PIPELINE NEWSSaskatchewan’s Petroleum MonthlySaskatchewan’s Petroleum Monthly

Focus Edition

Geology

March 2009 FREE Volume 1 Issue 10

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Saskatchewan’s Subsurface Geological Laboratory in Regina hosts a repository for core, drill cuttings samples, and geophysical logs. It is also where the province’s petroleum geologists work. Here in the core repository warehouse, are: back row standing, from left: Chris Gilboy, Melinda Yurkowski, Dan Kohlruss, Fran Haidl, Akhtar Khan, Gavin Jensen, Chao Yang Front Row: Arden Marsh, Erik Nickel, Jeff Coolican. See story on Page A3

SeismicProfessor

Page C2

Stelmach Bailout Package

Page A2

Ron Carson on 2009 prospects

Page B1

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009A2

Mooncor raises funds

Mooncor Oil & Gas Corp. has completed the fi rst

tranche of its non-brokered private placement fi nanc-

ing by issuing 402,000 common shares, on a fl ow-

through basis, at a price of 25 cents per share and 5.73

million common share units at a price of 20 cents per

unit for aggregate gross proceeds of $1.25 million.

Th e proceeds will be used by Mooncor for explo-

ration on its oil and gas properties and for working

capital. Including the issuance of shares detailed in

this news release, Mooncor currently has 85.27 mil-

lion common shares issued and outstanding.

Century Energy Ltd., in conjunction with its joint

venture partner, Triaxon Resources Ltd. of Calgary,

has announced the results from their fi rst Bakken well

adjacent to the Roncott Bakken oil pool in southeast

Saskatchewan.

Th e well has an initial production rate of 80 bbls of

oil per day (24 bbls net to Century), and is the fi rst of a

projected eight well development program on adjoin-

ing acreage held by Century and Triaxon.

Severe weather conditions in southeast Saskatch-

ewan continued to restrict operations in February, and

the Century noted in early February that it may require

another two weeks to determine the well’s potential.

Additional development is scheduled for the spring of

2009.

Century tests rst

Bakken well

Th e city of Weyburn will be receiving

$450,000 of provincial money for Highway 39

service road improvements. Th e funding was part

of provincial infrastructure money announced in

February, part of the province’s economic stimu-

lus agenda.

Weyburn gets Highways money

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By Geoff LeePipeline News

Calgary – Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach announced what amounts to a bailout package of tax credits and drilling incentives to breathe new life into slump-ing junior and mid-size energy companies in Alberta. Stelmach introduced his plans to a Calgary Chamber of Commerce lun-cheon Feb. 5.

Details of the package will be made public once his Energy Minister, Mel Knight consults with oil the industry on incentives and with the banking sector on ways to ease credit.

Stelmach prefaced his bailout com-ments with a scan of the global fi nancial crisis and the importance of energy to Cal-gary and the province. We’ve reprinted the latter part of his speech including his com-ments on reviving drilling activity in the oilpatch.

In particular, the future of the

energy sector is of critical importance

to this city, and to our province. And I

believe that future remains bright.

While energy demand may slow

down due to the recession in the U.S,

I believe we can expect to see some

rebound in energy prices as reserves

shrink, likely in the next year or two.

And with

new leadership in our largest export

market, I believe we have an opportu-

nity to strengthen Alberta’s position as

a North American energy provider.

Th e massive investments in public

infrastructure which form part of the

new U.S. administration’s recovery plan

will require a stable supply of energy:

Secure energy, produced responsibly.

And our province can provide that

- to our mutual benefi t.

We will work with the federal

government to extend the hand of

friendship and partnership to the new

administration in Washington.

Last week, President Obama

spoke about eliminating oil imports

from the Middle East and Venezuela

as part of his New Energy for America

plan.

Is there room in that plan for a

partner such as Alberta, which shares

his view about integrating energy, the

economy and the environment? I think

there must be.

What the new administration

needs to know is that Alberta is com-

mitted to showing environmental lead-

ership in energy production.

We’ve done a lot already, and we’re

moving forward with policies soundly

based on science and innovation.

Th at’s the message I took to Texas

this week, and that’s the message we’ll

take to Washington and beyond.

Because we will continue to mar-

ket our products aggressively, both

nationally and internationally, to

protect Alberta’s income, jobs and

opportunities.

And we’ll continue to pro-

tect Alberta’s reputation and pro-

mote a positive, accurate view of

our province at home and abroad.

One of the biggest priorities in

dealing with the new administration

is coming to an agreement on climate

change.

By all accounts that will be the

number one issue for discussion

when the President meets

Prime Minister Harper

later this month.

I welcome that.

Industry needs cer-

tainty with regard

to government

regulation. And

a good agree-

ment that of-

fers consistency

across the

North Ameri-

can economy

can provide it.

Albertans will be part of that dis-

cussion. Not sitting at the negotiating

table - that’s the federal government’s

job.

But we need to be consulted - be-

fore the fact - as resource owners.

And from our discussions at the

recent First Ministers’ Meeting in

Ottawa, I believe the Prime Minister

shares that understanding.

I know many of you are concerned

about the challenges facing the energy

industry. And I share those concerns.

Th ese are not normal times. Th e

chill in global fi nancial systems is

impacting Alberta families and busi-

nesses.

As a government, we can’t control

global fi nancial markets or the price of

commodities. But there are things we

can do.

So I have asked Energy Minister

Mel Knight to look at the cash-fl ow

situation facing our junior energy com-

panies.

I know those companies are fi nd-

ing it particularly diffi cult to access the

capital they need for operations - and

that means idle rigs and Albertans out

of work.

So we will provide an incentive

program, providing short-term, tar-

geted assistance for junior and mid-cap

companies.

One that encourages the banks to

do their part, and could also address

abandoned well reclamation.

Minister Knight will consult with

industry and will be announcing more

details.

We can dwell on how bad the re-

cession might be. But that takes our

attention away from where Alberta

needs to be.

Using our hard-won advantages to

ensure that our province emerges from

these diffi cult days ahead of the pack.

With our skilled workforce intact, our

infrastructure ready, and our economy

strong and competitive to make the

most of the inevitable recovery.

I believe we can face these new

challenges with the same confi dence

and determination we had in meet-

ing the challenges of unprecedented

growth.

Our path may be diff erent, but

our goal for Alberta must be the same:

A prosperous future and a world class

quality of life.

I believe that’s the forward-look-

ing approach Albertans want us to

take.

Stelmach plans to re-energize

NewsNotes

Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009 A3

NewsNotes

SaskEnergy cuts rates

SaskEnergy has applied to the Saskatchewan

Rate Review Panel (SRRP) for a commodity rate

decrease, eff ective April 1, 2009. Th e proposed

commodity rate would be $6.23 per Gigajoule

(GJ), compared to SaskEnergy’s existing rate of

$8.51/GJ, which was implemented October 1,

2008. If approved, this 27 per cent commodity

rate decrease would result in a 19% overall rate de-

crease for the average residential customer, result-

ing in savings of approximately $20 per month or

$240 annually.

Th is application is based upon the go-forward

pricing in the natural gas market for the next 12

months. Commodities, including natural gas, have

declined signifi cantly with the slowdown in the

North American economy. If approved, this pro-

posed commodity rate of $6.23/GJ will be the low-

est SaskEnergy has had in place since April 2003.

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By Brian ZinchukPipeline News

Regina - Ask a coff ee room full

of the province’s petroleum geolo-

gists how they got into geology in

the fi rst place, and the answers are

mostly pretty similar. Th ey started

in something else.

“Engineering,” says one.

“Or biology,” says a second.

“Or physics,” says a third.

Melinda Yurkowski, a senior

petroleum geologist, says many

take geology as an elective in uni-

versity, and then fi nd it so interest-

ing they decide to major in it.

Yurkowski’s area of expertise

includes unconventional gas.

Th e province retains a stable

of eight research petroleum geolo-

gists at its Regina Subsurface Geo-

logical Laboratory, also known as

the core repository.

Erik Nickel, who spends a lot

of his time on the east Bakken play

and CO2 storage and EOR poten-

tial, says he did well site geology

before coming to work for the

province. “I was the white hardhat

on the drilling rig, looking at cut-

tings samples, taking cores.”

He describes, with a smile,

having to describe sets of cuttings

taken every fi ve metres while on

the rig, with clear instructions not

to write “As above” on successive

sets that often looked almost iden-

tical.

Dan Kohlruss also works on

the Bakken, and on oilsands. He

was also a well site geologist for

four years out of university.

Jeff Coolican spends a lot of

his time analyzing geophysical

logs. “I initially worked in the fi eld

in the north,” he says, noting that

that had been hard rock experi-

ence.

“Field experience never hurts,”

Nickel says.

But when things dry up, as

they did in 1998 for Nickel, he

welcomed the chance to land a

stable government job, fi rst start-

ing on a contract basis.

Going around the room, it’s

readily apparent that most are

younger than what you might ex-

pect in a provincial department,

as in early thirties-young. Th ere

was a generational shift a number

of years ago, and while there are

several more senior geologists, it’s

quite possibly one of the young-

est average age provincial offi ces

you might run into for a while.

Th ey get the Star Trek jokes, for

instance.

Fran Haidl, amongst other

responsibilities, heads up the out-

reach program. “It is really impor-

tant the public know what we do

and why we do it,” she says, hold-

ing up a poster board she takes

when she does school presenta-

tions. Workshops for teachers, she

notes, are extremely valuable, be-

cause of the hundreds of students

they will have contact with during

their career.

Gavin Jensen’s work includes

enhanced oil recovery and car-

bon dioxide storage. Th at includes

work on a national carbon dioxide

storage capacity atlas, still in its

planning stages.

A typical day for these geolo-

gists can vary widely. “It’s tough to

say,” one notes. Th ey could be on

the phone, interpreting geological

data or writing a research paper.

Several have or are working on

their masters degrees.

Arden Marsh, whose specialty

includes heavy oil, coal and oil-

sands, says it can go from picking

formation tops on cores to infor-

mational technology. “I handle a

lot of the regional project data. Th e

Weyburn data came through me,”

he says of the Weyburn carbon di-

oxide sequestration project, phase

1, that ran from 2000 to 2004.

Occasionally there are hired

consultant geologists, associated

with the Petroleum Technol-

ogy Research Centre (PTRC), but

working at the lab.

“We take a lot of calls and

requests from companies looking

for information on Saskatchewan

geology,” says Nickel. “I took a call

from Michigan an hour ago.”

“It could be a geologist, or the

president of a company, or a farm-

er wondering if they are going to

drill on their land.”

Chao Yang specializes in

potash. She notes there are a lot

of new players in that fi eld, and

that there is strong interest from

China. Yang speaks Mandarin, an

advantage in that regard, since she

says most of Saskatchewan’s pot-

ash exports go to China.

Not rst choice, but a good choice for the province

One of the province’s petroleum geologists, Fran Haidl shows a posterboard she takes when she speaks to schools about geology. Outreach is important, especially to teachers, she notes, as they reach hundreds of students.

Ryland Updates Bakken Results

Ryland Oil Corporation says it completed drilling

on the current phase of Bakken evaluation wells on its

acreage position in early January, despite considerable

delays encountered due to severe winter weather.

Th e focus of the work has been on expanding the

productive area around the Roncott fi eld. Ryland’s cur-

rent production from the Roncott area is principally

from two horizontal Bakken wells. One of the wells,

which was put on pump in late December, 2008, is cur-

rently producing approximately 85 bbls of oil per day.

Th e second well, completed shortly thereafter, is show-

ing a steadily increasing oil cut as frac fl uid is recov-

ered.

Ryland is also receiving minor contributions to

its production from one of the horizontal wells drilled

earlier in 2008, as well as several vertical wells in the

main Roncott fi eld area acquired through the purchase

of Viceroy Resources Ltd., which contribute 20 to 25

bbls of oil a day.

In total, Ryland is currently producing approxi-

mately 145 bbls of oil per day from its Bakken wells in

the Roncott fi eld.

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.

Pipeline NewsPublisher: Brant Kersey - Estevan

Ph: 1.306.634.1015

Fax: 1.306.634.0141

Editorial Contributions: SOUTHEAST

Brian Zinchuk - Estevan 1.306.634.1015

SOUTHWEST

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Associate Advertising Consultants:SOUTHEAST

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PIPELINE NEWS March 2009A4 EDITORIAL

PIPELINE NEWS INVITES OPPOSING VIEW POINTS. EDITORIALS AND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR WELCOMED.

Editorial

Th ere’s no question, Saskatchewan’s once lofty crown

land sales have landed with a loud thud in February, in

line with similarly cratering land sales in Alberta and

British Columbia.

Saskatchewan’s Crown land sales auctions occur once

every two months. Th e closing date for Feb. 9 sale post-

ings was Oct. 22, and the sale was posted Nov. 27, 2008.

Permit closing dates are one month prior.

Bids are accepted up until 4 p.m. the day of the sale.

On that day, West Texas Intermediate Crude went for

$39.58 at Cushing, Oklahoma.

Th e sales’ total haul was $6.3 million, down 96.6 per

cent from the February, 2008, sale. Some would think

that would be the defi nition of a meteor falling down to

earth. But there is deeper meaning in the numbers, so

don’t get too worked up just yet.

We had to go back through nine years of provincial

press releases to fi nd a February land sale that was lower.

In 2000, the February sale was $5.4 million. Since then it

has been on a gentle rise for much of the decade, culmi-

nating in the whopping 2008 sale.

However, that 2008 number was in itself skewed.

Since 2000, the highest land sale in February was 2006,

when it hit $35.1 million. Th e 2008 number was 5.6

times higher than the 2006 February high.

Counting the highs and the lows, you get an aver-

age of $35.6 million in sales, but even that is misleading.

Since only one year in the ten year set was over the $35.6

million, the average number is functionally meaningless.

Instead, one should look at the median - $16.6 mil-

lion. Th is is a more realistic number.

We won the lotto in 2008, and 2009, it was back to

pork and beans.

All of this is of course tied to the price of oil, and its

tremendous drop in just eight month, from breathtaking

heights to “Oh, great, now what?” lows.

Th e immediate impacts are going to be budget-

ary. It’s unlikely the province is going to be advertising

requests for advice as to how to spend its surpluses. Sas-

Thud. Ouch. What now?katchewan will not be paying off 40 per cent of its debt

in one year in the foreseeable future. It was good that

was done when we could, because the breathing room it

bought will be needed.

For the public sector, there will be winners and los-

ers. Th e registered nurses got a contract last year that no

one else will even come close to touching. We may end

up seeing restraint again in contract negotiations, which

will be tough to swallow for those working alongside

workers who did get a big boost when times were good.

Expect to hear the words “Th e cupboard is bare” at some

time in contract negotiations this year, followed by, “You

can do a lot more with $75 oil than you can with $35

oil.”

To do its part in the so-called stimulus extravaganza,

the province will spend a lot on infrastructure. But at

some point there will be a realization that there are no

more windfall dollars from either land sales or oil royal-

ties. Saskatchewan will have to live within its means.

For companies and workers in the oil and gas sector,

it means a year of retrenchment. We see this in the rig

count, which was off substantially in mid-February, in

the low 30s. Th at’s about half of the rig counts for the

past two years at this time. If it makes anyone feel any

better, Alberta is reporting just over half the number of

active rigs at this time, compared to the previous two

years. Th ey’re running at 266 active rigs as of Feb. 13,

compared to nearly 500 in 2007 and 2008. Maybe that

won’t make anyone feel any better.

A lot of land was purchased in Saskatchewan last

year, and there still is a use-it-or-lose-it expiry date on all

that land. It means that there will be continued develop-

ment, but at a much slower pace than the summer and

fall of 2008. A lot of companies are announcing they still

intend to drill this year, but are pushing back their drill-

ing programs to later in the year, when they expect prices

of oil will rise.

Th at’s the name of the game right now – ‘We’ll just

have to wait and see.’ Expect to hear that a lot.

I came over what passes for a small rise south-

west of Winnipeg near the village of St. Leon when

I was awe-struck.

After having driven almost two hours through

billiard-table fl at fl oodplain, I came across the St.

Leon wind farm. Not since driving into Jasper for

the fi rst time have I been struck by such a beauti-

ful vista. Th e gleaming white masts rose above the

hard-caked snow against a cloudless blue sky. Th e

blades, each the size of the wing of a large airliner,

swept in their arc lazily, mesmerizingly.

Th is, I thought, like so many others, is the fu-

ture.

It was an interesting thought from someone

whose job it is to write about the oilpatch. Just two

days before, I was taking pictures of drilling rigs. As

I drove by plants, I could smell the characteristic

whiff of hydrogen sulphide. When I left home, I

saw the plumes rise from the smokestacks of the

Shand and Boundary Dam power stations. Now,

on this clear day, I stood beneath, and eventually

touching, the future. It was an epiphany, if I ever

had one.

