the city limits. To the north and east (yellow) are residential zones. Along the west, east and southeast highway corridors are commercial zones (blue). To the southeast and southwest are industrial zones (orange). In total, 20 quarters of land are highlighted.

Map courtesy City of Weyburn

Maps on the wall don’t have time to turn yellow in the ofÀce of Doug Mulhall, Weyburn manager of community services. He explains, “We used to be able to keep maps for 10, 15 years.

Now we need one every year.”

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

ENERGY INFORMATION PUBLISHERS Nickle’s Energy Group has been recognized, since 1937, as Canada’s leading information authority on the Canadian oil and gas industry. Nickle’s is an internet and print publisher of daily oil and gas news, exploration and production information, operational and Ànancial statistics, energy market trends and industry companies and contacts.

Nickle’s three major products include:

The Daily Oil Bulletin is Canada’s best known and most-used oilpatch publication. Every day readers get breaking news stories, analysis of oilpatch trends, activity snapshots, interviews with corporate leaders, reports on exploratory successes and failures, new well locations, feature stories on new technologies and much more. All the information you need to work in the Canadian oil and gas industry from one source.

New Technology Magazine is the best source for stories about new and cost saving technologies in the upstream oil and gas industry. The magazine is recognized throughout the industry for delivering informative and timely articles on drilling and completions, information technology, software, production, heavy oil and oilsands, seismic and geophysical technologies, and the environment.

For more than 55 years, the Canadian Oil Register has been recognized throughout the Canadian oilpatch as the foremost reference publication for detailed information on oil and gas and other industry-related companies, their key personnel, products and services, Ànancial and operational statistics. Save Time and Money with this easy to use format and indexes cross-referencing locations, people, products and services.

Weyburn – Every two months, the province releases is land sales numbers. That bi-monthly announcement leads to a little celebration in Weyburn, with Mayor Debra Button noting, “We do the happy dance every time they come out.”

The over $900 million in Crown land sales has fuelled some land discussions for the City of Weyburn. In particular, it needs more – a lot more.

The city is currently in discussions with the Rural Municipality of Weyburn to dramatically increase its size. The annexation map shows 20 quarters of land surrounding the city in every direction except due south. To the north would be residential. Along the highways to the east, west and southeast would be commercial. The southeast, and one quarter on the southwest would be industrial.

Put in perspective, the current city limits encompass 24.5 quarters of land. This be a 81.6 per cent increase in land size for Weyburn.

The city is creating a concept plan, according to Doug Mulhall. He started out 25 years ago with the city as a junior building inspector, now he functions as a city planner/inspector. (His 25 year ring was delivered by the mayor during our interview.) Now, as manager of community services, he’s overseeing what is most likely the largest expansion in the city’s history.

Many years ago, back in the 1970s, it was also extremely busy, he says. It levelled off and died down for a number of years. Oil exploration in the Bakken zone seems to be the drive, according to Mulhall. Coming with it are higher wages and more disposal income.

That concept plan includes lot layouts, flow, storm drainage in a concept fashion. “We’ve pretty much got that nailed down,” he says. Consultants are working on it now.

“We’ve kind of grown out to the city limits,” he says, adding they have been approached by private developers. That’s a relatively new item.

“We have some folks looking at it quite seriously.”

That includes 17 acres for a private corporation f rom Calgary, a mixed residential development.

The municipal inf rastructure is in place to handle the expansion, according to Mulhall.

“One of the long term plans is to stay ahead of the growth,” says Debra Button, mayor of Weyburn. She says the city has had to ramp up, but is proud of having a well-planned city.

Nickle’s Energy Group Suite 300, 999 8 Street SW Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2R 1N7 Phone: (403) 209-3500 • Toll Free: 1-800-387-2446 Fax: (403) 245-8666• E-mail: info@nickles.com www.nickles.com NICKLE’S ENERGY GROUP PRODUCTS AND WEBSITES Daily Oil Bulletin Canadian Oil Register Rig Locator Nickle’s P.O.S.T. Report Energy Analects Energy Evolution DOB Magazine Oil and Gas Statistics Quarterly Petroleum Explorer Weekly Energy Bulletin New Technology Magazine

Nickle’s Energy Group is owned by Business Information Group, a leading Canadian information company.

www.dailyoilbulletin.com www.canadianoilregister.com www.nickles.com/rig www.nickles.com/post www.energyanalects.com www.energyevolution.ca www.dobmagazine.nickles.com www.datacentral.nickles.com/statsq www.explorer.nickles.com www2.canadianoilregister.com/web www.ntm.nickles.com

C2

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Apache Canada’s CO2 Àood extends Midale ¿eld 40 years Midale – When you mention carbon dioxide sequestration in Western Canada, the immediate response is usually a reference to EnCana’s project at Weyburn. What is not so well known is that Apache Canada is doing a similar project a little to the east, north of Midale, tying into the same pipeline that feeds EnCana. Apache and its partners have been doing carbon dioxide sequestration at Midale long before it became fashionable, and then an impending urgency. Apache will also be doing it for a long, long time to come.

It’s starting to get noticed, with Fargo’s PBS licensee station Prairie Public profiling the project in a documentary. Pipeline News was able to tag along and find out why there are so many drilling rigs working north of Midale, and what’s behind all the new pumpjacks.

The pilot project started in 1984, when the Midale Unit was operated by Shell Canada Ltd. It is breathing life into an old field that had been reaching the end of its life with other methods of production.

The first wells were drilled in 1953, and produced for 9 years under primary production until 1962 when it was unitized and waterflood was initiated, a process that continues to this day, 46 years later. However, as the water cuts rise there comes a point when it is no longer economic to extract the oil relative to the amount of water you are producing.

“We’re at the point now at Midale with 12 to 15 years left on water flood,” says Bill Jackson, spokesperson for Apache Canada. He explains that water flood is a secondary method of production. They are now going into their third, or tertiary method – car-

Apache Canada operator Ward Paulhus does a gas check on a carbon dioxide injection wellhead.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

bon dioxide flood.

By adding a carbon dioxide miscible flood, the company hopes the life of the field will be extended another 25 years beyond that, giving it at least another 40 years in production. By that time, the field will have produced oil for approximately a century.

The decisions for this field are being based on a 40 year timeline.

The analogy Jackson uses is one of spilling motor oil on the garage floor. The first step, analogous to primary production, is to use a rag to wipe it up.

JJ

The next step is to wash it off with a garden hose, similar to a water flood. You end up with a lot of water and a little oil. The third step is using a solvent to clean up the oil.

The field is approximately 13 miles east-to-west, and 10 miles north-to-south, with largely contiguous landholdings.

Jackson explains the field originally had approximately 500 million barrels of oil in place. They’ve already recovered approximate 150 million barrels, and hope to be able to recover another 60 million barrels. That will bring recovery factors up to 45 per ɸ Page C3 cent.

TRUCKING

“MORE THAN JUST GRAVEL”

We Offer A Complete Stock Of:

Crushed & Washed Aggregates Top Soil, Gravel, Sand & Crushed Rock Municipal & Oil Lease Road Gravelling Aggregate Screening • Trackhoe Service/Excavating Loaders, Backhoes, Graders & Lowbeds

Cell: 577-7553 Fax: 455-2433 • ARCOLA

OfÀce:

Angles • Brass • Beams • Cable • Chain • Channel • Flats • Pipe • Expanded Metal • Sheet & Plate • Rebar • Wire Mesh • Rounds • Shafting • Bolts • Hardware • Square & Rectangular Tubing • Tools & Fittings • Welding Supplies

455-2429

Highest Market Prices Paid For: Steel • Cast • Brass • Copper • Stainless Steel • Radiators • Batteries • Lead • Aluminum etc.

Order Desk - 842-3548 1-866-84STEEL (1-866-847-8335) mryglod.steel@sasktel.net 1305 Railway Ave., Weyburn, SK 842-4185 or 842-4462 Fax: 842-7799

BORDER TANK RENTALS LTD. • LEADERS IN OILWELL DRILLING PRODUCTION RENTAL EQUIPMENT • P.O. Box 1238

PHONE: (306) 634-7700

ESTEVAN, SASKATCHEWAN S4A 2H8

TANKS

(All sizes)

• Mud • Shale • Premix • Processing • Polymer • Cone • Flare

FAX: (306) 634-9963

ELECTRICAL

• Gensets - 40 KW - 200 KW • Light Towers • Transformers GENERAL Mudvac's, Transfer Pumps c/w Manifolds & Hoses, Trash Pumps, Matting All Sizes,Bowen Power Swivels, 125 h.p. Boiler OILFIELD HAULING

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

C3

Field life extended for Apache ɸ Page C2 “That means 55 per cent will still be in the ground in 40 years,” Jackson says. “What’s the next technology?”

Started small Long before nightly newscasts warned of potential global warming due to carbon dioxide emissions, the Midale facility was pumping it underground. “In Midale we commenced CO2 injection into the Midale reservoir in 1984,” Jackson explains.

“We trucked CO2 from a fertilizer plant in Medicine Hat, Alta.”

The cost of the CO2 was significant in part because it was food grade, he notes. The pilot proved the concept worked. The next phase was a 6 pattern demonstration project.

By 1992, they were taking up to eight B-train semis a day, with 35 metric tonnes each, of carbon dioxide. A total of 250 tonnes a day was going into the demonstration project. “It was to learn, and we did learn,” Jackson says.

Not a black hole Some people might think the CO2 just goes into the ground, oil comes out, and that’s that. It’s not.

The carbon dioxide acts as a solvent, going into solution with the oil, changing

the physical and chemical properties of the oil. It is then swept again with water and the oil produced.

A substantial portion of the carbon dioxide comes back to the surface when the oil is recovered. That’s by design.

Jackson explains, “You want the CO2 to come back, it brings the oil – we recapture it in a closed system, recompress it, and pump it back down again.”

Why CO2? Jackson explains that products like propane can be used as well, but propane has a commodity value, and you need an awful lot of it, hence greatly increasing the cost. Carbon dioxide, on the other hand, is considered a waste product.

“You don’t use it for anything else.”

In 1999, the demonstration project ceased injecting new CO2 but continued to recycle that which was in the reservoir.

It was time to look at full commercialization. It was at this time Apache took over the operation. The full commercialization began in 2005.

The scale of the project was now substantially larger – and it didn’t make sense to truck CO2. The project would be fed by the same carbon dioxide

FULL THROTTLE

pipeline from the Dakota Gasification Company, Beulah, North Dakota, that would feed the EnCana Weyburn project.

The Apache line is a 6-inch diameter lateral off the mainline near Goodwater.

“At the pressure the CO2 is at, it looks like a liquid. It’s not, but it acts like it.” Jackson says. You pump it, not compress it, he notes.

In total, nine million tonnes of CO2 are expected to be stored at Midale, at a rate of approximately 1,250 tonnes per day. Apache will purchase CO2 for 20 years, then reuse what they have injected into the ground already for the remainder of the project’s lifespan.

Tic-tac-toe The pattern of wells works like this: imagine a tic-tac-toe grid. Put an ‘X’ in the centre. That’s the CO2 injector well. The surrounding eight wells are producers, with the CO2 pushing the oil out to the producers.

ɸ Page C4

A six inch pipeline that orginates in North Dakota feeds carbon dioxide into the Apache Canada Midale Àeld. The carbon dioxide is used to Áood the formation, making oil production viable hopefully for decades to come.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

CUSTOM BUILT WELLSITE ACCOMMODATIONS Wheeled Units Skid Units Service Rig Doghouses

HOT SHOT SERVICES 1-306-641-9005 1-306-641-9006

(306) 861-5655

Yorkton, Sk

www.dembytrailer.com

WE’RE THINKING BIG

NOW HIRING Journeyman & Apprentice Electricians & Instrumentation

• Pipeline Construction • Facilities Construction and Installation • Horizontal and Directional Drilling • Environmental Reclamation and Remediation • Plant and Facilities Maintenance Mike Brasseur, Division Manager (306) 634-4554 (306) 634-4664 Cell: (306) 461-8111 Email: mbrasseur@bcpl.ca Web: bigcountryenergy.com

OilÀeld Electrical Construction & Service *Instrumentation * Genset Rentals * * Motor Sales, Rewinds & Repairs 310 Kensington Ave., Estevan, SK

(306) 634-5617

24 HOUR SERVICE

C4

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

325 million years old, 1400 meters deep ɸ Page C3 Each time the project is expanded, another six wells are added adjacent to the original nine, in two rows of three like the six on dice. The middle well closest to the “X” is an injector well, with the remainder being producers. The net effect is every second well ends up being an injector.

A combination of

horizontal and conventional vertical wells are used, with the horizontal wells running perpendicular to the microfractues in the formation.

Dennis Krainyk is the area Senior Production Foreman. He says the 25 year expansion means, “In a sense, another generation of workforce.”

The Apache work-

force resides in the town of Midale, Estevan, Weyburn and the surrounding rural communities.

Lorna Morishita is regional production manager with Apache. She notes the reservoir is from the Mississippian era, 325 million years ago. Reefs, plants, plankton, limestone – that’s our reservoir, she says. There’s a cap of salt or

SUN VALLEY LAND LTD. 6MMLYPUN *VTWSL[L 3HUK :LY]PJLZ :\YMHJL 4PULYHS 3HUK (JX\PZP[PVUZ

634-6684 Owned & Operated by Keith & Janice Hanson #306 Wicklow Centre - 1133-4th Street, Estevan, SK www.sunvalleyland.ca • land@sunvalleyland.ca

Dennis Krainyk is the area Senior Production Foreman for Apache Canada at Midale. Behind him is the primary piping for the carbon dioxide Áood operation.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

mineral above the oil. The Midale formation is about 1,400 m in depth, with an average 15 per cent porosity (meaning that the rest, or 85%, is rock).

The company has spent big bucks re-invigorating this field - $120 million since 2005, not including the cost to supply the CO2. There’s been a lot of drilling, and new pipelines, improved power supply, CO2 recycle compression and pumpjacks

installed. In a region where it’s not uncommon to see a lot of old, rusty workhorses pumping oil, the field north of Midale now features a high number of black and reddish-orange new pumpjacks.

Carbon dioxide, combined with water, forms carbonic acid. The corrosive effect is hard on conventional equipment and infrastructure, necessitating the required upgrades.

The project in the end should put 9 million tonnes of CO2 into the ground.

The devil’s adovocate question is this: is the amount of carbon dioxide pumped into the Midale field more than the

amount that will be produced from the end use of the oil extracted?

The answer is no, it’s still a net producer of carbon dioxide. “You’re always going to generate CO2. This generates less,” Morishita says.

“Do you want green oil, or do you want dirty oil?” she asks. Using oil extracted using carbon dioxide sequestration displaces oil produced without any sequestration.

“You’ve sequestered the CO2. You have not emitted it into the atmosphere,” Jackson says.

“When we’re finished, the CO2 can stay downhole, at a benefit to the public.”

Innovation in multi-stage fracturing Estevan Of¿ce Box 171, Estevan, SK S4A 2A3 P: 306-634-9056 • F: 306-634-9058

Gibson Welding Ltd. OilÄeld Welding & Construction • 30 & 23 Ton Pickers • Bed Truck • Pipe Custodian • Pipe Racks • Rig Matts • Flarestack Sales & Rental • Tubing Trailers • 400 BBL Test Tank Sales & Rental • Wellhead Sales & Installation • Backhoe & Skid Steer • Steamer • Crew Truck • Test Separators • Work Strings • Light Towers • SECOR CertiÀed OfÀce: (306) 842-2699 Travis Lund, District Manager Weyburn, SK

842-1242 res. 861-1280 cell.

842-1707 fax.

gibson welding10@hotmail.com P.O. BOX 926 WEYBURN, SK S4H 2L2

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Tundra begins CO2 sequestration pilot

Virden, Man. – Manitoba’s largest oil company, Tundra Oil and Gas Partnership, has just launched the province’s first carbon dioxide sequestration pilot project for enhanced oil recovery.

The privately held company is based in Winnipeg, owned by the same Richardson family behind Pioneer Grain and JRI. They currently produce approximately 14,000 barrels per day.

While HQ may be in Winnipeg, and there’s another office in Calgary, Virden is where the action is for Tundra.

It’s an unassuming, one level building off the main drag through town.

Most of the operations and engineering for Tundra take place in this small office.

Tundra operates approximately 1200 wells in total, according to Tim Howell, vice president, operations. About 800 of those are in the Sinclair

field, southwest of Virden.

Most of their holdings are in Manitoba, but there are some in southeast Saskatchewan near Gainsborough.

Their production goes through a tank farm and through the Enbridge terminal at Cromer, Man. They have their own six inch pipeline from the Sinclair field to the Cromer plant.

Their wells at Sinclair are mostly 900 to 1000 m in depth, high gravity crude coming mostly out of the Bakken play.

It’s in the Sinclair field that the pilot CO2 project has started. It’s a miscible carbon dioxide flood, similar in concept to how the Apache Canada carbon dioxide miscible flood project north of Midale started in 1984. They’re trucking in one load of carbon dioxide a day from a fertilizer plant in Brandon.

“This is just a pilot. All it is a test to see whether the technology is applica-

Let Us Create Your Dream Home We Build Custom Homes Using Your Plans!

ble to this part of the pool,” Howell explains. They are not close to a decision on its economics yet. Trucking CO2, for instance is not economical on a long term basis.

The Manitoba government is co-operating on the project.

“We’re currently water flooding right now,” he says, noting they have getting into secondary and tertiary recovery methods

quickly.

Unlike southeastern Saskatchewan, were horizontal wells are now all the rage, it’s still up and down

C5

for Tundra. “Most of our wells are vertical. We’re experimenting with horizontal now, but the jury is still out,” he says. ɸ Page C6

• GRAVEL HAULING • ROAD GRAVELING • CRUSHING & SCREENING

• 3/4” & 1 1/2” Road Gravel • Pit Run • Crusher Chips • Bedding Sand

Tundra Oil & Gas Partnership VP Operations Tim Howell.