Th e wind barely touched my face. It was nearly

calm at ground level. Yet the blades were still turn-

ing at about six revolutions per minute. Standing

directly below one, there was hardly any noise, al-

though, I will grant, the wind was barely there. I

could have easily had a conversation with someone

standing beside me without raising my voice in the

slightest. I could hear a “whoosh, whoosh, whoosh,”

with a distinctive whoosh for each blade.

Th ere were no emissions, so noxious fumes, no

pollution, no green house gases I knew of. I couIdn’t

smell it as I drove by. I didn’t see birds committing

hari kari on the blades. Yet they were still turning,

and power was fl owing out of the transformer at the

base. If this isn’t perfection, what is? I wondered.

How can anyone argue with windmill power?

Th ey are cheap – a few million each. Considering

how much I paid for my house in an infl ated mar-

ket, that’s really not much at all.

Th ey can be added incrementally, and in a very

short amount of time, compared to the alternatives.

You could put up a few dozen or a few hundred at a

time, if need be. Construction per unit is measured

in months, not years. Individual windmills can be

assembled in days.

A mammoth nuclear plant can add a thousand

megawatts per unit, take ten years to build, and

hundreds of thousands of years to dispose of. How

do you dispose of a windmill? Knock it over, and

recycle the steel. Th at’s it.

I don’t buy the argument that our power grid

can only handle a small percentage of wind power.

In Europe, we’re seeing some countries generate

up to a fi fth of their power from the wind. Are we

so backward we can’t drop them an email and ask

them how they did it?

Amidst my ruminations of a perfectly green fu-

ture, something eerie happened. Th ey all stopped.

I looked around. Of the 23 windmills I could see,

only two were turning. Th e remainder were gener-

ating exactly zero power.

You can’t run a lot of lightbulbs off that. Nor

can you heat my buddy’s house, which, being in

Manitoba, has electrical heat.

A few minutes later, one, then six, then all of

them started turning again.

A lady from St. Leon walking down the road

on this beautiful day told me they rarely stop, and

she fi nds them beautiful. She’s fi lled her camera

with pictures of them. When it is windy, they are

noisier, but not much.

So maybe windmills can’t fully replace basel-

oad generation. But there’s got to be a place for a

dramatically higher proportion of wind energy in

Canada’s energy mix.

Before any oilmen go get a noose and some

torches, remember this. Windmills can’t power cars,

yet. It’s going to take a serious revolution in batter-

ies, but even then, wind can’t do the job.

Petroleum production in the US peaked de-

cades ago. In Canada, if it weren’t for the oilsands,

we would be on the same path. Every well the story

is the same – production always declines until it is

now longer economical. Th at’s why they keep drill-

ing new wells.

Yet demand for power is continuously growing.

Keeping up to demand with petroleum or nuclear

may be impossible, or in some instances, unpalat-

able. Wind’s function may be to fi ll the gap met by

growing demand.

But don’t take my word for it. T. Boone Pickens

made billions in the oilpatch. He thinks the future

is in the wind. Maybe everyone else is just tilting at

windmills.

Brian Zinchuk is editor of Pipeline News (www.pipelinenews.ca). He can be reached at brian.zinchuk@sasktel.net.

OpinionPIPELINE NEWS March 2009 A5

Geoff Lee

Lee Side of Lloyd

Gasoline prices seem to be a joke

Th e downturn in the price of crude has once

again exposed the greatest mystery in the universe –

why is the price of gas so high?

It’s a surprise that the Discovery Channel hasn’t

tackled this issue given how they how devoted plenty

of resources to tell us in 60 minutes how the pyra-

mids were built thousands of years ago.

Why can’t someone similarly inform us why gas

went up as recently as yesterday? Th e evidence is still

very fresh. Th is is not a cold case. Th ere are fewer

rocks to overturn.

Actually, it would be really nice if someone would

tell us straight up that there is no correlation between

crude oil prices what we pay at the pump and quit

trying to fool us with a daily litany of silly excuses.

Th ere are a few websites which have compiled

lengthy lists of funny reasons cited in news headlines

over the past few years.

Here’s a few of the top picks for your amuse-

ment:

1. Nigerians running wild again this year

2. Th ree Filipino oil and gas workers were ab-

ducted in southern Nigeria

3. Concerns of new predictions of new hurri-

canes for 2006

4. Th e recent death of King Fahd

5. Oil is eff ected by a superhot, panic-ridden

California market

Th e sad part is, these were excuses for gas prices

rising when crude was also rising on its way to a peak

of over $147 a barrel last year. Now that crude has

dropped back to earth, similar sounding excuses have

resurfaced.

Some would says the truth is really all about

greed. Oil companies will charge as much as they

can get away without their competitor undercutting

them. But who is the person in the oil company with

his or her hand on the daily price lever? If we can

fi nd that out, we could all fi le and settle a class ac-

tion lawsuit to cover our gas costs for the rest of our

lives.

What all of these theories, excuses and conspira-

cies boil down though is entertainment – not news

–that is where these price disconnect stories should

be fi led.

If no one can determine the who, what, why,

when and how, then it’s not news. It’s more like “in-

fo-tainment” or fodder for comedy. Here’s a couple

of Jay Leno’s oil price jokes to leave you laughing

whether gas goes up or down.

“Gas is so expensive now, today I saw Jose

Canseco and Barry Bonds carrying their cars.”

“President Bush had lunch with U.S. troops yes-

terday. It’s been exactly two years since the fall of

Baghdad and just as Bush predicted, Baghdad fell,

Iraq fell, Saddam fell – the only thing that didn’t fall

was the price of gas.”

“Th e price of gas in California is going crazy. In

fact, today I did something smart. I bought a gallon

as an investment.”

Brian Zinchuk

From the top of

the pile

Are they tilting at windmills?

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By Brian Zinchuk

Regina - In a low-slung building on Regina’s

Dewdney Avenue, you’ll fi nd a long, cold ware-

house, one that has been expanded considerably

over its 50+ year existence. As it expands, this un-

assuming building has housed a priceless, and in

many ways irreplaceable body of knowledge about

what is beneath our feet in Saskatchewan. In it are

the gatekeepers of that knowledge.

Th e Saskatchewan core repository, more for-

mally known as the Subsurface Geological Labo-

ratory, hosts all the core samples taken in southern

Saskatchewan, most in search of oil, gas or potash.

Chris Gilboy is the director of the Petroleum

and Geology Branch for the Ministry of Energy

and Resources. He has eight geologists and two

GIS technicians working under him, plus nine

warehouse staff who look after the core and other

material geological data, and ensure clients get to

view it when and as needed.

“We strictly deal with geology and archiving

material that comes from oil and gas drilling,” he

says, but adds that potash largely falls into their

purview as well.

Mining in the north comes under a diff erent

set of regulations, and cores recovered during hard

rock exploration are generally kept in the La Ronge

core storage facility on a voluntary basis.

“Core, under the oil and gas regulations, be-

longs to the government,” Gilboy explains.

Th e repository is a library of sorts for three

main forms of information, as data and as physical

samples. Th ey are logs, drill cuttings samples, and

core.

Logs Th e fi rst is geophysical logs from essentially all

oil and gas wells drilled in Saskatchewan. While

some newer forms of logging are submitted on a

voluntary basis, other forms are mandatory.

A large library of paper records contains these

logs. Gilboy pulls out a paper log created in the

days long before computerization.

Paper records tend to be out of vogue these

days, however. A commercial supplier has scanned

all the logs, and makes them available, for a price.

Th is well, located in 14-05-004-30W1, has yel-

lowed paper on which squiggly lines show how the

resistivity of the rock changes as the physical char-

acteristics of the layers of rock penetrated by the

drillhole change.

Is every well logged?

“Mostly, yeah,” he replies. “Some of the newer

stuff we don’t necessarily require, e.g., magnetic

resonance, but it’s all helpful toward enabling us to

interpret the geology.”

Drill Cuttings SamplesAt set intervals, e.g., every fi ve metres, samples

are collected at the drilling rig, usually a responsi-

bility of the on-site geologist. Th ese samples will

be collected by the rig hands, and brought to the

geologist to analyze.

“When drilling happens, they use a circulat-

ing mud system to control the pressure and cool

the bit. Th e mud brings back the cuttings the rock

chips the grindings to the surface. It goes through

a sieve. “Th e geologist will look at it under a micro-

scope on site, and make sure there is nothing unex-

pected about the formations that are being drilled

into, Gilboy explains.

Th ese drill cutting samples are usually collected

on the fi rst well in a section, or if there’s a second

well that’s substantially deeper than the fi rst.

“Th ey come in small vials. Th e drilling mud has

to be cleaned off ,” he explains. “We get two sets

of vials. One set goes to the Geological Survey of

Canada in Calgary,” he says.

Th at second set is essentially a backup.

Th e vials are stored in tall cabinets with dozens

of shelves, all tightly packed.

CoreTh ere is no off -site backup for the core, there’s

only one set, and it rests in countless boxes stacked

on heavy steel racks about 4 metres tall.

One shivers in the unheated warehouse, with

rows upon rows of core that look like they belong in

an Indiana Jones movie. Th e geologists joke about

the Ark of the Covenant being in somewhere in

the back, like in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

In many ways, this is a priceless and irreplace-

able physical source of knowledge. Companies are

supposed to obtain permission if they wish to re-

move core from the province. Th at permission is

pretty much a given, but the government wants it

back, just like a library wants its books back.

Th ey also want it in one piece, sort of. While

plugs can be taken from core, destructive testing is

not normally allowed, except in some cases for pot-

ash or oilsands work. “It’s pretty rare we’re asked

for destructive analysis,” he says.

Gilboy notes some concerns about core leav-

ing the province without permission. “It’s not that

they’re purposefully disregarding regulations, but

rather that they may be unaware of this particular

requirement,” he explains. “We just need to follow

what’s happening to the core.”

Public goodA core repository is essentially a common good,

like a public library in many ways.

“I think the fi rst person who started to collect

core was a U of S professor,” Gilboy says. Com-

panies and government saw the value of having

a central repository, so it was established in the

1950s. At fi rst the repository was in another build-

ing. Th e current building was built in 1958. Th ey

forgot about the cake and cookies for the 50th an-

niversary last year, however.

Page A8

Gatekeepers of a precious resource:

Paul Ramaekers, in the red vest, is an indepen-dent geology consultant who, many years ago, worked at the Subsurface Geological Laboratory. Now he works on his own as MF Mining & Forest-ry Resources, Inc., currently working on the Atha-basca Basin in northwest Saskatchewan. Here he consults with project geologist Sean Bosman, of Saskatchewan Energy and Resources. In the area Paul is working on, located south of Lake Atha-basca, he notes there is a lot of “natural oil pol-lution,” something that often gets overlooked in media reports of the “dirty oilsands.” “If you go in the bush on a hot day, it can, in places, smell like you’re in a re nery,” he explains.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009A8

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Chris Gilboy, director of the Saskatchewan Subsurface Geological Labora-tory, scans an old well log kept at the site.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

Page A7 Not cheap

Coring is expensive,

Gilboy notes, estimated

with a broad brush at

about $1000 per metre.

Th at varies, of course,

whether you might be

coring a shallow gas well

in the southwest, or a

deeper Red River well in

the southeast.

“Th ey generally want

to core only the target

zone they are interested

in, not above or below it,”

says Melinda Yurkowski,

one of the senior geolo-

gists.

Cores are usually

about 18 m in length,

and are kept in 12 to 14

core boxes, made of card-

board. A few old wooden

boxes can be seen on the

racks of the repository,

but not many.

Th ey take a lot of

room, so much so that

the repository has ex-

panded in 1957, 1960,

1964, 1986, 1997, and

2005. “We’ve asked for

another expansion be-

cause the drilling rates

have been really high

over the past year and a

half,” Gilboy says.

Is industry use of the

lab tied to land sales?

“Certainly we’ve

been busier for this past

year than in previous

years, going back ten

years at least,” he notes

“We charge people

for pulling core. Th e in-

come from it in 2008 was

higher than since the late

1990s.”

University students,

however, are not charged.

Classes from both the

University of Regina

and University of Sas-

katchewan make use of

the facility. Many M.Sc.

students also make de-

tailed use of the core, in

exchange for a copy of

their thesis.

Confi dentiality“All the information

for what is considered a

wildcat well is consid-

ered confi dential for a

year. Anything that’s a

development well is con-

fi dential for 30 days.”

It means that the ge-

ologists have to be care-

ful about what they say

and to whom.

When that confi -

dentiality period is up,

however, it is fair game to

whomever wants to look

at it. A representative for

BP Alaska at the 2008

Lloydminster Heavy Oil

Symposium noted with

some marvel at how ac-

cessible such records are.

While most of the

core is examined in a

large room with long

roller tables, there’s a

special confi dential room

for looking at core in pri-

vate. In there, core can be

analyzed without prying

eyes or having conversa-

tions overheard.

Near the confi dential

room is a lab where thin

slices of rock can be cut,

meant for examination

under a microscope.

Logs, drill cutting, and lore

Core Repository stats:

Amount of stored material:a) Core: 372,817 boxes of core are pres-

ently (end-December, 2008) in storage (no

temperature control), taken from 20,953 wells;

this core has a total length of about 560 km;

b) Drill-cuttings samples: more than 4.1

million vials of samples are stored (in tem-

perature-controlled area), taken from some

31,854 wells; and

c) Geophysical logs: approximately 70,000

logs are in storage (temperature controlled)

for use by industry clients and Petroleum Ge-

ology Branch geologists and as partial backup

to the main well fi les in Geodata Section.

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Norcan helping economy with hydraulics By Geoff Lee

Saskatoon – Norcan Fluid Power

Ltd. is helping to keep the growing oil

and gas industry of western Canada

running smoothly along with potash

and uranium companies with sales and

service of hydraulic components.

“Hydraulics run the oil industry,”

said Kelly Th imm, branch manager of

Norcan’s busy Saskatoon branch. “Th e

oil sector has become a bigger part of

our business in Saskatchewan. “We’re in

the fl uid power industry.”

Th e company has seven locations

from Saskatoon to Richmond, B.C. and

specializes in hydraulic cylinder repairs,

including honing, testing, rebuilding,

and system design, installation, and up-

grading.

Norcan sells everything from di-

rectional and proportional controls and

hydrostatic transmissions to high per-

formance heat exchangers and hydraulic

valves and gauges for a wide range of

industry uses.

In the oil and gas industry, hydrau-

lics are used in wellhead drives, rotary

drives, service equipment and include

pumps, motors, valves and cylinders.

“We do a lot of work with the well-

head units,” said Th imm. “Instead of a

pump jack, a lot of companies have rows

of 350 hp engines. Instead of driving a

transmission to run a vehicle, it drives a

hydraulic pump.”

Th e wellhead control system and

hydraulic power unit supply hydraulic

fl uid to all wellhead actuators/downhole

valves and control and monitor all well-

head/downhole functions.

“We sell a ton of repairs for that

kind of use,” said Th imm. “With service

rigs, drilling rigs, fl ushbys, vac trucks,

swabbing units, a lot of the applications

are run by hydraulics.”

Th imm says the recent downturn

in the economy has slowed sales and

service to Norcan’s customers in Lloy-

dminster, Kindersley, Swift Current and

Estevan, but he notes, “We cover a lot of

industries. We’re still busy. We do a lot

of mining work. We have a good client

base. One industry doesn’t dominate to

a huge point.

“We have a complete service section

as well. Companies are looking for com-

ponent repair and troubleshooting and

design work. We service a lot of diff er-

ent brands.”

Norcan’s parent company is BC

Bearing Group that adds its line of

bearings, power transmission, material

handling, electrical and allied industrial

products to the product mix.

“What makes us standout is diver-

sifi cation with new components, sales

and service and solution and problem

solving and system design to help the

customer out,” said Wes Hamm, Nor-

can’s president.

Component repairs are made in

Saskatoon at Norcan’s 10,000 sq. ft

warehouse. Corporate wide, Norcan car-

ries more than $6.5 million of inventory

and has approximately 27 sales people

in the fi eld.

“You have to be out there in the fi eld

knowing what’s going on,” said Hamm.

“You can’t do it over the phone.”

Hamm has noticed a slowdown with

low oil prices and says he thinks people

“are not buying new and trying to get

more hours out of their equipment, but

we’ve been busy for quite awhile.

“I think it’s because we do service

work as well. A lot of people just sell

components. We don’t just do one, we

do both. We are building and fi xing and

selling. We’re doing a lot more than just

selling a part number.

“We have engineers on staff at all

locations. We design hydraulic power

packs and systems and put packages

together for solutions for the customer.

We can take a customer’s idea and move

it to a workable concept stage which in-

cludes system schematics and drawings.

From there we can take that design and

turn it into reality.”

Hamm says a trend in hydraulic is

the growing use of controlling hydraulic

equipment with electronics.

“It means that automation is do-

ing more of the controlling verses a guy

having to do everything manually,” said

Hamm. “Th e controllability with elec-

tronics is a lot better than what it used

to be. It makes it more effi cient.”

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009A10

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By Geoff LeeNorth Battleford – SaskPower is

plugging into future power demands

in the energy-rich area around the Bat-

tlefords, with plans to construct a $250

million, 140 megawatt power plant

driven by gas turbines by 2011.

“It will certainly provide SaskPower

with the ability to support new indus-

try,” said project manager Ron Bend.

Th e 140 MW plant will generate

enough electricity to power the equiva-

lent of 115,000 homes and will provide

peak loads when power consumption is

highest.

Currently, SaskPower operates a gas

turbine in Meadow Lake and Landis

with a major switching station in Sas-

katoon.

“One of the enhancements for the

North Battleford area with the generat-

ing facility right there, is that the qual-

ity of power in that particular area will

be improved,” explained Bend. An open

house was held in North Battleford on

Feb. 25 to introduce the public to the

project, solicit input about possible loca-

tions and to create a buzz about what

this means to the economic future of the

area.

“Th ere is a need within SaskPower

to enhance the overall capacity in our

system,” said Bend. “Th ere is a lot of fu-

ture power demand to support industry,

commercial and even residential growth

provincially. SaskPower has to respond

to that increase in growth.

“Specifi c to the North Battleford

area, with respect to some of the re-

source development in that area – oil

and gas – there has been large growth in

that area of the province. Th at area has

been harder to serve because it’s further

away from some of our main base load-

ing unit in the Estevan and Coronach

area.

“Th e ability to position a gas turbine

station in the North Battleford area al-

lows for more expansion to accommo-

date the load requirements in the prov-

ince as well as providing a more reliable,

secure source in the North Battleford

area where a lot of that new growth is

coming from.”

TransGas will work with SaskPow-

er to provide the metering and pressure

regulating stations required and be re-

sponsible for the supply and transmis-

sion of gas to the turbines.

One of the advantages of using gas

to power turbines, relative to coal fi red,

is its ability to provide peak power.

“We can bring it online very fast

compared to other systems,” said Bend.

“It’s dispatchable. It’s brought on to

meet local demand quickly. You can also

locate (build) gas turbines relatively eas-

ily as long as there is a good congruence

between the transmission side of it and

the natural gas supply.”

Th e turbines have been procured

from General Electric but there are

numerous opportunities for oil and gas

manufacturers and suppliers throughout

the length of the project.

“Th e opportunities are essentially

provincial,” said Bend. “We will be let-

ting contracts with fabricators and or

construction fi rms to procure some the

equipment like piping and cable and

concrete. Th ose materials that have to

be purchased will likely be done through

Saskatchewan suppliers.

“We also have to build the facility

itself. We intend to go with multiple

contracts broken down into various

stages of the project. Construction is ex-

pected to start in August.

“Our expectation as we move

through the engineering process is to

keep the construction industry advised

as to the nature of the contracts, the

timeframe and the scope of the project,”

said Bend.

One of those contracts will be to ac-

tually assemble the gas turbines on site.

As for the facility location, Bend

says that decision will be made after dis-

cussions with aff ected stakeholder and

following an internal review.

“Because we are looking at tying

into the Brada switching station which

is located on the southeast side of North

Battleford, sites that are attractive to us

are in the southeast.

“One of the advantages of being

able to locate gas turbines more local

to where consumption is growing is to

defer potential power line projects. It al-

lows us to have fl exibility with respect to

our transmission.”

Th e project would require switch-

ing station upgrades to accept the power

load and a short transmission line to

bring the power from the location of the

new plant to the switching station.

Th e $250 million price tag includes

the gas turbines and funding to pay for

the natural gas. Bend estimates daily gas

usage at 32,500 gigajoules.

“We also have to buy transformers

that step up the voltage output from

the turbines to our transmission volt-

age,” said Bend. “Th en, there’s the cost

to build the plant – build the units and

infrastructure.”

Th e North Battleford project fol-

lows a SaskPower plan in 2009 for new

electrical generation to be built with

private sector partners.

TransCanada Energy Ltd., ATCO

Power Canada Ltd., Northland Power

Inc., Epcor Utilities Inc. and SNC-

Lavalin Inc. have been invited to submit

proposals for 100 to 200 MW peak gen-

eration projects by April 8.

North Battleford's growth assured with planned gas turbine project

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Bill Boyd leads investment mission to China By Geoff Lee

Regina – Energy and Resources

Minister Bill Boyd led an investment

mission by mineral exploration compa-

nies to China and Japan Feb. 9 to 21.

Before he departed for Asia, Boyd

told Pipeline News that energy invest-

ment opportunities would also be a

topic for discussion with representa-

tives from Asian companies at tours

stops in Tokyo, Beijing and Shanghai.

“Th e purpose is to promote the

natural resource sector here and to try

and attract capital to the junior oil and

gas companies,” he said.

“We feel that we’ve had some good

contacts with the Chinese and Japanese

governments with respect to that. We

are optimistic that we can seek further

investment from those countries in our

province.”

Boyd’s optimism is based on the

fact there were 4,045 oil and gas wells

drilled in the province in 2008 – the

second-best year for drilling behind

the 4,195 wells drilled in 2003.

In addition, the province’s oil and

gas industry recorded approximately

$15 billion in sales and invested $4.4

billion in exploration and develop-

ment while employing 29,000 people

in 2008.

Th e mission also sought to attract

capital for Saskatchewan’s junior min-

ing companies and follows on the heels

of a predominantly mining trade mis-

sion to China last November led by

Meadow Lake MLA Jeremy Harrison.

Harrison is the legislative secre-

tary to Boyd and he reported back then

that the Chinese are also interested in

investing in the province’s energy sec-

tor “whether it is a potential oilsands

development or a conventional oil and

gas operation.”

While the global fi nancial crisis

has deepened since the November trip

and exploration has slowed down, Boyd

sees a potential demand for Saskatch-

ewan’s energy resources.

“In Saskatchewan, we feel that we

have a very good business climate and

we have a royalty structure that is very

competitive.

“Th e Province (government) wants

to open up the marketplace as much as

we can for opportunities in Saskatch-

ewan.

“China and Japan are certainly

huge consumers and as a result of that

they buy a lot of product from around

the world. Th ey have a lot of resources

to invest and as a result of that we want

to talk to them about the opportunities

there are in our province,” said Boyd.

“We are getting contacts from all

over the world and from governments

about the resource base in Saskatche-

wan. Th ey are interested in investing in

the province. Th at’s great for Saskatch-

ewan in terms of business development,

investments and creating jobs.”

A12 PIPELINE NEWS March 2009

Kitscoty – Th e road to prosperity for the Village of Kitscoty is a two-way street

in more ways than one.

Kitscoty is a bedroom community for oil and gas employees heading east on

Highway 16 to work in Lloydminster, north on Highway 897 on the Lloydmin-

ster to Cold Lake corridor and all other employment points on the compass.

Th e village is also a destination community for people headed to work at

major local employers like the County of Vermilion River administration offi ce

and public works and utility shops north of town. Th ere is also a collection of oil

and gas related companies like Automated Tank Manufacturing Ltd. and Cave

Inspection Ltd.

County ratepayers from parts of 72 surrounding townships are drawn to town

to conduct business while tourists and shoppers like the friendly, folksy feel and

selection of main street retailers. Tourism is on the rise and new housing is being

built to accommodate a growing population.

“Th e town and council have developed a program of new residential lots,”

said Harold Trew, chief administrative offi cer. “We have a new subdivision called

Southridge Glens phase four which we opened in 2007.

“Growth is coming from activity in the oil and gas sector and some from

tourism. Because we are a gateway to the north for oil and gas and tourism, and

being on highway 16, we will continue growing.”

More new estate home construction is proceeding at Horizon Acres just

north of the village limits where 17 of 24 lots from four to fi ve acres in size have

been sold.

“We do see ourselves as a bedroom community of Lloydminster,” said Mayor

Daryl Frank, who commutes to his job with Nelson Homes in Lloydminster. “We

are that close to Lloyd that people gravitate there for shopping, but because of our

location we think that we could be just a little bit more than a bedroom commu-

nity. We could support some industry and commercial development as well.”

Automated Tank Manufacturing is the latest oil and gas related industry to

locate in Kitscoty and as Trew says “as long as we can keep fi nding some com-

mercial and industrial lots, the village will keep growing.

“More industry could come here. We’ve added two industrial lots in the past

two years. Th ere’s a car/truck wash interested and we’ve developed a new com-

mercial property that will come on this March. Th ere’s a fair amount of interest.

“I don’t think it will be long before we need more residential lots too. A lot of

it is because we are a bedroom community of Lloyd, but we have the opportunity

to grow commercially as well.” Page A13

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PIPELINE NEWS March 2009 A13

Page A12

Salt City Candle Company is a Canadian distributor of candle products and

has a retail outlet on the main street. Wonder Bread has also established a ware-

house and distribution base in Kitscoty. Other distributors may follow suit includ-

ing a reported fi replace manufacturer.

Trew also sees business growth potential from the busy county offi ce and its

outlying shops. “As they keep growing and developing – the sub trades come off of

that,” said Trew. “Th at’s where I see us growing.”

County growth is assured given there are 3,700 kilometres of roads covering

parts of 72 townships in the county’s administrative area that had 4,764 oil wells

and 1,268 gas wells at the end of 2008.

“Expansion is something we are talking about,” said Glenda Th omas, county

administrator. “Th e province keeps downloading responsibilities to us so to address

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Mayor Daryl Frank and CAO Harold Trew are optimistic Kitscoty will con-tinue to grow on all fronts.

those things, we need people. At some point we have to decide if we are going to

do a major renovation of this offi ce or move it to another location. Th at’s a decision

council will have to make.”

Th e county operates the largest municipally-owned gas utility in Alberta that

Th omas says is “due to us servicing heavy oil. It’s cheaper for oil and gas companies

to heat their tanks with natural gas than propane.

“Our ratepayers come to town to do business with us and at the same time

there is a spinoff for Kitscoty. Th e county has 68 full time employees. We patronize

restaurants. Many of our people live here and can walk to work. It’s a mutual benefi t.

It’s good to have a bank here.”

Kitscoty also boasts an RCMP detachment, an East Central Regional Health

Authority offi ce, and two Buff alo Trail Regional Division schools for K-12 stu-

dents. Kitscoty also has a new spacious community hall for events and recreation

facilities for hockey, curling, golf, lacrosse and baseball.

“I think there is a lot of potential for any company looking for a nice, quiet and

clean community to locate in,” said Mayor Frank. “Kitscoty is very open to new

growth while maintaining the small town feel. “

Kitscoty is also planning to develop new trails after being selected as an active,

creative and engaged or ACE community by the Alberta Recreation and Parks As-

sociation in 2008 to promote healthy communities.

“We are in the process of completing our new area structure plan to identify

trails for walking,” said Trew. “Residential subdivisions are essential to our growth

and so are things like trails so people can walk and have a safe community.

“Planning is continual process but it gives us direction. We are in the process of

preparing more land for industrial use.”

Water is not an issue for growth as the village as plenty of water from its munic-

ipal wells. “It’s very good water,” said Trew. “We don’t have to treat it very much.”

Th e village water tower, which was acquired from Lloydminster in 1976, holds

72,000 gallons of water during the summer and can be used to fi ght fi res.

If plans to build a regional water system of potable water from the North Sas-

katchewan River with a consortium of municipalities are realized, Frank says added

to what water the village has now, “we could double our population.”

Kitscoty also has standby generators for all of its utilities including the munici-

pal water treatment plant.

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Lloydminster – Why

me? Th at was Frank Je-

zowski’s fi rst thought

when Monte Armstrong

from the Lloydminster

Curling Club called to of-

fer him the role of Oilman

of the Year for the Lloyd-

minster Heavy Crude Oil

Bonspiel March 18 to 22.

“I was surprised and

wondered if they didn’t

have somebody else,” said

the 66 year-old retired

oilpatch mechanic. “I

thought for a few seconds

and decided I would take

it. It’s quite an honour.”

Jezowski speculates

he got the nod based on

his long-term role on the

bonspiel committee and

his reputation in the oil-

patch as an inventor.

In his last two jobs in

the surface pump division

of Corlac Industries and

National Oilwell Canada

Ltd., he designed a top-

mounted compressor that

was easier to access and

maintain.

“I invent things

hands-on,” he said. “If

there is a need for it, I will

see if I can make it or im-

prove it. I got the idea for

the top-mounted com-

pressor from mechanics

complaining about trying

to do a service job.

“Th ey had to ‘stand

on their head’ and work

through a plate on the

side. Th at didn’t sit well

with mechanics. I de-

cided we could set the

compressor on a table and

drive it from underneath

with a motor. Th e motor

hardly needs any repairs

but the compressor has to

be maintained every six

months or so.”

One of Jezowski’s

tasks as Oilman of the

Year is to prepare his bi-

ography of his career and

accomplishments and cre-

dentials. If he misses not-

ing any of his inventions,

we’ve got the main ones

covered in this story.

While working as

contractor for Murphy

Oil Corporation, in 1994,

repairing trailers and wa-

ter trucks, he fi led a pat-

ent for air brake anchor

spring pliers to remove

and install anchor springs

for Rockwell and Frue-

hauf brakes. Th e pliers

also have an adjustable

setting for easy installa-

tion of Eaton brakes.

Previously mechanics

used screwdrivers and vice

grips and Jezowski says

“that could cause missing

teeth.”

Early plier manufac-

turing was a family aff air.

Jezowski’s son, Blaine did

the welding; his daugh-

ter Chatherine buff ed

and prepped the hinges

for welding and his wife

Claudette handled the

fi nished buffi ng.

Sales took off when

staff at Fort Garry In-

dustries in Lloydminster

demonstrated the tools

from a product display.

In 2008, Jezowski de-

signed retainer spring pli-

ers for second-generation

brakes that are made and

sold by Ginont Manufac-

turing and Distributing

Ltd. with royalties going

to the inventor.

Jezowski grew up on a

farm at Fertile, Saskatch-

ewan, and inherited his

mechanical genes from his

dad. “I got a lot of practice

tearing apart equipment

that I shouldn’t have,” he

said. “I paid attention to

how things were taken

apart so I could put them

back together. Th ere was

always a logical way to put

it back together.”

Jezowski launched his

mechanical career in 1967

as a shop foreman for Bu-

tin Farm Equipment. He

has a motor vehicle me-

chanical repair interpro-

vincial ticket and a heavy

duty mechanical ticket.

He came to work for

Waugh Construction in

Lloydminster in 1980 as a

mechanic servicing trucks

and tractors. He also

bought an oil rig mov-

ing truck and leased it to

Waugh for about three

years.

Th e day Pipeline News showed up at Jezowski’s

house, he proved he was

busier than ever in retire-

ment installing one of

his latest inventions – a

positive air shutdown in

the diesel truck of Chris

Husch, a contractor for

Rife Resources.

If a diesel truck

breathes in propane or a

condensate of natural gas,

the engine will rev out of

control and it will blow

up.

“Th e positive air

shutdown shuts off air

to the engine,” explained

Jezowski. “It starves the

Eureka moments ll Oilman of t

This was rst working prototype of his patented air brake anchor pliers. He makes everything in his garage shop.

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009A14

the Year’s accomplished career

Frank Jezowski, installs one of his homemade positive air shutdown units in a truck diesel engine for oilpatch contractor Chris Husch.

A15PIPELINE NEWS March 2009

engine of air and shuts it

down.”

Jezowski makes an air

shutdown specifi cally for

a Mac truck and a univer-

sal model for other trucks

in his garage shop from

parts purchased locally.

His homemade shut-

downs retail for approxi-

mately $700.

Compared to factory

units, Jezowski says his are

simpler to install and are

more reasonably priced.

While Jezowski has

invented a lot of devices

during his oilfi eld me-

chanical career, he says

the downside of invent-

ing is patents. “In Canada,

it can take up to two and

half years,” he said. “Pat-

ents to me don’t mean a

lot. If someone changes

it a bit, you haven’t got it

anymore.”

Jezowski says there are

a lot of inventors like him

who have helped to grow

the oil industry. “Th ere are

a lot of people out there

who think there is a bet-

ter way to do something

and they fi gure out a way

to do it better,” he said.