Swayze Concrete Ltd. Dennis • 861-1186 1531 Railway Ave. PO Box 563 Weyburn, SK S4H 2K7 Ph: 306-842-6558, Fax: 306-842-0414

Swayze Concrete Ltd. Randy • 482-7647 Hwy 318 North PO Box 573 Carnduff, SK S0C 0S0 Ph: 306-482-3617, Fax: 306-482-3350

NEW - DRILL GENERATORS

24 hours a day • 8 kw - 350 kw Custom Ready-To-Move Homes Not sure what you want . . .

We have plans available.

• Pumpjacks • Well Site Shacks • Service Rigs • Construction Sites • Drilling Rigs

Now booking for 2009

Insulated Concrete Forming Sales & Installation

Phone 748-5560 Fax 556-2220 Box 86, Cromer, MB R0M 0J0

Phone Toby: 577-1907 Estevan Sales & Service Facility Now Open!

Visit us at #1-502 6th Street Manufacturer of downhole Electrical Submersible Pumping Systems as well as surface Horizontal Pumping Systems and Variable Frequency Generators to the oil industry.

• Service Technician and Spool Truck available • For service call Chris at 306.461.6644 • For sales call Karry at 306.421.7435 • For all other inquiries call 306.634.6281 Advanced Thinking–Down to Earth Service

www.cai-esp.com

C6

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

C02 pilot begins

Two derricks rise on the east side of the highway, south of Cromer, working on Tundra wells.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

ɺ Page C5 With the price of oil plummeting like a stone in recent months, Howell notes, “It’s pretty hard to plan a budget.”

For Tundra, it might be quarter-by-quarter decision making, depending on what the oil price does.

“There’s no doubt in my mind you’re going to see a cut back in these Bakken wells because of

the economics with today’s price.”

“We’ve always had to focus on controlling cost,” he says, noting the company started out as a ‘stripper oil well’ company, dealing with low producing wells.

He jokes about being a water utility at times.

“The only way you make a dollar on those is paying close attention to your operating costs.”

Experienced Vac truck operator for lease opportunity in SE Sask.

Community involvement Tundra employs 30 people in its office, another 80 operators in the field. Active in the community, the company recently gave $100,000 to the R.M of Winchester for a new fire truck, and has made major donations in the Melita area towards a swimming pool and Zamboni.

In the town of Reston, the company has helped out with the museum, fairgrounds and skating rink.

They’re also giving $25,000 a year for five years to the Souris River Education district.

Virden’s auditorium has received $33,500.

Why? “I think it’s important to be a strong support of communities,” Howells says, noting the Richardsons have always given back to communities.

OILFIELD LEGAL SERVICES Call 421-5954

OILFIELD LEGAL LEGAL SERVICES OILFIELD SERVICES • Purchase and Sale of Oil and

x Purchase and Sale of Oil and Gas Gas Interests Interests

Creating Mineral, Royalty and x• Creating Mineral, Royalty and Family Trusts Family Trusts x• Incorporation of Oil FieldField Companies Incorporation of Oil Companies x• Re-organizations Re-organizations x Tax Deferred Transactions Tax Deffered Transactions x• Business Arrangements involving • Oilfield Business Arrangements involving Servicing Companies OilÀeld Servicing Companies

319 Avenue N.E., 319 Souris Souris Avenue N.E., Weyburn, SK

Weyburn, SK

(306) 842-4654

(306) 842-4654 www.nswb.com www.nswb.com

Over 35 years of legal Overexperience 35 year of legal experience

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Bringing safety training home to SW Manitoba Virden, Man. – With a burgeoning need for safety training in the Manitoba oilpatch, Dale Lewis and Cathy Kernel struck out on their own in February, 2008 to become Safety Source.

Lewis had worked for twelve years with Chevron Canada, and

agement.”

Kernel had worked in safety at another oilfield service and supply story. “We just got talking one day – there was a need for it,” Lewis recalls of their initiative to provide safety training and supplies “Guys were travelling to Estevan, Wey-

anything,” Lewis says.

With three people, East Side includes a former Mountie and EMT, a former MLA who is an Enform auditor, and one support staff. Sherwin Peterson is the auditor, while Bruce Sloan used to be the Mountie.

Shauna Etsell is the support staff.

C7

FOR RENT

preventers.

Another session was done with Birdtail First Nation, north of Birte, Man. The company provides three lines of business – the aforementioned training, safety supply, and consulting and program development. ɸ Page C17

Double End Skid Mounted ATCO Wellsite Trailer.

12’ x 56’ currently located in Melville area, excellent condition. $170/day.

Phone Don

780-984-2340

Ltd.

DRILLING • COMPLETIONS • PRODUCTIONS • Lab facility • Fresh water available • Industrial Cleaning Products Blaine Fallis

Dean Carriere

Safety Source partners Dale Lewis, left, and Cathy Kernel, right, ham it up for the camera with customer Liz Cox, of Ranchers Welding, Cromer.

General Manager 306-421-2623

Technical Service Rep. 306-421-1238

two years with Tundra Oil & Gas. He started in operations, then went into the office and eventually management. He left Tundra in 2005, spending some time running a small independent wireless internet operation. Another venture had him providing a supplied air trailer for the oilfield under the name “D. Lewis Safety & Man-

Steve McLellan

Rick Breisnes

Chemist

421-5502

burn, Regina and Winnipeg for training.”

The company now offers the standard training modules – H2SAlive, first aid, ground disturbance, confined space and WHMIS. “We subcontract out a lot of our training,” he says, with East Side Safety Training of Archerwill as the provider.

“They can teach

“We do have some local instructors for first aid,” Lewis says.

The back of the facility features a training room, but the company also does on-site training. One on-site program was on blow-out

SWIFT CURRENT Kevin Burton - Technical Service Rep • 421-3473

92 Hwy. 39 E, Estevan • www.cbsterling.com

306.634.6549

AFFORDABLE HOUSING is AVAILABLE MANUFACTURED HOMES

BADGER DAYLIGHTING™

Safety It’s What We Do. It’s What We Deliver.

Full Service Hydrovac Fleet Available to Saskatchewan • Tandem Tandem • Tri Axle • Tandem • 4 x 4 Saskatoon ......................... (306) 934-2964 Swift Current ..................... (306) 773-0724 Lloydminster ..................... (306) 875-1640 Kindersley ......................... (306) 463-6006 Carlyle................................ (306) 577-3400 Weyburn ............................ (306) 848-0906 Carnduff............................. (306) 482-5270

Toll Free: 1-800-465-4273

Lots now available in Estevan and area!

Canadian made SRI Homes with quality, style AND 10 year warranty! Both 16’ and 20’ wide models to choose from - create your own design or purchase units in stock.

Lots available in Weyburn and area.

WE PROUDLY SERVICE WHAT WE SELL!!

PARK COTTAGES With the Candian dollar dropping by over 15%, the 2009 Park Cottages will be at least 15% higher. This is a $9,000 increase on a $60,000 Cottage. The good news is that the Park Models that we have in stock were bought at par. If you are interested in one of these units - NOW IS THE TIME to buy!

"Where Adventures Begin"

SELLING QUICKLY!

Call Dick Michel today to set up an appointment 1-877-842-3288 921 Government Rd. S., Weyburn, SK.

www.badgerinc.com

1-877-842-3288....CHECK US OUT ONLINE AT....www.minardsleisureworld.com

C8

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Who hasn’t worked in the oilpatch

By Brian Zinchuk Virden, Man. – A look across his back fence, and you see a small pumpjack oscillating up and down.

That’s not a big deal in oil country, but this pumpjack is in the middle of an RV dealership.

“These jacks have been here since the

1950s,” notes Dennis Sparks.

His and his wife Tonia’s company, Sparks Oilfield Service Ltd., services wells in the Virden area of Manitoba, the little known oil capital of a province that’s more known for its lakes than oil pools.

Sparks grew up on as a farm boy near Elkhorn, a little west of

Virden on Highway 1.

“My dad drove truck fora living,” he says, including a bit in the patch.

“Who hasn’t worked in the patch around here?”

Who, indeed.

Sparks sure has, noting, “I’ve been in the oilfield all my life.”

The company that bears his name has

its strength in oilfield maintenance.

“We’ll do the setting of the pumpjacks, build the pads. We do all the above-ground stuff,” Speaks explains.

That includes battery turn-arounds and some small-scale flow lines. A directional drilling machine is also part of the lineup. ɸ Page C9

Parts & Service for all makes and models!

637-2121 Pictured above L-R: Steven Frank, Cory Bell, Ryan Gibson, Curtis McWilliams (back), Trista Mayer, Jennifer Eagles, Dean Corbett, Blaine Boyle, Tyson Lindgren (back) & John From

Serving Saskatchewan & Manitoba

• SALES • SERVICE • PARTS • LEASING • GENSET SERVICING • MOBILE SERVICE AVAILABLE

89 Escana Street, Estevan Mon. - Fri. 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m

Dennis Sparks and his wife Tonia run Sparks OilÀeld Service Ltd. in Virden, Man.