“Lloydminster is

probably the invention

capital for heavy oil. Most

of the inventions for

heavy oil have come from

Lloydminster. It’s because

of the need.”

Jezowski also worked

for Lloyd Truck Centre,

JED Anchors Ltd. and

Waterfl ood Service &

Sales Ltd. in Lloydmin-

ster. Somewhere down

the line, Jezowski had an-

other eureka moment to

invent a swivel so hoses

used to connect tractor

trailers wouldn’t kink.

Jezowski said he often

wakes up in the middle of

the night with an idea and

has it all fi gured out in the

morning. His wife Clau-

dette confi rms the sleep

disruptions.

Jezowski might credit

another early morning

brainwave for his plan

build a Saskatoon berry

sorter in 2007.

“I built it and it ran

for eight hours before

two guys saw it and they

wanted one each so I had

to build two more last

winter,” he said.

Th e inspirations are

never ending as Jezowski

is currently building parts

for a walking bridge to

span a 62-foot wide creek

“for his wife’s sister’s boy-

friend” in Manitoba.

“He’s a nature who

nut has property on the

other side of a creek that

he can’t get to,” explained

Jezowski. “Th e bridge will

be 72-feet long and will sit

on the banks of the creek.

It’s a rafter structure four

feet wide.”

Curlers can learn

more about Jezowski’s in-

ventions when he and his

wife are introduced at a

pre-tournament banquet

March 16. Th e couple will

also attend the opening

ceremonies March 19 the

players’ banquet March 20

and trophy presentations

March 22.

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PIPELINE NEWS March 2009A16

Saskatoon – Do not disturb. Th at’s the approach

Maverick Construction, based in Saskatoon, takes to

the environment when seismic clearing and mulching

for energy clients in Western Canada.

It’s called low-impact seismic using specialized

shredders, mulchers and grinders that don’t leave a

lasting footprint on the terrain.

“When we mulch with these units and make a

path for access, it doesn’t disturb the root system,” said

Maverick president, Ron Bodnar.

“It promotes quicker regrowth. When you mulch,

there is a lot of organic matter that is fed back as nu-

trients to regrow the vegetation.”

With mulching for seismic clearing, there is no

need to burn cleared debris and there is no added cost

of hauling, dumping or chipping.

Exploration companies rely on seismic programs

to help locate oil and gas reserves and use the services

of companies like Maverick to cut brush through for-

ested areas to lay out access lines.

Th e lines allow energy and other resource compa-

nies to survey the subsurface geology using shock wave

refl ections with 2D or 3D tools.

For the energy sector, 3D seismic tends to result in

fewer dry holes, more optimized well locations, guid-

ance for horizontal drilling projects and a more com-

plete evaluation of mineral rights than 2D.

“Th ere is a diff erence between a 2D and a 3D

seismic, but in both cases, they need lines cleared so

that can locate their drill point or shot points,” said

Bodnar.

“Th ere is a variance that a lot of companies will al-

low, so that we can pick damaged areas to cut or areas

that are not as vivacious. It can be done very selectively

on a grid system.

“Th e 3D system is really a grid system. Th e 2D

program is just a variety of long lines that could range

from one to 17 kilometeres.”

A couple of diff erent lines are required for clear-

ing to allow an exploration to access their shot points

to drill to proper depths to put their loads in. A line is

also needed for access to tie the detonation wires to the

shot point for a 3D system.

“We have machinery that allows us to go in and

cut lines at a very minimal disturbance,” said Bodnar.

“We cut by avoidance, so we don’t cut the healthier

trees.

“We have specialized mulchers in our fl eet in dif-

ferent widths and horsepower depending on what the

client needs. We can cut right to the ground or leave it

as a brush. With mulching you cut the vegetation and

it stays on the ground.

“Th ere are better opportunities for reclamation

when you mulch. For seismic, the end product stays

on the ground.”

With the economic slowdown, Bodnar is seeing

fewer junior companies doing exploration this year, but

says Maverick has a diversifi ed client base.

Mulching isn’t just for 2Dand 3D seismic but can

also be use for clearing access roads and camps and

core hole drilling.

“Th e oil industry is our backbone with seismic and

pipeline clearing,” said Bodnar. “Pipeline clearing is a

good part of our business because, again, with mulch-

ing they don’t have to burn, pile or bury brush. It elimi-

nates a lot of those processes.”

Most recently, Maverick crews were cutting seismic

lines for clients in the Athabasca Basin since mulching

in winter minimizes damage to the environment. Th e

mulch mixes with snow and creates a hardened path

above the surface for walking or snowmobiling. Mulch

is also benefi cial for wildlife.

“A short time after you mulch there is a certain

aroma that a lot of animals are attracted to,” said Bod-

nar. “It’s like they smell the food. In areas where there

are deer, you can go back a few hours later and you will

see deer feeding on those lines and cleared areas.”

Maverick’s low-impact equipment is guided by

GPS which allows the operator to maneuver on line to

minimize disturbance.

Maverick has a branch offi ce in Sylvan Lake, Al-

berta and has between 20 and 40 employees on staff

depending on the season.

Bodnar says Maverick’s advantage over the compe-

tition is experience. “We have a terrifi c amount of ex-

perience and we are shroud operators. We know what

areas are suited for mulching. We have done enough

jobs to know the client wants.

“If we are cutting wood, we try to pick the dead

stands which have the lowest impact. Also, there are no

windrows created with mulching,” added Bodnar.

“In the northern Alberta you have to be cautious

of the caribou routes. Caribou don’t want to cross

windrows, so you have to try to leave the ground in a

natural state. If you make a blockade it re-routes some

of the wildlife.

“Mulching is as natural of a land reclamation sys-

tem as you can get. You don’t have to go back and re-

claim it and plant trees. It’s already done.”

Leaving no footprints

This a typical doglegged seismic line that Mav-erick mulched this winter near the Saskatch-ewan/Alberta border. Photo submitted

”“

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009 A17

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By Geoff LeeRegina – TransGas

Limited is using the in-

formation pipeline to

show potential investors

in Alberta how easy it is

to tap into some of Sas-

katchewan’s estimated 89

billion cubic metres of re-

coverable gas reserves.

Th e Saskatchewan

Natural Gas Advantage

Workshop held in Cal-

gary, Feb. 25, walked po-

tential investors through

Saskatchewan’s upstream

natural gas business.

Topics included ev-

erything from acquiring

mineral rights to how to

tie into the transmission

system with speakers from

variety of government

agencies on hand.

TransGas, a whol-

ly owned subsidiary of

Crown corporation Sas-

kEnergy, collects natural

gas through its pipeline

system and transports it

to SaskEnergy’s distribu-

tion system for delivery to

customers.

Out- of -province

gas fl ows through the

pipelines of TransCanada

Pipelines Ltd., Foothills

Pipe Lines Ltd. and the

Williston Basin Interstate

Pipeline. TransGas is also

responsible for natural gas

storage caverns and fi elds

in the province.

“Th e main selling

point is that we are a very

responsive organization,”

said Jim Perfect, TransGas

manager of transmission,

storage and marketing.

“We are probably one

of Canada’s best kept se-

crets as far as the potential

for natural gas goes.

“What we’ve found

out over the years, is that a

lot of people from Alberta

hadn’t considered taking a

land position here. Some

of the companies had

misconceptions that was

tough to do business here

and that there were a lot of

bureaucratic problems.

“So for the past few

years, we’ve been putting

on a workshop in Calgary

with the idea representa-

tives from the ministries

of environment, agricul-

ture and energy and re-

sources, among others,

would explain this is not a

diffi cult process at all.

“It’s quite favourable

for Albertans to do busi-

ness in our province. We

want to encourage com-

panies to come here and

develop the reserves and

put their gas in our pipe-

lines.”

Perfect says the fi rst

step for Albertans to tap

into Saskatchewan’s gas

reserves is to “take a land

position and shoot seismic

for development.

“Having representa-

tives from the govern-

ment explain the pro-

cesses is helpful to people

who haven’t done business

in Saskatchewan before,”

he said

“Th is is a marketing

opportunity “We usually

get somewhere between

150 to 170 people out. We

have had some small ju-

nior companies come out

and take a small position

in the province.

“We hope to attract

some new producers who

haven’t done business with

us before.

Th e workshop will

cover topics such as the

environment, geology and

gas formations and royal-

ties.

Perfect noted during

the past few boom years,

there has been a lot of

exploration activity in the

southeast part of the prov-

ince “proving up a lot of

gas.”

From 1998 to 2007,

there were 14,885 natural

gas wells drilled in Sas-

katchewan.

Despite the current

downturn in gas explo-

ration in Saskatchewan,

Perfect says people in Al-

berta are starting to learn

Saskatchewan’s royalty

structure is attractive.

“We are very attrac-

tive with royalties for

some of the lower produc-

tion wells, which most of

the wells are in Saskatch-

ewan,” he said.

“It’s not tough to do

business here. It’s just a

little bit diff erent from

Alberta. We have diff er-

ent procedures.”

Th is year’s workshop

came on the heels of a gas

rate reduction applica-

tion by SaskEnergy from

the existing rate of $8.51

per gigajoule to $6.23 per

gigajoule eff ective April 1.

For a typical resi-

dential customer, this 27

per cent commodity rate

decrease will mean a sav-

ing about $20 a month, if

approved by the Saskatch-

ewan Rate Review Panel.

“With the signifi cant

slowdown of the North

American economy, com-

modity prices, including

natural gas, have fallen,

which is refl ected in our

application,” said Doug

Kelln, president and CEO

of SaskEnergy in a news

release Feb. 17.

TransGas taps into information pipelineWe are probably one of Canada’s

best kept secrets as far as the potential for natural gas goes

- Jim Perfect

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009A18

Kitscoty – Fully au-

tomated, just-in-time

tank manufacturing using

robotic welders is a little

more than a wink away

from reality at Automat-

ed Tank Manufacturing

Inc. in Kitscoty.

“Our goal is to pro-

duce a higher quality tank

going out to the market-

place through a single

pass welding process

done through robotics,”

said manager, Joe Bowser.

Two robotic welding

arms will be delivered and

installed in coming weeks

and will allow Automat-

ed Tanks to manufacture

two tanks a day when it

goes into full operation.

In the meantime, the

company has just com-

pleted its fi rst semi-au-

tomated manufacturing

process with the instal-

lation of a lifting, rotat-

ing device fi tted into a

32-foot deep hole in the

shop fl oor.

Th e idea is to feed steel

into place to form the cir-

cular sections of the tank

that can be lower, raised

and rotated, enabling the

welder to remain in one

position while the vertical

and horizontal assembly

is done.

“Th is is a lot safer and

a faster way to manufac-

ture a tank,” said Bowser.

“With each course of steel

to be added to the tank,

we lower the tank into

the hole. As it rotates, we

weld it and then we com-

plete the roof structure.”

Work is also pro-

gressing to outfi t a sec-

ond 32- ft deep hole with

a similar elevating device,

one of which will evolve

into a fully automated ro-

botic tank manufacturing

process.

“With our existing

staff , we can now roll out

four tanks a week,” said

Bowser. “With a second

semi-automated station, I

am looking at putting in

a second team. I am look-

ing at hiring another fi ve

people down the road.”

Bowser says despite

the economic slump,

there is a continuous de-

mand for fl ow tanks in

the marketplace.

“Drilling slows down

but it doesn’t stop,” he

said. Bowser says orders

for tanks would pick up if

oil tops the $50 US level.

“It would give use

great comfort to see it

there because we know

the amount of holes that

would be drilled would

increase signifi cantly,” he

added.

“Our customer base

is starting to grow. More

and more people are

gaining knowledge of

our manufacturing tech-

niques and the fact we

are very responsible about

how we want to deliver

it.

“We are a one stop

shop. We manufacture

tanks, insulate them, paint

them and now we do in-

ternal coating on site. Th e

only thing we contract

out is sand blasting and

that might change.”

Automated Tanks

was launched last sum-

mer after a few fi ts and

starts over staffi ng and

steel supply issues, but

the initial goal to move

toward robotics has never

wavered.

Work began on the

design, engineering and

development of the semi-

automated system last

July with fabrication work

from Grit Industries and

engineering services pro-

vided by PFM, (now part

of Bar Engineering).

“Every company we

have utilized is in the

Lloydminster area,” said

Bowser who has a lengthy

list of who to thank and

invite for a progress in-

spection.

Automated Tanks is

well into the test manu-

facturing mode with the

lifting, rotating device

that Bowser classes as be-

ing semi-automated.

“We want to make

sure what we are doing

is right prior to putting

the robotics in,” he added.

“We will continue our

day-to-day manufacture

of 750 bbl and larger

tanks based on what our

customers’ needs are.”

A pair of robots will

do the long seam hori-

zontal and vertical welds

and they should be ready

for testing in a few weeks

with a production target

of June.

Page A19

Robotic tank manufacturer aims to cut production time and labour costs

Joe Bowser who manages Automated Tank Man-ufacturing in Kitscoty is an ef ciency expert. Trucks can pick up nished tanks in the yard within 30 minutes. Photo by Geoff Lee

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009 A19

Terry Forget is the site supervisor working on testing the semi-automated tank manufacturing devices. Photo by Geoff Lee

Page A18 “Th is won’t replace

any of existing welders

but it greatly reduces the

amount of staffi ng that

we will require in the fu-

ture,” said Bowser.

“We will continue to

use our welders for the

nozzling and plasma cut

outs and other aspects

of manufacturing a tank

such as ladders and plat-

forms.”

Bowser says robotics

will lead to a 40 per cent

reduction in manufactur-

ing time to produce one

tank along with reduced

manpower.

“It will make us

highly competitive with

just- in-time manufac-

turing,” he said. “It great-

ly reduces the amount of

stock we have to carry on

site. What we manufac-

ture is just on time so it’s

moving off the lot.”

Automated Tanks

is located on a 22-acre

corner property near the

junction of Highway 16

and Highway 897 with

plenty of room to grow.

Th e site features the

manufacturing shop and

an adjacent insulation

and paint shop.

Double overhead

gantry cranes move the

tanks, which can range

in size from 400 bbl to

2,000-bbl capacity, man-

ufactured to a high API

650 standard. Once they

are fi nished, they are

stored outside for easy

pickup.

“When a truck pulls

in here to pick up a tank

at 7:30 a.m., they are off

our site before 8 a.m.,”

said Bowser. “From the

time they arrive, cradle

up and leave, it’s 30 min-

utes maximum.”

Effi ciency was on

the mind of the group

of investors who formed

the company and asked

Bowser to manage the

business.

“Th ere are a whole

lot of business people

who have put their faith

into a change in the way

this industry moves,”

said Bowser. “Th ey be-

lieve that automation is

the future. Th ey’ve gone

to mobile robotic units

now on the pipelines and

with high pressure water

systems.

“I think gradually

companies will be forced

to move that way due to

a lack of skilled labour.

Skilled labour in our in-

dustry is mostly mobile

and transient.

“When you get a

company like this, you

have to take a look and

design something that

is going to keep people

today. What this does

is provide long term job

security. Our employees

are excited about it. Th ey

get paid well and they

get good benefi ts.

“We have been very

cautious about the peo-

ple we hire and we’ve

been very fortunate that

the people we have hired

are a big part of what this

company is today.”

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PIPELINE NEWS March 2009A20

Hurricane Industries diversi esLloydminster – Hur-

ricane Industries Ltd. is

best known for its foam

circulating fl uids used for

sand cleanouts of heavy

oil wells, but hopes to

grow its new pressure

service division.

Hurricane Indus-

tries’ most common foam

treatments are stable

foam cleanouts, foam-

ing disposal wells and gas

well foam cleanouts.

“Foam basically un-

der-balances a well and

gives the formation a

chance to produce oil, wa-

ter, and sand,” explained

general manager Tom

Fisher. “It promotes an

in-fl ow of oil to the well

bore from the formation.

Hurricane Industries

has numerous varieties

and uses of foam includ-

ing high temperature

foam for steam wells.

“Th e future will be in

thermal with foam,” he

said. One of Fisher’s as-

sociates, Howie Cayford

introduced foam to Lloy-

dminster in 1970, with

Border Drilling Co. Ltd.

Hurricane Industries

also hopes to generate a

storm of interest in its

new mobile pressure test-

ing service for pipelines

in Alberta and Saskatch-

ewan.

Two service trucks

were acquired late last year

to fi t manager Fisher’s

plan to diversify and grow

the company. Th e trucks

will also allow Hurricane

to perform hydro testing,

cement squeezes and in-

hibitor and chemical ser-

vices for oil and gas wells.

“We want to get into

diff erent things and get

established in this area of

the business,” said Fisher.

“We want to make the

company grow. We want

to be all over Alberta and

Saskatchewan. I still want

to be here when I am 70.”

One of the trucks is

a 2004 Ford F550 4X4

with a two compartment

tank that will haul chemi-

cals for well stimulations

or a water and methanol

mix for pipeline pressure

testing.

Th e second truck is a

revamped 2001 Freight-

liner with a 12 cubic

metre tank for pressure

testing new pipelines – a

requirement before they

go on line.

Hurricane Industries

can also use the trucks to

test gas pipelines for high

pressure. Th e truck opera-

tor will perform a hydro

test on the fl ow line.

“Anything that you

fl ow fl uid through has to

be tested,” said Fisher.

While the economic

downturn has slowed de-

mand for pipeline pres-

sure testing Fisher says,

“If you have a new idea,

oil companies will run

with it.

“You have to have ex-

perienced operators and

a good price. We’ve been

established for a long time

and we have a lot of con-

tacts. We will go wherever

the work is.”

In the meantime,

Fisher is looking beyond

spring breakup for oil-

patch activity to pick

again. At age 66, Fisher

has experienced all of

the booms and busts

since 1963 and he thinks

the current slump could

be rocky because of the

higher volume of oil

companies, vendors and

employees than in previ-

ous downturns

“It aff ects a lot more

people,” he said. “No one

knows what’s going to

happen after breakup.

“I think in order for

a company to grow you

have to be diversifi ed.

Th at’s why we decided

to get into clean pressure

trucks last fall. Th e think-

ing is, in case things slow

down in one area, they

might pick up in another.

Th is is a way to keep peo-

ple busy.”

Grant Kuypers from Buck Paradise Out tters dropped by to present his buddy, Tom Fisher with one of his lodge caps.

Howie Cayford (left) met up with his friend, Tom Fisher, general manager of Hurricane Indus-tries to double up for a photo of a new pressure truck.

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PIPELINE NEWS March 2009 A21

Lloydminster – Reliance Safety Supply & Services Ltd. is a new division of

Reliance Industrial Products that mirrors the experience of safety sales manager

Dennis Cole.

Cole was a full-time fi refi ghter for 15 years with the Gander Fire Department

in Newfoundland and worked four years as a safety manager for Schlumberger in

Lloydminster before helping to launch the Reliance safety division last May.

“Instead of preaching safety, now I’m selling safety,” said Cole

in his new role. “It’s easier to talk safety with clients because I

understand what they need. “

Th e company began as one of fi ve authorized Scott

Air-Pak distributors and repair centres in Canada for

the oil and gas industry. Th ey also sell and service

personal gas monitors for energy workers doing

jobs in confi ned spaces or near H2S gas.

“After the fi rst few months, business

picked up tremendously, “said Cole. “ Now,

a lot of servicing is getting done during the

slowdown.

“Scott Air-Paks must be tested every two

years to make sure the proper amount of air

is fl owing through. We check to make sure

there are no leaks and everything is sealed.

Th ese are contained units.”

In the shop the Air-Paks undergo a series

of tests including a computerized fl ow test and a

hydro test of the air cylinders to determine if they

still in good working order.

Cole also performs a complete visual inspection of

the air cylinders and will clean and disinfect the breathing

masks and check for wear in the cylinder harness.

Th e harness cylinders are also refi lled with breathing air with a

normal 21 per cent oxygen content at 2216 PSI. Th e air tanks are metal or have a

light-weight outer shell of carbon fi bre.

Reliance also has a supplied air system with large 4,500 PSI air cylinders for

up to eight of hours for air supply for workers cleaning tanks or working in any

atmosphere that is hazardous.

Cole’s experience as a fi refi ghter has prompted Reliance Safety to tap into a

steady regional market of sales and service of fi re extinguishers and fi re fi ghting

gear.

“We sell everything but the truck,” said Cole who is a volunteer fi refi ghter in

Lloyminster. “Local fi re departments were glad to have a local supplier who can

service their equipment.”

Reliance Safety built their own mobile service truck to service their energy

and fi refi ghter clients on site. Th e front part of the truck is equipped to empty fi re

extinguishers, clean the valves and refi ll the tanks with a dry chemical

and re-pressure them with nitrogen.

Th e back of the truck contains 10 of those 4,500 PSI

air cylinders that can be used to fi ll up to 60 of the por-

table 2216 PSI Scott Air-Paks.

“In the event of a fi re, we could drive the truck

to the scene and refi ll the cylinders used by fi re

fi ghters,” said Cole. “Most fi re departments use

Scott Air-Paks. Th ey are the best in the indus-

try for air packs.”

Reliance Safety also sells fi re fi ghting

clothing including gloves jackets and pants.

When it comes to knowing top quality

equipment Cole says, “I’ve worn the best and

the worst of fi re equipment. Th e fi re equip-

ment and service side of the business for fi re-

fi ghters is a natural angle for me.”

During the September 11, 2001 attacks on

the World Trade Centre when 38 jets bound for

the United States were rerouted to Gander Air-

port, Cole put his fi refi ghter skills to use.

He was the ground transportation coordinator for

more 6,500 passengers who entered and exited the termi-

nal during the four day crisis.

When he comes knocking at your door at as Reliance’s safety

manager, ask him to share his incredible story about how all of the people of Gan-

der came to the rescue that fateful day.

Cole can also tell you about his plans to expand the safety shop and set up more

Safety Supply & Service divisions within all of the Reliance Industrial Products

stores in Western Canada.

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PIPELINE NEWS March 2009A22

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By Geoff LeeLloydminster –Altus

Geomatics, a Calgary-

based land survey com-

pany specializing in oil-

fi eld surveys is scanning

the economic landscape

at its Lloydminster of-

fi ce for ways to diversify

and keep crews busy un-

til oil prices and drilling

rebound.

“Drilling activity is

way down and drilling

is what keeps us going,”

said Jim Clarke, direc-

tor of the Lloydminster

branch that specializes

in surveying well site

leases and pipeline right

of ways.

“Up until the last few

months, it’s been going

year-round,” said Clarke.

“We have seven crews

but there is no activity

going on right now. We

are slowed right down.

“Activity started

slowing down in De-

cember and since Janu-

ary, there has been very

little work. We are not

surveying many new

leases right now.”

Survey staff are us-

ing the downtime to

catch up on restoration

and pipeline plans to get

them registered and take

on work in Altus’ western

Canadian locations in

Medicine Hat, Grande

Prairie, Edmonton,

Lloydminster, Yorkton,

Regina and Weyburn.

“Th e area that is

holding its own is the

Weyburn-Estevan area,”

said Clark, in reference

to drilling and lease sur-

vey work. “It has slowed

down too, but it was at

such a fast pace that it’s

still holding its own down

there. For how much lon-

ger I don’t know.

“Because we are a

large company, we can

move guys around if the

work is available. We do

a fair amount of that.”

Clarke has sent some

of his crew to Altus’ Ed-

monton offi ce for work

in the far north and a

local crew is also doing

survey work for a potash

company in Humboldt,

Sask.

Corporately, Altus

off ers clients a full range

of geomatic and survey

services including 3D la-

ser scanning, GIS devel-

opment and all types of

mapping products.

Altus’ partnership

with Ezra Consulting

Ltd in 2007 opens doors

for additional work

through Ezra’s exper-

tise in forestry planning,

government permitting,

route selection, envi-

ronmental fi eld reports,

construction and the le-

gal surveying of right of

ways and facilities.

More diversity for

Altus in Lloydminster

may fl ow from the new

federal budget announc-

ing $12 billion for infra-

structure projects. Th e

Saskatchewan govern-

ment also announced an

immediate injection of

$131.6 million for infra-

structure through a new

Municipal Economic

Enhancement Program

in February along with

$31.6 million for pro-

vincial-federal Building

Canada Fund for new

projects that may require

surveying.

“If some of that

money trickles down

to the municipal level

for road widening sur-

veys and stuff we would

certainly look at doing

some of that work,” said

Clarke.

Page A23

Altus Geomatics surveys new way to diversify in downturn

CAD manager Chris Milley pulls off a pipeline plan from the map plotter at Altus Geomatics in Lloydminster.

Photo by Geoff Lee

“

”

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009 A23

Jim Clarke, director of Altus Geomatics in Lloydminster.Photo by Geoff Lee

Page A22“Any type of work is

positive. Th e type of work

we would normally turn

down we would not turn

down now, like munici-

pal work. We will likely

make ourselves a little

more visible to the RMs

and visit their offi ces and

drop off our cards.”

Altus faces compe-

tition from four major

survey companies in

Lloydminster and there

may not be enough work

now to keep all of them

busy.

“I think we have all

done very well in the

last while,” said Clarke.

“Th ere was a lot of work

for all of us. Th at’s likely

not the case right now.

Last year was excel-

lent. Sometimes it was

a struggle to keep our

clients happy and get

the jobs done in a timely

manner. Right now that

is not the problem.

“Our economy is

driven by the oilfi eld and

if the oilfi eld slows down

then they stop building

houses and everything.

We hope things will pick

up in the third quarter.”

At the Lloydminster

offi ce, staff draft plans

on a computer. An Altus

well site plan includes

the position of the well

within a quarter section

of land with the coordi-

nates. Th e area for a lease

is usually a 100-metre

square block.

Th e plan shows

where the access road is

and how wide it is and

includes the elevation

and ground elevation of

the corners.

Th ese plans also

show all of the typogra-

phy around the lease, in-

cluding low areas, lakes,

sloughs and creeks and if

the area is natural or cul-

tivated land.

Clarke says the usual

protocol is to work with

the oil company consul-

tant to determine the

best place to drill. “Th e

oil company makes the

decision and we survey

where they want it.”

Most of Altus’ work

with pipelines in the

Lloydminster area is

planning for small gath-

ering systems.

“Typically, heavy oil

is trucked but they will

run fuel gas lines to all

of the wells and there are

right if ways to be sur-

veyed,” said Clarke.

“All natural gas has

to be shipped by a pipe-

line so there will be a

gathering system of right

of ways to a compressor

and from a compressor

out to a main compres-

sion line.”

Corporately, one of

Altus’ largest pipeline

projects involved survey-

ing the rights of way for

800 km for the Alliance

pipeline from Fox Creek,

Alberta to the Saskatch-

ewan border with 95 per

cent of the work com-

pleted using a real time

GPS system

Any type of work is positive

Activity started slowing down in December and since

January, there has been very little work. We are not surveying many new leases

right now- Jim Clarke

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009A24

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(780) 875-0203 LloydMallHwy 16, Lloydminster

By Geoff LeeKitscoty – You can’t

see a defective weld with

the naked eye. Th at’s why

Cave Inspection Ltd., a

growing mobile, non-de-

structive testing company,

is called on to test the

quality of welds in fi eld

equipment such as pipe-

line and batteries.

Th e company’s spe-

cialty is radiographic in-

spections but they also

do magnetic particle,

liquid penetration and

ultra sonic thickness non-

destructive tests.

Cave has an active

fl eet of nine trucks and

four spares to service

contractors and oil com-

panies in Alberta and

Saskatchewan from its

base in Kitscoty.

“We are testing for

the integrity of welds

and quality of metals,”

said Cave owner, Dean

Braham. “It’s a federal

government requirement

so companies are doing

their due diligence by hir-

ing us. We have over 200

companies that we work

for.”

Cave’s major clients

include Husky Energy,

EnCana Oil and Gas and

Canadian Natural Re-

sources. To accommodate

future growth, Cave will

shift its operations from

Dean’s acreage north of

Kitscoty to a new shop

in the village that will

include new offi ce space

and room to park all mo-

bile test vehicles.

Each vehicle is

equipped with the latest

Delta and Sigma 880s

series radiography camera

or exposure device, and a

mobile darkroom.

“With radiography,

we are primarily looking

for welding quality,” says

Greg Braham, who is a

level three technician in

radiography and Dean’s

brother.

“Each weld has a

specifi c code it has to ad-

here to. We are looking

for defects in that weld.

If they exceed the code

specs, the welds have to

be repaired.”

Th e exposure device

contains what’s called a

radioactive source or a

pigtail assembly with two

to four, one millimetre di-

ameter radioactive wafers

to expose a fi lm negative

of the weld.

“It’s similar to when

you get an x-ray for a bro-

ken bone. We are doing

virtually the same thing

except with metal,” said

Greg.

At the job site, safety

equipment is set up and

the camera is hooked up

to a lengthy drive cable.

Th e cable allows the op-

erator to keep a safe dis-

tance between him and

the radioactive source.

Th e drive cable moves the

source out of the camera

to the end of the cable to

expose the fi lm placed on

the opposite side of the

weld being inspected.

“We take three ex-

posures for every weld,”

said Greg. “Th e radioac-

tive material exposes the

latent image on the fi lm

which we develop in the

mobile darkroom and

gives us a 2-D image of

the weld.

“If there is a defect,

we mark where the defect

is on the pipe weld. Th e

fi lm has location mark-

ers so you know which

part of the weld you are

looking at. You mark the

area the defect is in, fl ag it

and notify the contractor.

Whoever did the original

weld would be asked to

repair it.”

Because Cave works

with radioactive material,

they are tightly regulated

by the Canadian Nuclear

Safety Commission.

Page A25

Non - destructive welding tests Non - destructive welding tests keep Cave Inspection on the gokeep Cave Inspection on the go

Greg Braham connects a drive cable to a radiographic camera device used for non-destructive tests of welds.

Photo by Geoff Lee

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009 A25

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Behind Cave Inspec-tion owner, Dean Bra-ham is a picture of himself with his former teammate and NHLer Dave Gertz (Penguins) when the pair played on the Memorial Cup winning Prince Alberta Raiders in 1985.

Photo by Geoff Lee

Page A24“We have very strict

rules we have to adhere

to,” said Greg. “With

us being nuclear energy

workers, we are trained

and knowledgeable to

work with radiation.

Everyone is very knowl-

edgeable in case of an

emergency.

“It’s members of

the public or people

coming onto to a job

site that don’t know the

hazard associated with

radiation. It’s our job to

make sure they are not

exposed to any unnec-

essary radiation.”

Radiation detec-

tors are standard equip-

ment. Every 75 days,

the radioactive source

material depletes by

half. About every six

months, Cave exchang-

es their depleted radia-

tion source with a fresh

one. When not in use,

the pigtail assemble is

stored inside the pro-

tective exposure device

which is safely locked

in specialty stainless

steel containers during

transport and lock up.

Dean says non-

destructive testing is

a good business to get

into but adds “it’s tough

now to get a licence to

own the radiation, so

we are happy to get in

when we did.

“Th e business is get-

ting big enough where

we can warrant a shop

in town to have more

exposure and to move

it out of this residential

yard.”

“With the person-

nel we have, hopefully

we will get by this slow

time and build and

grow. I hope to have 40

or 50 employees in the

next fi ve years.”

Dean got his busi-

ness start through his

senior hockey connec-

tions with the Kinder-

sley Clippers started by

NHLer Brian Skrud-

land and his brother

Barry.

Dean attended

Notre Dame College in

Wilcox, Saskatchewan

on a midget hockey

scholarship and was

a member of the Me-

morial Cup champion

Prince Albert Raiders

in 1985. Greg played

hockey for the WHL

Flin Flon Bombers in

1994-97. He commutes

to work from Lloyd-

minster and has a son

who is just getting into

hockey.

Hockey is a sport

that Dean says “has been

a great building block

in my life. When I came

to play in Kindersley, I

needed a job and they

stuck me in a radiation

truck and I started from

there.”

Th at company was

AM Inspections and

Dean moved to Lloyd-

minster to set up an of-

fi ce for AM.

He started Cave in

1995 and says choosing

that name that instead

of a numbered company

was a no brainer since

his nickname has been

Caveman since he was

14.

He picked Kitscoty

because that’s where he

moved to after he ar-

rived to work in Lloyd-

minster

“Lloyd was boom-

ing at the time and I

thought it would be

cheaper in Kitscoty,

plus it’s a small town for

the kids,” he explained.

Dean has two sons and

two daughters.

Strict rules with nuclear energyStrict rules with nuclear energy

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009A26

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Swift Current –

Working in a confi ned

space is one of the health

and safety courses taught

at Great Plains College

Campuses and a long

time expansion restraint

for the college.

Th e space dilemma

will be resolved soon

thanks to an injection

of $13.5 million of in-

frastructure funds to

upgrade classrooms, labs

and shops with most of

the money earmarked

for the main campus in

Swift Current.

Th e funding is part

of a $26.4 million invest-

ment in Saskatchewan

advance education sys-

tem and will allow the

college to grow its aca-

demic, trades and energy

facilities in Swift Cur-

rent and satellite cam-

puses including the En-

ergy Training Centre in

Kindersley.