Oil¿eld, Industrial, Commercial

Ph:(306) 634-9888

ELECTRIC MOTOR DIV. New/Used Sales Complete Rewinding & Repair REPAIR SHOP

Trash Pumps, Lights, Heaters, Generators, Compressors, Converters

On Call 24 Hours a Day Toll Free 1-866-332-2121 Fax: (306) 637-2124

Genset / Light Towers Gas Powered Pumps Telescoping Fork & Scissor Lifts Backhoe / Trenchers / Trailers Temporary Power Cable www.landsoluƟons.ca

Over breakfast, say to your man,

“Oh, honey, I just realized something

LandSoluƟons has the knowledge and resources to plan, implement and manage all aspects of your land and consultaƟon requirements.

Surface & Mineral AcquisiƟons Crown Sales Public ConsultaƟon AcquisiƟons & Divestments Renewable Energy

really important!”

Calgary, AB 403.290.0008

Edmonton, AB 780.414.0008

Bentley, AB 403.748.2661

Lloydminster, AB 780.870.5226

Lampman, SK 306.487.2505

Victoria, BC 250.389.2212

(780) 875-0203 LloydMall Lloydminster

2008

“What say with withalarm! alarm!

“Whatisisit?” it?” he’ll say You boughtme me Youthen thensay say,“You “You haven’t haven’t bought new wouldlove lovesome somefor for newjewelry jewelryin in years! years! II would our anniversary!”

(Men direct approach Christmas!” (Men lovelove thethe direct approach ...) ...)

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

C9

around these parts of the country? ɺ Page C8 He started as a labourer, then went to the rigs for nine-and-a-half years before starting his own company. “I’ve always wanted to do it.”

Unlike a lot of other companies in the patch, Sparks says, “We haven’t struggled with workers.”

Most of their crew are locals, although there are a few who have immigrated to Canada – two more recently, and one not so recently, as in 28 years ago. “I try to keep them all local,” he says.

Virden is a very close-knit community, he explains, where everybody knows everybody.

Tonia Sparks does the books and admin work.

“A lot of businesses around here were like that –

family,” he explains. Their 13-year-old daughter is already helping out with little stuff.

“She’ll be cleaning trucks,” he says.

The company used to be H & H Oilfield before they bought it, Sparks notes, adding it had been a family business handed down.

“The last few years, workwise, there is a lot of activity around here. A lot of it’s based on the Sinclair field. There’ lots of drilling activity for the smaller guys, just because of the price.”

Has he seen any evidence of a slowdown?

“Not yet, but it probably will catch up. Winter is always our slow time. We’ll have to wait and see what the budgets do. I don’t think we want to see it below $40 a barrel, though. I don’t think it has hit home yet.”

“There’s still going to be service. Before this big boom came, that’s what we were doing anyhow.

They still have to do maintenance. It’s like a car.

You’ve got to maintain a car.”

ELECTRICAL CONSTRUCTION, MAINTENANCE & SERVICE PLC’S, VFD’S BATTERY CONSTRUCTION TRENCHING MOTOR SALES & REPAIRS 24 HOUR SERVICE 62 DEVONIAN ST. ESTEVAN, SK.

PH: 637-2180 FAX: 637-2181 LOCALLY OWNED & OPERATED

PO Box 32, Carlyle, Saskatchewan S0C 0R0 Phone: (306) 453-4411 Fax: (306) 453-4404 E-Mail: jwaugh@mmmud.ca Jason Waugh - Operations Manager 306-577-9900 (Carlyle) Trevor Van Alstyne - Field Supervisor 306-421-0344 (Estevan) Ryan Toms - Field Supervisor 306-452-8182 (Redvers) Chad Jackson - Warehouse Manager 306-577-9734 (Carlyle)

Specializing in Non Damaging Biodegradable Drilling Fluids Designed for Horizontal Drilling

“Serving The Oil and Gas Industry with 24 Hour Drilling Fluid Service”

C10

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

No one has a crystal ball that works “Bring it in, but I need it right away.’

We do quite a bit of that,” says Ryan Lozinski of Keystone OilÀeld in Virden as he works on a recycle pump.

The place to go to buy or sell a business.

Darryl Fox, B.Admin.,CMA

Virden, Man. – In the fifties, Virden was one of two communities to have oil wells within its urban limits, says Dave Fefchak, one of the partners in Keystone Oilfield. “[That’s] according to my old geography teacher,” he says.

Fefchak, Randy Browning and Dale Finch are partners in the venture, which has been around since 1980something, according to Fefchak.

The company pro-

Sales Consultant

201-2750 Faithfull Ave. Saskatoon Sk. S7K 6M6 Tel: 306-382-5075 Fax: 306-382-5073 Cell: 306-292-9388 d.fox@sunbeltnetwork.com

www.sunbeltnetwork.com

JACK!

IT’S ABOUT TIME

vides the nuts and bolts for the patch, including things like wellhead switches, water meters, pressure relief valves.

They also sell and service bottom hole pumps.

Fefchak notes that Virden oil was discovered before Estevan’s. Growing up in an oil boomtown, he says, Virden was nice and quiet, and then there was an influx of people. He only really noticed it on Saturday nights. “Typical boom town. It was pretty wild.”

He explains, “Not enough infrastructure, not enough schools, not enough nothing.”

But that said, he notes Virden’s a good place to raise kids. He’s done it four times over.

A big issue around town is the closure of the local emergency room having closed due to a lack of doctors. “That was a big issue the other day in Winnipeg when they took a busload of people to the legislature,” he says. ɸ Page C12

Safety Training Courses CPR/1ST Aid - Jan. 6-7; 19-20; Jan. 28-29 (Carlyle); Feb. 2-3; 18-19; 21-22; Feb. 10-11 (Carnduff); Feb. 16-17 (Carlyle) ConÀned Space - Jan. 13; 21; Feb. 5; 20; Feb. 25 (Carlyle) H2S Alive - Jan. 8; 21; Jan. 30 (Carlyle); Feb. 4; 17; Feb. 12 (Carnduff); Feb. 19 (Carlyle); Feb. 19 (Brandon, MB) CPR/1ST Aid Refresher - Jan. 14; Feb. 12 TDG/WHIMIS - Jan. 15; Feb. 5 Detection & Control - Feb. 13 Ground Disturbance - Feb. 20 (Carlyle) OH&S/WHIMIS - Feb. 16; Feb 18 (Carlyle)

Early Safety Training Week Estevan & Carlyle - Feb. 16-21 The Petroleum Industry in Canada (Enform)- Mar. 31 - Apr. 1

Jack knows time is money PAYS FOR ITSELF

INSTALLATION

YOUR TIME

The increase in oil/gas production is immediately measureable not only in time, but real dollars.

It only takes a few hours to have your compressor up and running, practically eliminating production downtime.

Our safety qualified installers will perform maintenance checks when required, onsite, saving you the trip in.

– 4 WEEKS

– ZERO

– 1 DAY

www.annugas.com Toll Free

1.866.ANNUGAS

Supervision, Team leadership & Motivation (Enform) - Apr. 6 Safety Inspection Skills (Enform) - Apr. 14-15 Safety Training for Jobsite (Enform) - Apr. 16-17

Register toll free 1-866-999-7372 Call us if you need a class set up just for you we deliver safety training on our site or yours.

We also offer 1A Truck Driving call 637-4921 for info.

Check out our website at

COMPRESSION

CONSULTING

LTD.

ANNUGAS ANNUGAS PRODUCTION PRODUCTION ENHANCER ENHANCER ®

www.southeastcollege.org

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

C11

Riverstone acquires Gibson for $1.1 Billion Riverstone Holdings LLC reports that the previously announced acquisition of Gibson Energy by funds affiliated with Riverstone has closed.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, following the closing of the merger, Hunting Plc will receive $1.1 billion plus adjustments in total consideration.

Gibson Energy based in Calgary, is a leading midstream energy company, having moved

over 280 million bbls of crude and refined products in 2007. Since 1953, the company has played a meaningful role in Western Canada’s oil and gas industry by link8ing upstream producers with downstream refiners.

Gibson consists of five diversified business divisions including terminals and pipelines, truck transportation, marketing, Moose Jaw processing and wellsite fluids, and propane market-

ENVIROTRAP SYSTEMS Secondary Wellhead Containment

This is what our customers are saying...

ing and distribution (Canwest).

The Gibson network of assets consists of over 3.4 million bbls of crude storage capacity, 11 terminals, 290 miles of pipeline, over 1,180 truck trailers, 49 propane distribution branches and a 15,000 bbl per day processing facility.

CLIFF NANKIVELL TRUCKING LTD.

WATER & CRUDE VACUUM TRUCK SERVICE • 24 Hour Service

I am pleased to say the operators are ecstatic about the new version of covers on this last round of containments. We tried some of your competitors containments and I surely wish we had not.

In any case we will be putting in an order later in the fall and you will be our only supplier from now on.

• Oil Hauling

2 Locations: Kisbey & Lampman Phone: 462-2130 • Fax: 462-2188

Bruce Miners

enerPLUS RESOURCES Pembina Lead Operator

THE PROBLEM

Environmental damage from wellhead packing failure and seepage costs the oil industry millions each year.

EnviroTrap will save you $$$: • reduce reclamation, clean-up, steam cleaning, disposal costs • reduce wellhead rust and corrosion • protect stuffing box packings from snow, rain, wind, debris • contains blowout contamination • help meet ever-increasing government environmental standards Preserve your good working relationship with landowners by demonstrating your commitment to responsible environmental practices.