“Th e funding will go

toward some expanded

space as well as some

renovated space,” said

college president Mark

Frison.

“Th ose projects will

relate to the energy sec-

tor in some ways. Th e

number one priority here

(Swift Current) is for

improved and expanded

shop space for trades.

“We have an energy

sector committee that

been telling us we need

to be doing more trades

training on a variety of

fronts. Space was a lim-

iting factor.”

“One of the things

we’ve tried to identify

in our strategic plans is

to broaden the base of

the programs we off er.

Th is year, we are look-

ing at putting in fi ve new

courses on the energy

training side.”

Th e Energy Training

Centre is based in the

heart of oilpatch country

in Kindersley. Program

coordinator Willi Mc-

Corriston says with the

slowdown, it’s diffi cult to

put a timeline on when

new courses will come

on stream.

“We are investigat-

ing what other courses

industry requires,” she

said. “Hopefully, over the

next year, we will identify

some new opportuni-

ties.”

In the meantime,

registration for stan-

dard oil and gas train-

ing courses like H2S,

confi ned space, fi rst aid,

WHMIS, and Trans-

portation of Dangerous

Goods is picking up as

spring breakup nears.

“On top of that we

have a new focus on fall

protection,” said Mc-

Corriston. “We built a

portable fall protection

simulator. Th at’s one that

we intend to expand on

in the future. New legis-

lation requires new train-

ing and we try to stay on

top of that.”

Th e Energy Train-

ing Centre in Kindersley

is the equivalent to the

Energy Training Insti-

tute off ered by Southeast

College in Estevan. Th e

course list covers every-

thing from all-terrain

vehicle safety and pipe-

line construction safety

to snowmobile safety

and well service blow out

prevention.

“Our course off erings

are similar to Estevan in

terms of what’s available

to the oil and gas indus-

try. We off er what people

need,” said McCorriston.

Power engineering,

plumbing, pipefi tting

and welding are some of

the oil and gas related

trades courses that can

expand along with the

new renovations planned

at the Swift Current

campus.

“Th e funding will

allow us to continue on

our path of growth by

ensuring students are re-

ceiving a quality service,”

said Frison who hopes to

tap into additional feder-

al infrastructure funding

for colleges announced

in that budget.

Great Plains also of-

fers its health and safety

courses aimed at the

oilpatch at its smaller

campuses such as Ma-

ple Creek, Shaunavon,

Macklin, and Rosetown

and Warman.

“Th e safety train-

ing courses have been

growing for the last fi ve

years,” said Frison. “Even

when the (oil) economy

was hot, our traditional

academic program has

grown 30 per cent in the

last three years.

Frison attributes the

growth to better market-

ing, better course selec-

tion and a shift in course

profi le toward more

trades-related courses

like power engineering.

“Th ese are the cours-

es students have been

anxious to get into,” said

Frison. He also notes in-

terest in driver training

courses has been fairly

steady.

“In Swift Current

it’s driven partly by the

oilpatch but also by

farming and long-haul

transportation.”

Infastructure funds help Great Plains

Carson Shea, a power engineering 4th class student gets hands-on ex-perience during a re protection course at the Energy Training Centre in Kindersley. Photo submitted

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009 A27

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009A28

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B-SectionMarch 2009

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ESTEVAN,WEYBURN & AREA& AREA

www.wilhelmconstruction.cawww.wilhelmconstruction.ca

Now Serving

#300 - 1236 5th Street Estevan, SK

By Brian ZinchukLampman – It’s one of the biggest, if not the biggest, oilfi eld construc-

tion operations in southeast Saskatchewan, with seven locations and a staff

that peaked at around 900 last year. It’s all based in Lampman, population: 635

(2006 census).

Th e company is Carson Welding and Maintenance.

About 250 people report to the Lampman location. Not all are from Lamp-

man compared to the size of the community but it’s a huge chunk of the local

workforce.

Carson Welding and Maintenance was started by Ron Carson in 1974.

Since then, the company has grown substantially, but right now is dealing with

the slowdown that has come with oil down over $100 from its peak last summer.

Employment numbers are down as well. In early February, Carson notes,

“We’re around 750 overall.”

“We see a big slowdown with the price of oil the way it is. It was so busy.

Th e activity level is decreasing gradually as we speak.’

Carson says that’s mainly because clientele’s budget’s saw a great reduction

in cash fl ow. Drilling programs are curtained in most cases.

On the bright side, Carson says, “It’s the fi rst time we’ve seen it stay consis-

tent as long as we have.”

“Th e way we deal with it is the same as our clients. We put a hold on all

capital expenditures, use surplus trucks, trailers. Reign in expenses.”

Th e shop construction projects already underway were budgeted for. “We’re

basically fi nishing what we had started.”

“Th e worst part about it is when the workload decreases we have an ex-

cess amount of staff . Th at’s what always hurts. Th at’s the sad part about it. Six

months ago, we couldn’t fi nd people, now we have too many. Th e hard thing to

accept is a lot of people get hurt fi nancially.

We keep as many people as humanely possible. We know we’ll need those

people some day. Th e question is when?”

Carson is not expecting the slowdown to be short term. “I totally expect it

won’t get going after breakup. I’m hoping to see some light at the end of the

tunnel at the fourth quarter this year. It could be six months of this.”

Asked if the high land sales of 2008 will make a diff erence, Carson says, “It

helps the workload. Th ere has to be some wells drilled to maintain those leases.”

“I don’t think the Bakken play will dry up, but it will defi nitely slow down.”

LinesCarson Welding and Maintenance has locations in Lampman, Halbrite,

Carlyle, Alida, Estevan, Swift Current and Wainwright, plus fi eld offi ces at

EnCana’s Weyburn fi eld, and with Apache Canada at Midale.

Page B2

Ron Carson Big success from a small town

By Brian ZinchukEstevan – Estevan’s Oilfi eld Technical Society is

planning a bonspiel to remember this year, and for

good reason. It’s their 50th, after all.

Th e event will take place at the Estevan Curling

Club Mar. 26-29. Th ere will be a banquet and dance

at the Beefeater Plaza on the Friday.

Th e vent is known for its massive amount of

door prizes. Recent years have also had an added

bonus – with winning teams receiving an envelope

with some cash after each win.

Entry fees are $300 per rink, and that guarantees

four events. Registration can be done online at the

Estevan OTS website (estevanots.com). Registra-

tions close Mar. 20.

50th Estevan OTS curling bonspiel

Ron Carson credits staff who have been with him, some for over three de-cades, for the growth of his company.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009B2

Page B1Th ere are several divi-

sions, but the big ones are

facility construction and

general maintenance, and

pipeline. Th ey have the in-

house capacity to handle

up to 24-inch pipelines,

but more practically, they

do a lot of two- to 16-

inch lines.

Th e facility work in-

cludes batteries, gas plant

expansion, and CO2 work.

“We do a lot of CO2 fa-

cility construction in the

Weyburn and Midale

units.”

It’s not the fi rst time

the company has worked

with CO2. Carson re-

calls they did a lot of ex-

perimental CO2 work

for Shell. “We installed

an experimental plant

at Boundary Dam years

ago, taking exhaust off

the stack. Th at was a long

time ago.”

“It fi nally got moth-

balled.”

A highly vertical-

ly-integrated company,

there’s little Carson Weld-

ing and Maintence subs

out. Other areas of work

include pickers, pile-

driving, safety, hydrovac,

roadbuilding and gravel

hauling. “We have an en-

vironmental department

that works on land recla-

mation,” he notes. A new

Ironwolf mulcher was in

the yard when Pipeline News visited.

QualityQuality control and

safety is an absolute

must,” he says. You have

to be a leader in that, or

soon get lost in it. ISN

Networld – that’s a full-

time job. It’s just on and

on. If you don’t deal with

it, someone’s going to be

knocking on your door

and asking, ‘Why not?’”

Origins“I was a welder,” Car-

son says, but adds, “No, I

haven’t welded in years.”

“When I started in

’74, I was in partnership

with another guy in Es-

tevan. We closed that

down.

“We ran four trucks –

two welding, two service –

at that point in time, a to-

tal of about eight people.”

It’s been a steady

growth rate since then

for Carson. He’s based

in Lampman, because

that’s where he started.

“We didn’t expect to see

the growth we saw. We

started up where we live.

I lived in town at the time,

and live in town now.”

“We have a family

farm operation in town as

well. One of my sons runs

that.”

Another son works

in the business, manag-

ing the safety and services

division. A new shop for

that division is under con-

struction, across the high-

way from the head offi ce.

“It’s been pretty con-

sistent growth over the

years, as well as doing

some outlying areas ex-

pansion and acquisition.”

Over those years, a lot

of people have been part

of the company for the

long haul. “We have quite

a few staff over 30 years.

Over 20 [years], we have

a lot.”

Twenty four people

have been with the fi rm

for over twenty years. Six

have been there for over

30. “Th ose people are all

key people,” he says”

“It would never hap-

pen without the people

we have.”

One more recent ac-

quisitions was Elite Me-

chanical, in Lloydminster.

A substantially larger shop

was completed for them

last year. Th e grand open-

ing was in November.

Another shop expan-

sion took place at Halbrite

over the winter, adding

vehicle storage.

“We have people

that come out of every

small town in southeast

Saskatchewan. Some in

Regina work in Halbrite,”

Carson says.

It’s hard to drive

down a street in Estevan,

residential or commercial,

and not see a blue Carson

pickup truck.

Th e Lampman loca-

tion is defi nitely the larg-

est of the locations. “Lots

of people live here, but the

people that report here

are from all over,” Carson

says.

Carson maintains roots in Lampman

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

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Cell: 421-2435

GERALD SMITH

Cell: 421-2408

Calgary Sales Of ce: Tel: 403-237-7323 Fax: 403-263-7355

Chuck Haines, Technical SalesCell: 403-860-4660

Head Of ce:Estevan, Sask.

Tel: 634-3411 Fax: 634-6694Ray Frehlick, Manager

Cell: 421-1880Ken Harder

Warehouse ManagerCell: 421-0101

JASON LINGCarlyle, Sask.Cell: 421-2683

CHADSTEWART

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Oil showTh e Saskatchewan Oil and Gas show is coming up

this June 3 and 4 in Weyburn. Ron Carson of Carson

Welding and Maintenance is the chair of the show.

“It’s going to be every bit as strong as two years

ago,” he says. “If the current activity level had kept con-

sistent, it would have been above average.”

However, he expects the show to be consistent with

other years. Th e show is held every two years. “We’re

pretty much sold out for display areas.

“We’re going to have a big show. It’s always been

a huge success.”

More information can be found at www.oilshow.ca.

A new addition to the Carson Welding and Maintenance eet, is the Ironwolf mulcher. It joins a wide and varied eet that includes over 70 excavators and hundreds of pickups.

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009 B3

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By Brian ZinchukCarlyle – Derrick Big Eagle, the

head of Eagle Drilling, has withdrawn

from his appointment as a member of

the Enterprise Saskatchewan Energy

Sector Team, an advisory board for the

revamped business and economic de-

velopment ministry.

Big Eagle heads up Eagle Drilling

Services of Carlyle. Th e company has

just completed building its sixth rig,

and had it in the yard when Pipeline News called.

Big Eagle told Pipeline News Feb.

12 he opted out of the board because

he wanted to put 100 per cent of his

energy into his drilling rig company.

“I’ve got 150 people working for me,”

he said, noting he wants to keep food

on their tables.

Big Eagle said, “We’ve got four

working right now, which is better than

most. It’s been a chore, don’t get me

wrong.”

“By the end of February, I’m hoping

to have all six working,” he said.

Enterprise Saskatchewan has named

Carolyn Preston, Ph. D, as Big Eagle’s

replacement on the team. Preston is

the executive director of the Petroleum

Technical Research Centre at the Uni-

versity of Regina’s research park.

Joanne Johnson, director of public

aff airs for Enterprise Saskatchewan, ex-

plains the sector teams are still in their

early stages of operation.

Big Eagle withdraws from board

In mid-February, Eagle Drilling Rig No. 2 was busy punching a hole for Antler River Re-sources near Pierson, in the extreme southwest corner of Manitoba. At the time, four rigs of the company’s six were at work, with the sixth being a new addition to the eet.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

By Brian ZinchukLampman – With the Saskatchewan Oil and Gas Show coming up in Wey-

burn this June, Acutec Systems Ltd. of Lampman is getting ready, working on

new products to be released during the second quarter.

“We’re oilfi eld instrumentation and tank gauging systems,” explains John

Grimes, of Acutec.

Located on the Main Street of Lampman, Acutec works with a combination

of wired and wireless telemetry, Th e product goes to the end user – oil and gas

producers.

Th e company is also the local cell phone dealer. It’s advantages, because it ties

into their communications and alarm systems.

Acutec has about 10-12 people at a given time, mostly fi eld instrumentation

techs working in southeast Saskatchewan and southwest Manitoba.

Why Lampman?

“Th is is where we started, and it’s centrally located. It works for use. Most [of

our] staff lives in and around Lampman.

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Saskatoon – In a department that has been growing over the years, the Geol-

ogy Department of the University of Saskatchewan has been producing grads

that have in large numbers been staying in Saskatchewan. But with uncertain

times in the industry, their prospects may vary in the coming years, according to

the head of the department, Professor Kevin Ansdell.

Geologists and geophysicists are more involved with the exploration and early

phases of production, he explains. “Once a well is pumping, petroleum engineers

keep it fl owing. You could include chemical engineers to a certain extent.”

Over the last two years, 2007 and 2008, 61 per cent of those completing their

undergraduate degrees at the U of S stayed in Saskatchewan, while 24 per cent

went to Albert. Th e rest went to BC, Australia and Manitoba.

Six years ago, 51 per cent stayed in Saskatchewan, with 27 per cent going to

Alberta.

“For the last two to three years, because the mineral industry has been really

hot, a lot of our graduates are actually staying closer to home. Th ey want to stay

in Saskatchewan,” Ansdell explains. Many are quite happy to be based in Sas-

katoon, where there are a lot more jobs in the mineral side of the industry than

petroleum.

“Th e training students get is appropriate to either.”

Up until about three years ago, 50 per cent have historically would always go

The big man in the U of S Geology Department, so to speak, department head Kevin Ansdell points out features on the geological map of North America. He may be tall, but not that tall. We just made him look that way by putting the camera on the oor. Photo by Brian Zinchuk

Geosciences grow at U of Sinto petroleum. Over the last two to three years, the proportion going into petro-

leum has dropped, with 70 to 70 per cent now going into minerals.

Of the 2008 graduates, companies that scooped them up included Petro-

Canada, Talisman, Devon, and a number of smaller fi rms, including Aldon Oil

of Weyburn.

“Th e ones that are doing petroleum are all in Calgary, other than the one in

Weyburn.”

Th e department has had students working for wireline logging companies

like Precision or Schlumberger.

One trend Ansdell has notes is, “Th e engineers quickly get up to speed on

how these things work, but once the geologists learn how the equipment works,

they do better in the company, because they know how to interpret the signal.”

“Having a geosciences background is pretty useful.” Page B5

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009 B5

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Anyone who has studied geology at the University of Saskatchewan has spent time peering at the dinosaurs on display. The students below look like lunch.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

Page B4Th ere are a total of 200 students in the program between years one and four,

with the third year fi eld school having 43 people recently. Th at’s the highest in 20

years, he notes.

Why?

A starting wage in the $60,000 to $70,000 range doesn’t hurt, with low 60s

being an average start. “I think that’s part of the attraction.”

With the downturn in the sector, Ansdell is not sure what the reaction will

be. “Because this is so sudden, it will be interesting to see how the students react.

It doesn’t matter what you do, there may not be a job out there.”

But he adds. “Th e good ones are going to get a job in any case. Th ere will be

jobs for them. Th ey may get one job off er, instead of waiting for your fi fth [off er].

Students will have to be patient and send out a lot of resumes.”

He notes a lot of jobs in the fi eld are not advertised.

Geologists, geophysicists and geological engineers fall under the same profes-

sional body in Saskatchewan – APEGS. Th at stands for the Association of Pro-

fessional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan. You can be a professional

geoscientist or professional engineer within the body, Ansdell explains.

Geoscience studies grow in popularity

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009B6

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By Brian ZinchukPierson, Man. – He’s

kind of important, that

well site geologist.

He’s the one saying

where to drill, and where

not to. He works with

the directional driller on

a constant basis, making

sure the bit stays where

it should in the forma-

tion, not poking out

through the cap rock, or

dipping below. Without

him, well, it might not be

much of a well at all, just

a dry hole.

Wellsite consulting

is something of a hush-

hush business. You’ll

hear the term ‘tight’ a lot,

as in, this is a ‘tight hole.’