THE SOLUTION

ADVANCED DESIGN FEATURES fully enclosed and self-contained durable, rust-free construction U.V. resistant all hardware is corrosion-resistant stainless steel sloped collection tray provides natural drainage, making the unit more drainage efficient and maintenance-free tapered polish rod washer drains migrating fluid back into collection unit automatic pumpjack shutdown also available 360º installation

EASY TO INSTALL, EASY TO USE

3 quick, easy installation (well shutdown during installation is recommended) 3 separate models available for any style stuffing boxes 3 spacious, semi-transparent holding tank - instantly monitor fluid levels 3 EnviroTrap two-piece cover is easy to remove and replace to accommodate packing changes and cleaning 3 available with Murphy Auto shutdown switch CHEMICAL BARREL CONTAINMENT STAND 360º INSTALLATION WELLHEAD CONTAINMENT UNIT

NEW CHEMICAL PUMP BOX

B unit cost is less than clean-up cost from one packing failure B minimal or no installation cost B minimal maintenance requirements - parts and service readily available if needed

PERCY H. DAVIS LTD.

CUSTOMS BROKERS

Forwarders & Consultants Export/Import Specialists EDI Networking International Package Express Service (IPX) HEAD OFFICE

MISSION STATEMENT “We Work In Harmony With Both The Oil Industry & Landowners To Protect Our Environment” ENVIROTRAP SYSTEMS 1-306-489-2250 Sales Contact: CHEYENNE OILFIELD SERVICES 1-306-483-7924 E-mail: envirotrap@sasktel.net www.envirotrap.com

North Portal (306) 927-2165 Estevan (306) 634-5454 Regina ...................... (306) 352-2662 Saskatoon................. (306) 244-4847 Regway..................... (306) 969-2126 Moose Jaw ............... (306) 694-4322

Nationwide Services Internet Address: http://www.percydavis.com E-mail Address: info@percydavis.com

C12

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

“Experience the Service!”

...Your One-Call Source for OilÀeld Rentals

One Call:

1.877.347.1628

Keystone Oil¿eld ɺ Page C10 One liners The last three or four years have basically been a boom for Virden, he says.

Keystone is a pretty small operation, one where the guys can kick back at the end of the day if they feel like it. In a business were most oil towns have large chains providing their type of service, how do they compete?

“Service, hopefully,” Fefchak says as he reassembles a pump.

How many people

do they have working?

“Oh, about half of them,” he says, deadpan.

Then he smiles.

“I can’t lay claim that,” he says of the joke.

You can tell it’s one he keeps in his back pocket for questions like that.

The company has seven people in Virden, another four in Moosomin, and two to three in Wawota.

“We’ve been growing. You always grow when there’s favourable conditions.”

Are they seeing an impact of oil under $50

a barrel? “A lot of people are doing it because they’re committed. We’ll see after Christmas,” he says of new exploration.

Is there going to be a slowdown?

“Hopefully not.

“This is a cyclical business. It’s been like that ever since I can remember, and that’s quite a while ago.”

As for next year...?

“I would like to think much of the same.

Nobody has a crystal ball that works. Ask Harper.”

Indeed.

Dave Fefchak re-assembles a pump in the back of Keystone OilÀeld in Virden. Growing up in a boom town was pretty wild on Saturday nights, he notes.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

Quality - Service - Commitment www.ApexOil.ca

OILFIELD OPERATING Ltd.

Level and Flow

Flo Pro 9100™ Flow Totalizer/ Rate Meter

Burner Controls

TPZ 3310™ Level Transmitter

FG1 351™ Control Module

Transport Gauging

Finch 5332E™ Outdoor Display

TD80™

5332™

Transmitter and Probe

In-Cab Display

Telemetry and Control

3500™ Level Controller

Find us online at www.titanlogix.com sales@titanlogix.com Toll Free: 1-877-462-4085 TSX Venture: TLA Edmonton, AB (Head Office) | Calgary, AB | Lampman, SK | Titan Logix USA Corp.

OilÀeld Operating Safety & Consulting Consulting 3 Program Development & 3 Completion, Workover and Construction Supervision

3 Contract Battery Operating Andy Schroeder (306) 421-9288

Implementation

3 CertiÀed External Safety Auditor C.S.O./H.S.A.

Shelley Schroeder (306) 421-3351

1111 - 5th Street ESTEVAN, SASK. S4A 0Z3 PH: (306) 634-4087 • FAX: (306) 634-8817 as.oil@sasktel.net

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Traxion Energy Inc. has obtained an independent reserves evaluation on its section 27 Buffalo Coulee Bakken heavy oil and Viking medium oil prospect in southwest Saskatchewan.

The reserves evaluation -- prepared by Chapman Petroleum Engineering Ltd. – estimates proved heavy oil reserves at 121,000 net bbls and probable reserves at 196,000 bbls with an additional 16,000 bbls of probable light and medium oil.

Total development capital expenditures have been anticipated at $2.8 million, and total abandonment and restoration liabilities of $210,000 have been anticipated.

Traxion said its existing Bakken heavy oil well was recently worked over and is currently producing at approximately 35 bbls oil per day.

Traxion holds a 100% working interest in 4,795 acres of acreage in southwest Saskatchewan believed by management to be prospective for Bakken oil.

She waits on you hand and foot You, for your part, wait on her finger.

Classic Jewelers

©2008

Traxion Sask. reserves estimated

C13

Fine Jewelry & Gifts for all Occasions Ph: 634-5338 • Estevan Shoppers Mall • Open Sundays 12 - 4

See us for all of your General Oilfield Supplies & Service

ArtiÀcial Lift Systems

Tracy McConnell

BMWTM Products & Services

Owner/Manager 104A Perkins Street.

P.O. Box 575, Estevan, SK S4A 2K1 Ph: (306) 634-7552 Fax: (306) 634-7558 Email: kashanchors@sasktel.net

ONLY 3 LEFT

400 Kensington Avenue • Estevan, SK S4A 2K9 • Phone: (306) 637-6055 Fax: (306) 636-2606

• Top Dollar For Your Trade

CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE FOR DAILY CHANGES AND FOR UNITS NOT ADVERTISED

NEW

‘08 ‘08 Duramax Duramax Diesels Diesels

December’s

BARGAIN BLOWOUT BLITZ!!!

SAVE - SAVE - SAVE - SAVE - SAVE - SAVE - SAVE

Optimum • On The Spot Financing USED VEHICLES • Credit Concerns...

Let Us Help You We Will Beat Your Best Deal

CMP Specializes in...

EXTENDED TERM FINANCING Up to 96 Months/$0.00 Down Huge GM Incentive on... remaining 2008s & 2009s SAVE up to $17,000 CASH

NEW

2008 SILVERADO LT 2500 DURAMAX EXT. 4WD (0% Financing Available)

Large Selection of Quality Preowned All Makes, All Models

SAVE $$$$ SAVE 17” Aluminum Wheels $$$$ All Terrain Tires SAVE Fog Lamps Blue Granite $$$$ High Idle Switch UNIT #14253 SAVE Steering Controls Reclining Bucket Seats $$$$ XM Satellite Radio 6 Disc CD w/Dual Pwr. & Man. SAVE Sunroof Automatic Climate Control Wide Load Mirrors $$$$ HD Trailering Pkg w/ Brake On-Star & MUCH Brake Control SAVE MORE! $$$$ SAVE $$$$ THE BEST COVERAGE IN CANADA PLUS TAXES/FEES • POWERTRAIN LIMITED WARRANTY SAVE 5 YEARS • ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE $$$$ 160,000 KM • COURTESY TRANSPORTATIONS SAVE WHICHEVER COMES FIRST, EXCLUDES MEDIUM-DUTY TRUCK. SEE DEALER FOR LIMITED WARRANTY DETAILS

CASH ONLY

$44,950

SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE

* OVER 2009s $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ 100 SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE ON$$$$ THE$$$$ GROUND $$$$ $$$$ SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE * sAVE UP$$$$ TO $10,200 $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE gm INCENTIVE $$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE * NOW HAS NEVER BEEN $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE AS AFFORDABLE!! $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE season’s greetings $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE and a happy $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$ newSAVE year!

SAVE SAVE SAVE

06 Ram - 2500 4wd Quad Cab 5.9L CUMMINS TD

ONLY $34,676

Silver/Gr w/ 47,100 k Unit #15401A

Excellent Condition!

02 Sierra - 2500 Ext. 4wd DURAMAX

ONLY $16,995

Pewter w/ 188,000 k Unit #14880

Excellent Condition!

C14

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Don’t hit the rig with your slice

By Brian Zinchuk Virden, Man. Manitoba’s got an oilpatch?

That’s a question most people don’t realize is pertinent for a province where hydro is king. The centre of it is Virden, where oil was first found in the 1950s.

The town literally has grown up and around the oilpatch, with pumpjacks operating within the town limits for decades.

“You’ve got flowlines running through town. It’s not good. If you had a leak, they’d

throw the book at you,” Dennis Sparks, of Sparks Oilfield, says.