People in the fi eld in

general aren’t allowed to

talk about where they’re

at, both on the surface,

or at depth, or precisely

what they’re doing. One

geologist told us, “No

names, no locations.”

It’s a bit of a paradox,

in a way, because you’d

have to be blind to miss

a drilling rig at work on

the bald prairie.

A GPS, road sign

or even an RM map can

tell you where you are. A

quick scan of well bulle-

tins can give a good in-

dication of what they are

looking for. Confi den-

tiality on wells at places

like the core repository

only lasts a set length of

time, then logs can be ac-

cessed. Yet still, a geolo-

gist with loose lips likely

isn’t going to work long.

Antler River Re-

sources of Melita, Man.,

allowed us to speak to

the geologist working

on a well they were drill-

ing near Pierson, Man.,

in mid-February, giving

Pipeline News board ac-

cess. Th ey’re a small pri-

vately held oil company

that operates about 22

wells in southwest Man-

itoba, and are actively

drilling while others are

not.

Pinnacle Well Site

Consultants is the ge-

ology fi rm, and Pierre

Rondeau is the day-shift

geologist.

He’s something of a

local, i.e. not from Cal-

gary, having taken his

baccalaureate degree at

Brandon University. It’s

a good school, he says,

one that companies re-

cruit from. He graduated

three and a half years

ago.

Like many other

geologists Pipeline News spoke to, geology wasn’t

Rondeau’s fi rst choice.

It was physics. Geology

turned out being his best

class, however.

Upon graduation, he

went straight into well

site geology, working

one year with a Calgary

fi rm. “With that Calgary

company, I was up in

Fort Nelson for a while.

Never want to go back.”

Rondeau’s work now

is primarily in southwest

Manitoba and southeast

Saskatchewan, as far

west as Stoughton. Prior

to becoming a geologist

and unlike others in his

fi eld, he says, “I never

worked rigs.”

Th is well is a hori-

zontal, like nearly every

other well he has done.

In fact, he has only done

one vertical well to date,

perhaps a refl ection on

the trend towards hori-

zontal wells. Rondeau

doesn’t like the pace of

work on a vertical, Ron-

deau.

Working with the

directional driller, Jarrett

Ashworth of Millenni-

um Directional Services,

they try to “keep it in the

good stuff .”

“You want to be clos-

er to the top. All the oil is

going to rise until some-

thing stops it. Th at’s what

your cap rock does.”

In this case, Antler

River says they are in the

MC3 (Mission Canyon

3) formation, known in

Saskatchewan as the

Frobisher. Pipeline News arrived just as they are

about to meet the in-

termediate casing point

(ICP).

It’s the point in a

horizontal well where

you’ve curved from verti-

cal to a horizontal posi-

tion.

Page B7

Geology without a net:

A stereoscopic microscope is a useful tool for a well site geologist. Photo by Brian Zinchuk

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009 B7

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the well site geologist

Well site geologist Pierre Rondeau left, confers with directional driller Jar-rett Ashworth of Millennium Directional Services.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

Page B6“Once we get there,

they pull out, cement it,

and we go in with smaller

tools,” he says.

ToolsTo keep it in the

“good stuff ,” there are sev-

eral tools a well site ge-

ologist uses. Th e most im-

portant to Rondeau is the

gamma tool, attached not

too far from the bit at the

end of the drill stem. “We

run a gamma tool, using

the readings off that we

can see where the tops of

the diff erent zones are.”

Th e rate of penetra-

tion is another measure-

ment used. Sometimes,

when you penetrate the

cap rock into the zone,

the rate the drill bit is ad-

vancing through the rock

can accelerate greatly.

Th en there are the

drill cutting samples, tak-

en every fi ve meters by a

rig hand, who scoops up

mud off the shaker.

Th e rig hand brings

it to the geologist. He

washes it with hot water

and runs it through a very

fi ne sieve, probably too

fi ne to sift fl our.

Th e cuttings are then

put under a microscope,

then a fl uoroscope.

Th e stereoscopic mi-

croscope allows a three-

dimensional view of the

cuttings. Th e fl uoroscope

is a hood with a black

light under it. Cuttings

that have hydrocarbons

will glow under this light.

With a tray of fi ve

samples, representing 25

m of drilling, we are able

to see just a few glowing

chips. Use of a solvent like

lighter fl uid or nail polish

remover will enhance the

visual eff ect. “We’re barely

getting into the pay there,”

he says.

“When I washed it,

you could tell there was

some kind of hydrocar-

bon in there. You could

smell it. It’s defi nitely a

good indicator. It’s a good

sign if you can smell it.”

If they use distillate,

a diesel-based mud, the

fl uoroscope is useless,

however, as everything

will have been stained by

the diesel. In that case,

cuttings are washed with

soap and water.

Th e cuttings are put

in vials and sent to Win-

nipeg. Samples are kept

for the oil company, if

they want them.

Of all the tools, Ron-

deau says the gamma is

most important to him.

Once the rig reaches

the ICP, the geologist gets

a bit of a breather, usually

a day and a half until the

cementing is complete

and the rig is ready to

proceed.

Doing the horizon-

tal section typically takes

three to fi ve days, Ron-

deau says, three days for

600 m, fi ve for 1,200 to

1,300 m. It could take

longer if you have to trip

out and change the bit.

Slower than summerTh e geologists work

in 12 hour shifts, with

Adam Campbell as the

night geologist on this

site.

During the summer,

the company had seven

geologists and three rigs

on the go. It meant only

two weeks off every two

months or so. It’s good

because you’re working,

but it sucks because all

you’re doing is working,

he says. Your weekends

are whatever days you get

off between wells. It’s a

lot easier for him, because

he’s not married.

It’s slower now, but

that’s alright, he says.

Rondeau thinks there

should be more stress on

well site work at univer-

sity, noting he had just

one lab on drill cuttings.

“I hated looking at drill

cuttings. Now it’s all that

I do.”

Well site geology

should be an optional

course, he says.

What does the

27-year-old want to do in

the future?

“Retire by 35?” he

laughs. “Maybe fi sh and

golf?”

Last year, there wasn’t

much time for golf. But

in slower times, there’s

another hazard for many

geologists, and it’s not

the rough or the water

by the 8th hole. Many are

self-employed, he notes,

meaning there is no em-

ployment insurance safe-

ty net to catch you when

things slow down.

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009B8

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Estevan – Driving a long, wide

load like a drilling rig through Estevan

can be a tedious aff air. When you ap-

proach the downtown, you have to take

a detour down a sidestreet, taking you

two blocks off what would otherwise

be a straight route through town. Th e

detour was a result of the main drag

being pounded out, according to civic

offi cials.

Soon, those wide loads should be

able to detour around most of the city.

As part of the federal stimulus

plan, Estevan was singled out for a

truck bypass, taking Highway 39, the

main route from North Portal to Re-

gina, around the north side of the city.

It will intersect Highway 39 at the Raf-

ferty Dam turnoff to the east, and the

Shand Power Station turnoff to the

west. At the north side of the city, it

will intersect Highway 47 half a mile

north of the city.

Th e 2009 Federal budget docu-

ments note, “Funding for those proj-

ects will come from the Building Can-

ada Fund. Projects cost-shared with

provincial and territorial governments

could include [the] Highway 39 truck

bypass in Estevan, Saskatchewan.”

Souris-Moose Mountain MP Ed

Komarnicki had worked on the fi le for

several years.

Th e route will be planned with an-

ticipation that it could eventually be

twinned into a four-lane divided high-

way.

Sam’s Trucking of Estevan, a divi-

sion of Carduff ’s Fast Trucking, spe-

cializes in rig moves. Th eir loads are

big, to say the least, and the twisting

and turning of transitting Estevan’s

downtown can be a hassle.

“It can be very frustrating, be-

cause the other traffi c is not aware of

how diffi cult it is to stop and take tight

corners,” says Daylene Yoner, safety co-

ordinator with Sam’s.

“Most of the time, our trucks don’t

go that way if they can avoid it.”

She welcomes a bypass, saying, “As

far as we’re concerned, it’s a good thing.

Th e less we have to bring loads through

the city, the better it is.”

Yoner points out, however, that

their base is still within the city, and

that they will still have to travel into

the city to come back to the shop.

No more snaking through downtown Estevan

If you’ve driven a truck through Estevan’s downtown, undoubtedly these signs have resulted in a few choice words. With a new truck route planned, heavy traf c will be diverted around the city.

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PIPELINE NEWS March 2009 B9

SOLD

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By Brian ZinchukRegina - Th e 17th annual Williston Basin Petroleum Conference and Pros-

pect Expo will be taking place in Regina April 26 to 28, at the Delta Regina.

Th e event is organized by Saskatchewan Energy and Resources, North Da-

kota Petroleum Council and North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources.

Each year it alternates between Regina and Minot.

It's a chance to learn the latest about what is happening in the Williston

Basin oil patch. Oral presentations, poster displays and workshops will focus

on practical applications of geoscience and engineering technology that help

identify what works - and what doesn't work - in the search for new hydrocar-

bon accumulations and the development of known pools. Th e Bakken play will

be highlighted in in the core workshop that will take place on April 26, before

the main conference, and in the event’s technical sessions. Th e workshop will

be limited to a hundred people, and will be held at the Subsurface Geological

Laboratory.

Chris Gilboy, director of the Saskatchewan Subsurface Geological Labora-

tory in Regina, is one of the organizers. He explains, “Normally the fi rst few

presentations are updates by jurisdictions in which the Williston Basin lies –

South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.”

Another session looks at logistical challenges, such as pipeline capacities.

Other sessions will look at geological and/or engineering aspects of diff erent

reservoir units.

Th ere is only one session happening at a time so participants do not have to

choose between several concurrent presentations. It will be in the Casino Show

Lounge which can accommodate an audience of up to about 500. Organizers

are expecting between 600 and 1,200 participants, many of whom will be focus-

ing on the trade show which features more than 55 displayers.

Conference attendance can vary widely. Two years ago, it numbered 441, but

last year in Minot, the number was 1,370 and they were turning people away.

By mid- February, registrations were already nearing 400. Early registration is

encouraged, but they will take walk-ins up until the 1,500 capacity is reached.

Th e conference is expected to be of interest to company offi cers, petroleum

engineers and geoscientists, consultants, drillers, landsmen and others who work

in the petroleum and related industries.

Total attendance will be limited to 1500 delegate and 82 commercial

booths. More info can be found at www.wbpc.ca.

Will last year’s sell out be repeated?The core repository in Regina will host one of the technical workshops (the core workshop) for the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference and Prospect Expo, April 26-28.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009B10

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Rosetown – Th ere’s snow, and then, there’s snow. Enough snow that you need

four graders and three D8 dozers pushing it to keep a right of way cleared.

Th at’s the type of snow Robert B. Somerville/Techint, the joint venture con-

tractors working on the western Saskatchewan portion of Enbridge’s Alberta

Clipper project have had to contend with since they went back to work after

Christmas. When Pipeline News visited the right-of-way on Jan. 29, Highways

workers were trying to keep drifts on the highway, never mind a right-of-way.

“Th e wind never lets up in this province,” says Jack Cantwell of Somerville.

At that time, Cantwell was anticipating a completion on or about March

15. Th e current loop they are working on is 98.2 km. Come early June, they will

be tackling the fi nal 170 km leg, running from halfway between Rosetown and

Outlook to Bethune. Th e summer loop will be based out of Moose Jaw, with a

temporary offi ce in Outlook.

While their yard is currently in Rosetown, most of the workers are not. With

a crew peaking at about 525, there simply was not enough room in Rosetown to

put them up – not even close, especially since the traditional pipeliner abode – a

fi fth wheel camper, doesn’t hold up too well to January temperatures.

Page B11

Alberta Clipper, with an occasional Alberta Clipper

When you don’t have a sideboom nearby, there’s always the picker to move around pups. This was near Highway 4, north of Rosetown, on the Alberta Clipper project for Enbridge. Photo by Brian Zinchuk

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009 B11

Introducing the new

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Dustin Martens at 421-6029 or

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On big-inch pipeline projects, the ditch is engineered, meaning that is has to be continually measured to ensure the pipe will t in the ditch without causing undo stress on the pipe. The role of measuring ditch falls on the oiler, one of whom typically accompanies each excavator.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

Dealing with the wind and snow

A hooded sweater is a necessity on the pipeline right of way in a Saskatchewan winter.

Page B10As a result, they have been

bussing hands out of Saska-

toon, running 26 buses

each day. Since they

can’t work in the dark,

the darkness is utilized

for travel time.

Still, the contrac-

tors have set up as

much as they can in

Rosetown, Cantwell

says, doing a lot of

purchasing in the

community. “We prob-

ably have 30 accounts

in town,” says Robin

O’Connell, purchasing

agent.

B12 PIPELINE NEWS March 2009

WE’RE THINKING BIGWE’RE THINKING BIG

(306) 634-4554(306) 634-4664

Cell: (306) 461-8111Email: mbrasseur@bcpl.ca

Web: bigcountryenergy.com

• Pipeline Construction• Pipeline Construction

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• Environmental Reclamation and • Environmental Reclamation and RemediationRemediation

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Mike Brasseur, Division Manager

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Lloydminster – Cut-

ting operating costs is

top of mind for Husky

Energy’s senior produc-

tion coordinator Keith

Richardson who won’t

argue that market con-

ditions, technical issues

and the low price for oil

are taking their toll.

“We are struggling –

when you take full cycle

costs into account which

is our operating cost, our

royalties and the cost of

capital, it’s a very tough

game at this price,” said

Richardson.

“Heavy oil is less

valuable than conven-

tional oil and it requires

upgrading to be market-

able. We have to be able

to operate and the cost

of capital is crucial when

you are getting $30 a bar-

rel less for your product

than someone who has

conventional oil.

“We want to be very

cognizant of our operat-

ing costs – that’s what

we have the most control

over. We are looking at

our costs closely.”

Th at was the under-

lying message Richard-

son conveyed to a sold

out Petroleum Society

luncheon held in Lloy-

dminster at the Best

Western Wayside Inn,

Feb. 11.

His topic was “Chal-

lenges of Cold Heavy

Oil Production in West-

ern Canada” which in

Husky’s case, pertains to

costs, weather and reser-

voir concerns.

“Th e main challenge

we have right now is the

cost environment,” said

Richardson who listed

the main cost drivers in

his area of production as

hauling fl uids, energy use

in production and servic-

ing (fl ushbys, service rigs,

coiled tubing jobs).”

“With the reduced oil

price, it’s very diffi cult to

make money at this game

at this point in time,” he

said. “We are going back

to all of our vendors and

asking for better pricing

on their products.

“Probably the most

important thing is, we are

ranking all of the projects

that we are going to do.

We are taking a good

hard look at the wells

that we service to make

sure that when we do

service them, the money

is well spent and that we

expect those wells to run

longer next time.”

To cut energy costs,

Richardson informed his

audience, the challenge is

to get wells off propane

and on to fuel gas or cas-

ing gas early in the life of

a well.

Richardson told the

Pipeline News his pre-

sentation was designed

to give the audience an

idea of the challenges

producing cold heavy

production (CHOPS)

compared to the rest of

the world.

He describes Hus-

ky’s typical local reser-

voir as unique with high

viscosity oil that and a

high density of 10 to

12 degrees API com-

pared with 40 API for

conventional oil. Local

heavy oil also has a low

reservoir temperature of

25 Celsius and produces

sand. Well depths range

from 450 to 550 metres

with reservoir thickness

from 2 to 10m.

Page B13

Market challenges Husky Energy to cut operating costs

Guest speaker Keith Richardson, Husky Energy se-nior production coordinator, talked about the chal-lenges producing heavy oil. Photo by Geoff Lee

Tariq Ahmed from Mono o in Lloydminster acted as the master of ceremonies at the February Pe-troleum Society lunch.

Photo by Geoff Lee

Contact your local Pipeline News Sales rep.

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PIPELINE NEWS March 2009 B13

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10 Lamoro Street, EstevanOffice: 306-634-7627Area Manager Kelly Orsted: 306-861-6045

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Page B12

“Th e most unique

characteristic is worm-

hole development,” said

Richardson. “We actu-

ally produce our reser-

voir and sand produces

worm holes that can ex-

tend over 800 m in our

producing wells.”

Wormhole and oth-

er reservoir characteris-

tics can lead to technical

challenges and produc-

tion disruptions due to

water and gas infl ux, out-

of-zone water infl ux and

in-fi ll drilling.

“We look to the ser-

vice industry to help us

out with the challenges

we have,” commented

Richardson following his

presentation.

“We talked about

our primary cementing,

our shut off of water, and

increasing the life of our

downhole pumps. Th e

service industry should

be aware those are our

major issues and how

they can help us out.”