Those lines and wells were abandoned about a decade ago, but a drive along the service roads adjacent to the TransCanada Highway reveals numerous pumpjacks still in operation - very tiny by today’s standards, and very old.

One can be found in an RV dealer’s lot.

Some of those wells have been producing for over 50 years.

There was a well in the downtown park, and another on the golf

Check out our website for upcoming training • H2S Alive - Every Tuesday Visit our website: www.safety-source.ca

Visit our store for all your safety requirements Supplies, Services, Training, Consulting Program Development, C.O.R./ S.E.C.O.R. I.S. Networld Support

Seasons Greetings to all!

326 King Street East Box 669 • Virden, Manitoba R0M 2C0 Phone: (204) 748-3553

Fax: (204) 748-3610

Your locally owned and operated one stop safety shop!!

course. “Kinda pissed off a lot of golfers when the rig was on it,” recalls Darcy Henuset, safety and health rep for Sparks Oilfield Service.

Murphy oil had some wells in town that have since been abandoned, he notes.

But it’s not just old pumpjacks at Virden.

Indeed, a lot is happening in the area. The town has been riding the boom of the last few years, and when Pipeline News visited in early December, Ensign Rig No. 45 could be seen drilling a well just south of Highway 1, within the town limits on the east side of Virden. The rig was beside one of those small, old blue pumpjacks.

The local paper, the Empire-Advance, had its front page story on the provincial energy minister’s visit to Tundra Oil & Gas Partnership’ new carbon dioxide miscible flood project near Sinclair.

Unlike Saskatchewan, the bulk of the land in Manitoba is freehold, meaning the mineral rights belong to individuals instead of the Crown.

Indeed, according to Manitoba’s Petroleum Branch, the provincial department that takes care of the oilpatch, about 75 per cent of production these days is done on freehold land.

The rest is Crown mineral rights. The mix used to be 80/20. ɸ Page C15

Highway 1 through Virden is Áanked with oil wells, old and new, within the town limits.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

Ask around Virden what the big story is, and the answer is the closure of the local hospital’s emergency room. The town is up and arms, protesting at the Manitoba legislature, and generally ticked off. Oil patch companies told Pipeline News they are concerned for their workers should something bad happen.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

R.B. (Rick) Kenderdine President Eight Nine Units Serving the Saskatchewan and Manitoba Oilfields for Over 20 Years Suppliers of: A) Topco/Weatherford Float Equipment CTE Float Equipment B) Circulating Equipment (from 88.9 114 mm up to 244.5 mm) C) Surface Hole Reamers 251 mm 311 mm 349 mm

D) Main Hole Reamers 209.55 mm Toll Free:

1-888-748-3877

PARKSIDE OILFIELD SERVICES LTD.

• 4 Mobile Steamer & Washer Units • 5 Tractor Mower Units - For Lease Mowing • Lease Seeding • Texas Gates • Straw for Reclamation • Wellhead Enclosures • Snow Removal

Office: 306-538-4487

Box 278, Kennedy, SK S0G 2R0 Cell: 577-7694

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

C15

Pumpjacks in town ɺ Page C14 The average freehold agreement brings the rights-owner about 15 per cent royalties, according to Keith Lowden, director of the Petroleum Branch.

That’s a ball-park figure, he explains, noting the agreements are private and depends on negotiations. “Do we really know?” he asks.

Does that mean the streets in the Virden area are filled with shiny one-tonne duallies?

“You don’t see that,” Sparks says. “It’s all old school. This being a small oilfield, you don’t see that stuff.”

“They have money, but you would never know they have money.”

No ivory towers If Virden is the capital of the Manitoban oilpatch, surely there should be some sort of glass edifice pronouncing it. But that’s not the case. The Petroleum branch is tucked in behind the Co-op gas station. If you blinked, you’d miss it. Watch for the model wooden oil rig in the window.

“Frugal?” is how Lowdon describes it.

“This is Manitoba. We run things very cost effectively.”

The number of staff listed on the Petroleum Branch website wouldn’t fill a Tim Hortons.

Lowdon grew up in Virden, and moved to Winnipeg earlier this year when his posting as director of the Petroleum Branch went from ‘acting’ to permanent. “If you’re in Virden, you’re going to farm or end up in the oilpatch,” he says.

He says the government’s drilling incentive program has proven very popular, and is related to the current action in the Manitoba oilpatch. That incentive program was just extended for five years.

“What’s really important is what it really it really means. Instead of focussing on revenues, it’s focused on people working. It gives jobs to people.”

The program offsets taxes and royalties for a certain amount of

production, depending on the well. Targeted to horizontal wells, for instance, 10,000 cubic metres of production is free of royalties or freehold tax.

There’s been tonnes of feedback on the program, Lowdon notes, most of it to the tune of “Don’t tough your program.”

It may not have been that big a deal when oil A mixture of old and new, a new well goes in beside one of the decades old wells on the edge of Photo by Brian Zinchuk was $147 a barrel but “It Virden. sure helps when things are down,” he says.

If there’s a slowdown, Lowdon says, “We’re not 362 7th Ave seeing it in Manitoba,” Box 1569 Virden, MB R0M 2C0 noting CNRL, Tundra and EOG are still acPh: 204.748.2381 Fax: 204.748.2564 tive. “You wonder what Area Manager - Rick: 204.748.7134 the long term, what the Field Supervisor - Brent: 204.851.0436 future, will bring.”

While the people of Manitoba may not be all that familiar with its oilpatch (or the rest of the country, for that matter), the provincial government certainly is, Lowdon notes. Premier Gary Doer attended the opening of the Tundra terminal at Cromer in 2007, he notes.

Gas? Nada The name of the game in Manitoba is oil.

There is no commercial production of gas, other than some solution gas being collected by We run 9 Service Rigs out of the Virden OfÀce CNRL. “We don’t have gas here,” Lowdon says of gas production. ɸ Page C16

Precision Well Servicing

Daylighting, Oilfield Hauling, Steaming & Mobile Pressure Washing, Winch, Pressure, Water & Vacuum Truck Services

Office - Kola, MB. 204-556-2464 Dan O’Connor Operations Manager 204-748-5088

C16

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Sinclair the heart of the action

Great idea for on site meals.

Daily lunch specials.

CARMEN KINDRAT

!

!

) "

Twp 8

!

!

7

7

! !

!

! !

255

) "

) "

Cromer

!

!

) "

! !

!

) "

!

!

!

! ! !

#

!

! !

!

! !

!

! !

!

!

!

!

#

!

!

!

!

Ewart

" )

#

!

7

!

! !

!

! !

!

! !

!

! !

!

!

! !

!

!

7 !

!

!

) "

Sinclair

Linklater

) "

!

! !

! ! ! ! ! !

!

! !

!

Ebor

V U

) "

!

) "

Sinclair Field

!

Legend

!

!

Wells Updated to: December 15, 2008

!

Twp 6

Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been a substantial shift in the type of wells drilled in Manitoba. Drilling in 2007 was a banner year at 324 wells, in the top four of number of wells drilled in a year (â&#x20AC;&#x153;Good for Manitoba,â&#x20AC;? Lowdon explains). This year they are going to be pretty close. The difference is the number

of horizontal wells â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 120 for 2008. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about double the previous yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s count. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If things continue on, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re anticipating almost as many horizontal as vertical wells,â&#x20AC;? he says.

The heart of the action is in the Sinclair field, southwest of Virden and straddling the Saskatchewan/Manitoba border. It was rediscovered under a geological engineer named Dan Barchyn, who took a hard look at an old well. A graphic hanging on the wall of the Virden Petroleum Branch office shows almost no wells a few years ago, and a solid grid of wells in place now, a few years later.

The Bakken-Three Forks play is where itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s at, according to Lowdon.

In that Sinclair field you will find Albertaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first carbon dioxide miscible flood sequestration project. Tundra Oil & Gas Partnership just fired up their pilot project, an injector well pumping CO 2 trucked from a Brandon fertilizer plant.

Lowdon says thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hope the technology could be applied to other fields, such as those around Virden.

If thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the case, those pumpjacks will be going for a while yet. They just might need some new ones to deal with the corrosive nature of CO2.

Twp 7

Éş Page C15

!

0

#

Producer

Water injection well (former producer) Location (Well Licensed) Junked and abandoned Standing (Well Drilled)

! ) Battery " Abandoned ! producer Horizontal well (x surface location) !

!

Dry and abandoned Sinclair Field

) " Disposal (former producer) Salt Water

!

!

!

!

!

Not long ago, this map of the Sinclair Ă&#x20AC;eld had just a few wells. Now itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s got more wells than freckles on a redheaded-kid in summer.

Map courtesy Manitoba Petroleum Branch

49/cc/ht/Edm Trailer OD#67_4515289

Introducing The Ramsey Wildcat Oilfield Recovery Winch

Owner 5001 - 50 Avenue Clock Tower Building Lloydminster, SK S9V 0P8 Phone: 306-825-5515

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve Got Good Food Fast!

Mickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Stop N Shop OXBOW TAKE OUT â&#x20AC;˘ CATERING â&#x20AC;˘ Chester Fried Chicken â&#x20AC;˘ Pizza Made to Order â&#x20AC;˘ Fast Food Menu â&#x20AC;˘ Subs â&#x20AC;˘ Salads â&#x20AC;˘ Sandwiches â&#x20AC;˘ Hot Campbellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Soup â&#x20AC;˘ Chili â&#x20AC;˘ Fresh Baking

3BNTFZhT /FX 8JMEDBU 0JMGJFME 8JODI %FTJHOFE 'PS %FNBOEJOH 0JMGJFME "QQMJDBUJPOT

Hours: 6 a.m. - 11 p.m.

Daily

483-5266 â&#x20AC;˘ 512 Railway Ave. On Hwy 18

t "WBJMBCMF JO 8$ UISPVHI UP 8$ t 4QSJOH BQQMJFE IZESBVMJD SFMFBTFE CSBLF TVQFSJPS MPBE DPOUSPM t 4ZNNFUSJDBM EFTJHO PGGFST TUSFBNMJOF NPVOUJOH

t 0JMGJFME QSPWFO GSFF TQPPM DMVUDI t "JS BDUVBUFE CBOE CSBLF t TQFFE HFBS NPUPS t .FFUT 4"& +

t )JHI FGGGJDJFOU QMBOFUBSZ HFBS TFU

A

healthy See us for the areaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest selection of lifestyle starts vitamins &

here

natural foods.

3FBEZ UP SJH XJODI QBDLBHFT t $VTUPN XJODI SJHVQT t 4FSWJDF t 4BMFT

Old Fashion Foods 405 Souris Avenue NE Weyburn, SK. â&#x20AC;˘ 842-3003

Saloon & Steakhouse â&#x20AC;˘ LIVE ENTERTAINMENT â&#x20AC;˘ OUTDOOR PATIO â&#x20AC;˘ BIG SCREEN SPORTING EVENTS â&#x20AC;˘ PRIVATE MEETING ROOMS

596 18TH ST. (1ST AVE.) WEYBURN, SK 842-3838

Call Edmonton Trailer Today To Discuss The Wildcat Advantage w w w. e d m o n t o n t r a i l e r. c o m

EDMONTON TRAILER SALES LEASING LTD. 26420 TWP RD #531A Acheson, AB

Ph : 1 -8 66 - 53 4-1 805

Renting All Kinds of Trailers

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Career Opportunities Energy Training Institute

Instructor Position Rig Technician Apprenticeship Program In the growing Saskatchewan oil industry, the need for relevant and current skills in the oilfield is a necessity. The Energy Training Institute/Southeast Regional College recognizes this need for qualified personnel for Rig Technician Apprenticeship Training Program.

The College is seeking experienced oil and gas industry drilling professionals to deliver the Rig Technician Training Program.

Persons interested in this potential instructor position must meet the minimum requirements for application. The requirements include: • 5 years of rig experience, including work experience in all areas from floor hand to driller, • supervisory experience as either a rig manager or well site supervisor is preferred, • good communication skills, • valid industry certification (first and /or second line well control, H2S Alive, First Aid, Boiler Certification, safety management and regulatory awareness) • experience teaching adults would be an asset, • Journeyman Rig Technician Certificate Please submit your resume to: Karen Melle-ETI Consultant Southeast Regional College Box 5000 - 130 255 Spruce Drive Estevan, SK S4A 2V6 Phone: (306) 637-4925 Fax: (306) 634-8060 Email: kmelle@southeastcollege.org

Bringing home safety training

Renegade Oilfield Construction Ltd. Offices in Estevan, SK & Redcliff.

WE ARE CURRENTLY HIRING

• PIPEFITTERS • SUPERINTENDENTS • LABORERS • EQUIPMENT OPERATORS • TRUCK DRIVERS Pipeline & facility experience necessary, safety tickets & valid drivers licence preferred, top wages and benefit pkg.

306-461-6569 • 403-502-6069 Fax resume to: 403-548-3593 EMAIL: renegadeoil@telus.net

Crew Foreman

Experienced FOR LLOYDMINSTER AREA

MUST: • Have Valid Drivers License & Be A Team Player • Safety Tickets • Picker & Bobcat Experience An Asset C’s OFFERS: • Top Wages • Benefits Package • Performance Bonuses • Scheduled Days Off • Opportunity For Advancement • C.O.R. Safety Program • AB & SK B31.3 Q.C. • Premium Equipment DUTIES: • Daily Operation Of A Light Picker Truck • Pipe-fitting & Construction

OILFIELD SERVICE LTD.

CONSULTING & CONSTRUCTION

Apply in confidence to: Fax (780) 808-2273

ELECTRICAL APPRENTICES & JOURNEYMEN REQUIRED Require safety certiÀcates & valid drivers licence.

Competitive wages and beneÀts package.

Fax resume to 637-2181 or deliver to: 62 Devonian Street, Estevan, Sk.

ɺ Page C7 The third point, Kernel explains, is assisting companies develop their safety programs so they can meet their certificate of recognition, or COR. “A lot of the larger companies are requiring you have your COR or an operating safety program,” Lewis explains.

“We try not to reinvent the wheel.”

That said, “There’s also companies that are completely new and have nothing.”

“With the booming oil in this area, there’s a lot of new entrepreneurs,” he says, noting getting all the certification can seem overwhelming.

One of those certifications is a database program called ISNetword, a safety database system.

It’s a safety-based sort of approved vendor’s system. “We help contractors to develop their programs to meet their requirements.”

Otherwise, compa-

D

o you want to work for a progressive, growing company that provides room for advancement?? www.suretuf.com

Then join our Team!

CNC Plasma / Oxyacetylene Operators

Savanna Well Servicing Inc. is actively seeking personnel for the following positions:

•Drillers •Derrick Hands •Floor Hands

Applicants must have welding background.

Driver’s license required. Reliable, team player.

Wages depend on experience. Benefits available.

Performance bonuses.

Only those to be interviewed will be contacted.

Entry level positions available.

Excellent wages, immediate benefits!

C17

Apply in confidence to: Fax (780) 808-2689

Cathy Kernel of Safety Source.

nies are saying, “If you don’t meet the ratings, you don’t work with us, period.”

Manitoba’s legislation is more geared to mining up north than oil and gas, Lewis notes.

The change in Alberta royalties has pushed work into Manitoba, however.

“We try not to be just oil,” he notes, yet 80 per cent of their work is oil and gas related.

Even with the current economic turmoil, Lewis says, “Safety’s here to stay.”

The retail side is also hopping, according to Kernel. “A lot of major companies around here are using us for all their safety apparel.”

“We’ve earned our client base, based on our product history.

We’re three hours from everhting. If you can provide product support, competitive pricing and competitive service, you’ll get ‘em.”

“Manitoba is just starting to catch up to the other western provinces as far as safety goes,” she says.

Please apply with resume, current driver’s abstract (Class 3 or higher), & copy of tickets to:

SAVANNA WELL SERVICING INC. Carlyle, SK Office: 306.453.2616 Cell: 403.510.6616 Fax: 306.453.2614 Trobitaille@savannaenergy.com

RJ HOFFMAN HOLDINGS IS ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR

CLASS 1A & 3A DRIVERS Based out of St. Walburg, SK or Lloydminster, AB

Flush By and Steamer positions available. We train drivers. $23/ hr starting driving wage or higher wages for experienced operators. We pay overtime and provide benefits. 7-3-7-4 schedule.

Maximum 14 hr days.

For more information contact Eugene at 780-205-5680 or fax resumes with references and drivers abstract to Eugene at 780-871-0782 or email to employment@rjhoffman.com

C18

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

4?E7 3?<@9DDC ?g^Ub =Q^QWUb

1^g % ( 2Pa[h[T B: B 2 A

www.pennwest.com 311 Kensington Avenue, Estevan â&#x20AC;˘ 634-1400

1db) " % %"# ' '# 2T[[) " % $&& ''"" 5Pg) " % #$" %#&'

E

Bully Blast & Paint Services Ltd.

TERRY DODDS (24 hrs.) (306) 634-7599 Cell. (306) 421-0316

M.E.T. OILFIELD CONST. LTD. â&#x20AC;&#x153;All Your Construction and Maintenance Needsâ&#x20AC;?

SPECIALIZING IN: ENGINES, PUMP UNITS, UNIT INSPECTIONS, PIPE FITTING, TREATERS AND PRESSURE TICKET WELDING Box 1605, Estevan, Sk. S4A 2L7 Cell. (306) 421-3174, (306) 421-6410, (306) 421-2059 Fax: (306) 634-1273

Resources Guide Investors Group Financial Services Inc., I.G. Insurance Services Inc.

â&#x20AC;˘ Shop & Field Service â&#x20AC;˘ Structural Steel â&#x20AC;˘ Tank Linings â&#x20AC;˘ and more Your Sandblasting, Painting & Coating Specialists with over 20 yrs. experience in the industry

Spool Coating now available Bus.: (306) 457-2264

Cell: (306) 461-9679

P.O. Box 54 â&#x20AC;˘ Benson, SK â&#x20AC;˘ SOC 0L0 bullyblasting@sasktel.net

*

Jim Pratt Senior Financial Consultant 231-12th Avenue, Estevan, SK S4A 1E1 Phone: (306)634-0800 Fax: (306)634-0802 jim.pratt@investorsgroup.com *License Sponsored by The Great-West Life Assurance Company

COIL COIL TUBING TUBING SERVICES SERVICES FLUSHBY SERVICES FLUSHBY SERVICES

Gordon Harty Box 95 Marwayne, AB T0B 2X0 Serving Alberta, B.C. & Saskatchewan Toll Free

1-866-363-0011

Bus. Phone

Fax No.

Res. Phone

(780) 875-9802 (780) 847-3633 (780) 847-2178

Cory Bjorndal District Manager Downhole Tools

Fresh Water Hauling Custom Bailing & Hauling

93 Panteluk Street Kensington Avenue N Estevan, Saskatchewan S4A 2A6 PHONE: 306-634-8828 CELL: 306-421-2893 FAX: 306-634-7747 cory.bjorndal@nov.com www.nov.com

www.tazwellservicing.com

24 HOUR DISPATCH

780-205-7666 Lloyd Lavigne â&#x20AC;˘ Kirk Clarkson

Lloydminster, AB

Owners/Managers 6506 - 50th Avenue Lloydminster, AB

Proudly Serving Alberta & Saskatchewan

â&#x20AC;˘ Full Hydrovac Services â&#x20AC;˘ Capable of Steam

Phone: (780) 875-6880

Wheel diggers â&#x20AC;˘ Chain digger Wolfe 600 horse plow Interchangeable wheels & chains

5315 - 37th Street Provost, AB T0B 3S0

Phone: (780) 753-6449

Fax: (780) 875-7076

24 Hour Service Specializing in Industrial & Oilfield Motors

www.silverbackhydrovac.com â&#x20AC;˘ geoff@silverbackhydrovac.com

([Y )KRR )KRR ,G^ SKR LOZ`VGZXOIQ&SOJLOKRJY[VVR_ IUS ]]] SOJLOKRJY[VVR_ IUS

2P[VPah # " !%# '! %

2Pa[h[T " % #$" !$""

fff \X[[T]]Xd\SXaTRcX^]P[ R^\

E

7^aXi^]cP[ Â&#x2019; 3XaTRcX^]P[ Â&#x2019; FT[[ <^]Xc^aX]V

4â&#x20AC;? Hevi Wate Drill Pipe Brad Lamontagne (306) 577-9818 or (306) 739-2263 smrltd@sasktel.net

3OJLOKRJ 9[VVR_ ;2) 6 5 (U^ 9KX\OIK 8UGJ 9U[ZN )GXR_RK 9GYQGZINK]GT 9 ) 8

JUSTIN WAPPEL - Division Manager 401 Hwy. #4 S. Biggar, Saskatchewan PO Box 879 S0K 0M0 Ph (306) 948-5262 Fax (306) 948-5263 Cell (306) 441-4402 Toll Free 1-800-746-6646 Email: jwappel@envirotank.com www.envirotank.com

E

Vegetation Control (Chemical or Mechanical) Southeast Tree Care COR CertiĂ&#x20AC;ed Estevan, Sk.

634-7348

â&#x20AC;˘ Pressure Vessels â&#x20AC;˘ Well Testers â&#x20AC;˘ Frac Recovery â&#x20AC;˘ Wellbore Bleedoff â&#x20AC;˘ Ball Catchers â&#x20AC;˘ 400 bbl Tanks â&#x20AC;˘ Rig Matting â&#x20AC;˘ Complete Trucking Services

Dale (306) 861-3635 â&#x20AC;˘ Lee (306) 577-7042 Lampman, Sask.

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

Midale - Higher production and prices more than doubled cash ďŹ&#x201A;ow and revenue for Colonia Energy Corp. in the third quarter, while earnings climbed from 2007 ďŹ gures.

Production in the third quarter grew 75 per cent to 172 bbls of oil equivalent (6:1) per day, revenue rose 160 per cent, cash ďŹ&#x201A;ow climbed 155 per cent, and earnings jumped more than ďŹ vefold. In large part, the juniorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s success in the quarter arose from its focus on the Williston Basin, where it produces light, sweet crude oil and solution gas.

Activity in the quarter began with the drilling and abandonment of the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ďŹ rst dry hole (50 per cent working interest) in the Florence South area of southeast Saskatchewan. The company also attempted a re-entry on an abandoned well in the Missouri Ridge of North Dakota in July, but the eďŹ&#x20AC;ort was abandoned for mechanical reasons, management said.

In September, Colonia equipped a well, also in Saskatchewanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Florence South area, at 4-1-1-1 W2M, in which the company has a 45 per cent working interest, for a production test that ultimately conďŹ rmed the well's capability of 40 to 45 bbls of oil per day. Pipeline tie-in operations to the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s central battery facilities are currently underway, management said.

During the third quarter, Colonia continued its leasing activities in southeastern Saskatchewan, focusing on acreage prospective for Midale and Bakken production. The companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leasing eďŹ&#x20AC;orts for Bakken potential have resulted in a meaningful acreage position in prospective areas, management added.

The company has developed several Midale prospects in southeastern Saskatchewan and is proceeding to mature them to a drill-ready stage. Management expects the ďŹ rst of these plays to be drilled before spring break-up, 2009.

In the three months ended Sept. 30, 2008, earnings rose to $570,795 or one cent per share from $91,954 or nil per share in last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s third quarter. Cash ďŹ&#x201A;ow in the period rose to $1.07 million or two cents per share from $420,000 or one cent per share in the earlier period, while revenue rose to $1.77 million from $679,307. Capital spending in the quarter dipped to $763,114 from $1.24 million in last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s period.

Colonia said its production is connected to company-owned and operated central battery and saltwater disposal facilities, yielding cost-eďŹ&#x192;cient operations.

SOLUTIONS

Box 81 Halbrite, Sask. S0C 1H0

â&#x20AC;˘ Oil Tank Truck Service â&#x20AC;˘ Steamer â&#x20AC;˘ Vac â&#x20AC;˘ Pressure Trucks

306-458-2331 &DQDGD V OHDGLQJ GLVWULEXWRU RI LQGXVWULDO Ă HHW DQG VDIHW\ SURGXFWV

3URXG WR SURYLGH VHOHFWLRQ TXDOLW\ DQG H[FHOOHQFH WR RXU FXVWRPHUV

WK 6WUHHW (VWHYDQ Â&#x2021;

SONAR INSPECTION LTD. Head OfĂ&#x20AC;ce 1292 Veterans Crescent Estevan, Sk. S4A 2E1 E: sonarinsp@sasktel.net

P: 306-634-5285 F: 306-634-5649

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Serving All Your Inspection Needsâ&#x20AC;?

UT - LPI - MPI Wayne Naka Taylor Gardiner Cory Rougeau

306-421-3177 306-421-2883 306-421-1076

TO YOUR PUMPING CHALLENGES

)HRRLU -YHJ 7\TW *H]PUZ +V^UOVSL +LZHUKLYZ .HZ :LWHYH[VYZ +VU UHU .HZ :LWHYH[VY

- OilĂ&#x20AC;eld Maintenance - Service Crews - Pressure Welding - Pipeline Construction - Battery Construction - Rent or Sell New & Used Equipment Randy: 634-5405 - Cellular 421-1293 Darcy: 634-5257 - Cellular 421-1425 â&#x20AC;˘ Fax: 634-4575

LOCALLY OWNED & OPERATED BOX 843, ESTEVAN, SK.

24 Hour Service - 634-8737

Resources Guide

Colonia earnings rise on light oil volumes

:;(9; 6-- @6<9 5,> @,(9 >0;/ â&#x20AC;˘ Competitive Prices â&#x20AC;˘ Quality Products â&#x20AC;˘ Great Service Locally Owned and Operated

Drilling Motors 1772 - 1st Avenue NE Weyburn, Sask.

Phone: 634-7892 â&#x20AC;˘ www.ipc-sk.ca Proud to be an active part of the community

Contact: Roger Breton Ph: 306-842-5113 or Ph: 780-463-3366

C19

C20

PIPELINE NEWS January 2009

SALES AND RENTALS OF NEW AND RECONDITIONED OILFIELD EQUIPMENT • New 400/500bbl API 12F Cert. Steel Tanks • New 400/500bbl API 12P Cert. Fibreglass Tanks • New 100bbl to 1000bbl Tanks

Canadian Distributor for Palmer Tanks!!

• • • • • •

New 28” x 60” 500psi Portable Test Seperators, S.S. New 6’ x 20’ Vert. 75lb Treaters, S.S. New 8’ x 30’ 75lb FWKO’s, & Treaters, S.S. Flarestacks Tubing TRUCKING Wellhead Equipment • 37.5 Ton Picker with Dual Winch • 22 Ton Picker • (3) 20 Ton Texas Bed Trucks • (2) Tri-Axle 51’ Oilfield Floats c/w Centre Roll • Tandem and Tri-Axle Hiboys • One Ton Trailers • Sandblaster & Painter

View our website for a complete listing of services and equipment!!

Ph. 306-455-2705 Fax 306-455-2250 codygrimes@eagleoilfieldservices.com www.eagleoilfieldservices.com

Box 330 Arcola, SK S0C 0G0