As a regional pro-

duction coordinator,

Richardson and the fi ve

production engineers

that report to him are

responsible for Husky’s

optimization and ser-

vicing programs in the

fi eld.

“Th e function right

now is to produce the

oil by maximizing oil

production at the lowest

possible cost,” said Rich-

ardson. “Th at’s what we

are focused on.”

Richardson also talk-

ed about challenges of

seasonal weather on pro-

duction and how Husky

tries to work around the

upcoming spring break-

up.

“Over the past cou-

ple of years, we’ve be-

come a little more proac-

tive at what he can do,”

said Richardson. “Wells

that are good producers,

we want to keep them

producing – but we have

diffi culty hauling – we

can go in with vehicles

that have really wide tires

so you can reduce the

load restrictions on the

roads. If we have a good

well, we might haul in a

bunch of gravel to get us

through that period.”

On a positive note,

Richardson says the low

price of oil hasn’t slowed

Husky’s servicing pro-

gram. “At this point, we

are still maintaining our

wells. We are trying to

keep business as much as

usual,” he said.

“For the fi rst quarter,

we have a fairly active

drilling program and a

fairly active optimization

program. Once our fi rst

quarter is over we will be

looking at how we plan

to spend money over the

rest of the year.”

In other news, Hus-

ky reported it continues

to test various enhanced

recovery techniques in

the Lloydminster area.

In August, 2008 the

company began carbon

dioxide injection at its

second cold-solvent pilot

project. Th is pilot is de-

signed to test oil recov-

ery and production rates

using CO2 and propane.

Husky also noted in

its fourth quarter state-

ment that its drilling

program and pipeline

construction at Gull

Lake are complete and

facility construction was

60 per cent complete at

the end of 2008. Start-up

of the Gull Lake project

is planned for the second

quarter of 2009, subject

to market conditions.

Richardson thinks

commodity prices are

near the bottom and ex-

pects demand will rise.

“Typically, demand

goes up in the summer

during the asphalt sea-

son,” he said. “I am hop-

ing for a turnaround.”

Keith Richardson and Tariq Ahmed select a draw prize at the Petroleum Society lunch in Lloydminster Feb. 11. Photo by Geoff Lee

Hei-Bro-Tech Petroleum ServicesA Division of 24-7 Enterprises Ltd.

Box 4, Midale, SK S0C 1S0Phone: (306) 458-2367 or (306) 861-1001

Fax: (306) 458-2373

• 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

Tough challenges

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009B14

Advanced Thinking–Down to Earth Service www.cai-esp.com www.cai-esp.com

• 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

Estevan Sales & Service FacilityEstevan Sales & Service Facility

Grand Opening - March 26, 2009Visit us at #1-502 6th Street starting at 8 am

ESP Test Facility On-SiteManufacturer of Electrical Submersible Pumping Systems (ESP),

Horizontal Pumping Systems (HPS) and Variable Frequency Generators (VFG)

TM

Phone: 306-634-5304 Phone: 306-634-5304 • Fax: 306-634-5887• Fax: 306-634-5887

Locally Owned and Servicing Southeast Sask. Since 1967Locally Owned and Servicing Southeast Sask. Since 1967

Sales & Service For:Pumps, Meters, Valves, Controls, Switches

Instrumentation Service

PLC/RTU Programming

Treater Parts

Shop & Field Calibrations

Combustion Service

SCADA Services

SBB PSV Service

Shop & Field Repairs

Enform COR Certified

64 Devonian Street E., Estevan64 Devonian Street E., Estevan

• Oilfield Graveling

• All Types of Gravel Products

• Sealed Trailers for Hauling

Contaminated Waste

• Payloaders

• Excavator

• Heavy Equipment Hauling

• Car/Truck Wash

TOLL FREE 1-888-532-5526Creelman, Sask.

Larry AllanCell: (306) 421-9295

Shop: 433-2059; Fax: 433-2069

Kitscoty –Th e last

time oil and gas bot-

tomed out in the late

90s, Dennis Roth lost his

management position at

Barcomp Petroleum Ltd.

in Lloydminster.

His answer to unem-

ployment was to buy a

job as the owner and op-

erator of the Wheatfi eld

Inn in Kitscoty, along

with this wife Kathy.

Th e Inn has 12 rooms, a

bar and a restaurant.

If you are in the

mood for a homemade

burger with fried mush-

rooms, bacon and melt-

ed cheese head to Roth’s

inn on the main street

and order a Wheaty

burger while the going

is good.

As the current re-

cession threatens to grip

the oil and gas sector,

Roth is looking down

the round to his next

possible career.

“I have a gravel

truck and a loader. I

would like to get into

landscaping for private

customers eventually.

It’s been a hobby for the

last few years,” said Roth

who is 59.

For the time being,

he is trying to determine

if his low 30 per cent

room occupancy since

last November is due to

cold weather or the cold

reality of the economic

times.

“Th is is the fi rst ma-

jor downturn since I was

laid off ,” said Roth. “In

the fi rst fi ve or six years,

I hardly rented any

rooms from November

to April. Th e last few

years it was busy year-

round and now I am at

30 per cent.

“I had a terrible

December and Janu-

ary. We have not had as

many oilfield construc-

tion workers. I strongly

suspect we will be qui-

eter until the fall as far

as oil and gas custom-

ers go.

“In the summer,

we have been getting

more tourists and dur-

ing winter storms, we

get travellers looking

to take shelter.”

Page B15

Laid off oil worker bought himself a job – in the last bust cycle

Dennis Roth bought the Wheat eld Inn after he was laid off in the last oil bust of the 90s. One of his jobs is to clear snow. Photo by Geoff Lee

”“

B15PIPELINE NEWS March 2009

Toll Free: 1-888-638-6433 or 1-306-634-6400Plant: 1-306-388-2344 Fax: 1-306-634-7828

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15’ diameter x 20’ high

Dennis Roth is also a councillor for the Village of Kitscoty.Photo by Geoff Lee

Page B14“Fortunately, we are

not totally dependent

on oil and gas. I can’t

take anything away

from farming and the

support we enjoy from

the community. Farmers

are very loyal customers.

Th ey like to support lo-

cal business.”

Roth has lived in

the Kitscoty area since

1981 when he co-owned

Sona-Dyne Services in

Lloydminster and he

moved to Kitscoty in

1991 with his wife. He

was bought out in 1993

and worked for himself

on various oilfi eld jobs

until 1995 when Bar-

comp Petroleum hired

him on.

When he bought

the Wheatfi eld Inn

Roth knew exactly

what he was getting.

He moonlighted as the

inn’s maintenance man

for a few years and knew

the owners well. Th e inn

was built in 1978.

“I lived here and I

felt I could do a positive

job in the community,”

he said of his purchase

decision. “I saw a good

opportunity to grow it.

I enjoy it.

“You are always up-

grading and it’s three

times the hours of

working in oil and gas,

but it’s a lot easier.

“My room business

is mostly from oil and

gas customers, but I also

cater to the needs of the

local community. Th at’s

where most of my busi-

ness comes from.”

Wheatfi eld caters to

many events at the new

Kitscoty Community

Hall and Roth is in the

market for two more

cooks so he can once

again off er hot break-

fast meals in addition

to his lunch and dinner

menus. He has 10 full-

time and 14 part-timers

on the payroll.

“My biggest down-

fall is staffi ng,” he said.

“It’s hard to fi nd peo-

ple.”

Roth is a village

councillor for the sec-

ond time since taking

over the inn. He says

that helps to keep the

business “visible in the

community”. Roth is

involved in organizing

senior hockey in town

and played an active

role on the executive

of the local nine-hole

golf course. As a busi-

ness owner, he sponsors

a variety of youth sports

teams.

Roth says the recent

increase in new homes

built in Kitscoty bodes

well for his business,

but for now he says, his

rooms “take a beating

when there’s a down-

turn. I’ve been through

a few oil slumps starting

with 1981 and 1986.

“Hopefully this re-

cession won’t last for-

ever. We are in an active

community for oil and

gas.”

I strongly suspect we will be quieter until the fall as far as oil and gas

customers go - Dennis Roth

Finding newoppportunities

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009B16

• Sand & Gravel • Sand & Gravel • Rock & Topsoil • Rock & Topsoil

• Excavators • Excavators • Backhoes • Backhoes

• Dozers • Dozers • End Dumps• End Dumps

• Oil eld • Oil eld • Environmental • Environmental • Water & Sewer • Water & Sewer

• Basements • Basements • Demolition • Demolition

• Lowbed Trucking• Lowbed Trucking

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Box 86, Cromer, MB R0M 0J0

1-888-458-2270458-2270www.lynco.ca

P.O. Box 240Midale, SK S0C

Kitscoty – Welcome to the fragrance zone in the

middle of the often odorous oil patch. Th is scented

oasis is the Candle Crazy Gift Shop in Kitscoty.

Christal Holland and her husband Vince opened

it in 2007 as an afterthought when they became the

Canadian distributors of U.S. based, Salt City Candle

Company.

Vince gave up his oil trucking job to handle the

packaging and shipping of Salt City warehouse or-

ders. Christal is director of operations for Canada.

Th e retail store and the warehouse are attached.

National Salt City sales come from Internet or-

ders and home parties under the guidance of home

party manager Jackie Orbeck. Th e gift shop, mean-

while, is winning over new customers by word of

mouth.

“We have only had positive feedback,” said

Christal. “Most of our customers make an eff ort to

come here and see what is new. I would say 90 per

cent of our retail customers live outside the town.

Most come from Lloydminster.

“A lot of people thought we were crazy starting a

business in a small place like Kitscoty. We had

low expectations for the retail store and now

we have four employees to run the store. We

should have made the store twice as large.

“We have been growing steadily since

we started. From September to Decem-

ber of 2008, we doubled our sales.”

Th e day Pipeline News paid a

visit, there was a steady stream or

customers, some whom arrived

in oil company vehicles on their

lunch hour.

“It’s great to see a man’s truck

with a Salt City air freshener,” said

Holland. “Th e store really caters to

women, but we have a lot of men

who buy for themselves.”

Page B17

Angela O’Hare displays some of the costume jewellery available from the Crazy Candle Gift Shop. Photo by Geoff Lee

Fragrance seller helps to freshen up the oil patch

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009 B17

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Page B16Some of the sweetest

smelling dog houses and

oil trucks on the road can

trace their fruit, fl oral or

spice fragrance to Salt

City candle products

purchased at the shop.

“We also have a lot

of oil and gas compa-

nies that order products

for gifts,” said Holland.

“Candles are a nice al-

ternative and Salt City

has the most intense

fragrance candles on the

market.”

According to their

web site, Salt City Can-

dle uses a unique triple

blend of highly refi ned

paraffi n and soy waxes

that surpass the burning

and fragrance perfor-

mance of other brands.

Th e fragrance line

includes jarred candles,

aromatherapy, fragrance

diff users, melter tiles,

towers, aerosols and car

fresheners.

Gifts aimed at wom-

en range from handbags,

and stationery and Spanx

under garments to jewel-

lery, home decor, health

and body products and

Salt City fragrances.

“I’ve had some wom-

en tell me their husbands

burn the candles in their

doghouses,” said Hol-

land.

“We wouldn’t be as

successful without the

oil and gas sector. Th e oil

economy has an impact

on our sales.”

Despite the recession,

Holland says candles are

an aff ordable luxury.

“Candles have always

been popular but now

they are a better quality.

Th ere are so many prod-

ucts now that you don’t

have to light a candle to

get scents.”

Th e Hollands moved

to the area from Calgary

10 years ago for Vince’s

oil patch job. Christal

began to sell Salt City

goods from her home a

few years ago with in-

stant success.

“I sold products out

of my home and I got to

know the American own-

er who asked if I wanted

to distribute products for

all of Canada,” she said.

“It’s kind of taken on a

life of its own.”

Sweet smells

Christal Holland and Jackie Orbeck shovel snow from the front of the Candle Crazy gift Shop.

Grimes Sales & Service of Lampman is one of the leading pumpjack suppliers in Southeast Saskatch-ewan, with their characteristic orange and black units prevalent on numerous new wells.

Look familiar?

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009B18

Class PaysClass Pays

#1 Frontier Street, Highway 39 East, #1 Frontier Street, Highway 39 East, at the Shand Road, Estevan, SKat the Shand Road, Estevan, SK

Phone: (306) 636-6320 • Fax: (306) 636-6321Phone: (306) 636-6320 • Fax: (306) 636-6321 Open Monday to Friday 7:30 am - 8:00 pmOpen Monday to Friday 7:30 am - 8:00 pm

Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Frontier Frontier Peterbilt Sales Ltd.Peterbilt Sales Ltd.

Karl HaselhanKarl HaselhanTruck Sales

RepresentativeCall: 306-421-2918

2006 PETERBILT MODEL 379 836,273 km, C15 (475 HP), 18 spd, 12,000 lb Front Axle, 46,000 Rear Axle, 4.10 Ratio, 220 WB

2009 PETERBILT MODEL 325Paccar Engine PX6 (300 HP), Allison Automatic Transmission, 8,000 lb Front Axle, 14,000 lb Rear Axle, Hydraulic Brakes, 4.56 Ratio, complete with Domi-nator Service Body, 5000 lb Crane

2007 PETERBILT MODEL 379 LEGACY

866,389 km, ISX (530 HP), 18 spd, 12,000 lb Front Axle, Super 40’s, 4.10 Ratio, 225 WB, Very Clean Unit

2005 PETERBILT MODEL 379314,184 km, C15 (475 HP), 18 spd, 48 U Bunk, 12,000 lb Front Axle, Super 40’s 3.73 Ratio, 235 WB, Reconditioned TNE Pump, Ready to haul

2006 PETERBILT MODEL 379814,032 km, C15 (475 HP), 18 spd, 48 U Bunk, 12,000 lb Front Axle, Super 40’s, 3.91 Ratio, 244 WB

USED TRUCKS

2009 PETERBILT 340Paccar PX8 (330 HP), Allison 3000 RDS-P Transmission, 14,600 lb Front Axle, 40,000 lb Rear Axle, 6.17 Ratio, com-plete with 16 foot Gravel Box (new), 3 to choose from

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ESTEVAN134 4th Street637-4370

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483-2826 443-2466 453-2262 452-3216

PROPANE

Darryl Fox, B.Admin.,CMASales Consultant

201-2750 Faithfull Ave.Saskatoon Sk. S7K 6M6

Tel: 306-382-5075Fax: 306-382-5073Cell: 306-292-9388

d.fox@sunbeltnetwork.com

www.sunbeltnetwork.com

The place to go to buy or sell a business.

Th e JuneWarren-Nickle's Energy Group announced in mid-February the

fi rst job board of its kind devoted exclusively to Canada's oil and gas indus-

try.

OilpatchCareers.com is a strategic partnership between JuneWarren-

Nickle's Energy Group and the Workopolis NicheNetwork who together of-

fer a unique staffi ng solution for Canada's oilpatch.

OilpatchCareers.com is an invaluable resource for job seekers who are

specifi cally targeting employment in the oil and gas industry and employers

who are looking for high quality talent with experience in the oil and gas sec-

tor, Nickels said in a release.

In a special launch promotion, employers are invited to post jobs for free

for two months. Post as many jobs on OilpatchCareers.com as you like until

March 31st, 2009 and enjoy numerous benefi ts: get access to a targeted can-

didate pool with a better chance of reaching specialized candidates, post jobs

easily and quickly, and access career-building resources as well as employment

news.

Th e website includes career resources, like resume writing, how to net-

work, and how to achieve interview success.

OilpatchCareers.com is also advertised across the entire JuneWarren-

Nickle's Network, which enjoys 500,000 page views and reaches 30,000

unique visitors each month.

JuneWarren-Nickle’s Energy Group and Pipeline News are both owned by

Glacier Media Inc., of Vancouver.

Oilpatch careers website launched

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009 B19

17th Williston BasinPetroleum Conference

& Prospect Expo

Prospect Expo

Register Onlineat

www.wbpc.ca

April 26 - 28, 2009Delta Regina and

Casino Regina Show Lounge,Regina, SK Canada

For Expo booths, call (306) 787-2577For Sponsorships, call (306) 787-9104

All other information, call (306) 787-0169or Email: info@wbpc.ca

Workshops

Technical TalksActivity Updates “Hot Plays”

Acquire, Exploit & ExploreA Proud Producer in Southeast Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan Of ce:#6, 461 King Street

Estevan, SaskatchewanS4A 1K6

(306) 637-3462www.tristaroilandgas.com

Last month, Pipeline News reported

that Reef Resources was seeking out

a merger partner. On Jan. 30, they an-

nounced they found one.

Reef Resources Ltd. signed an agree-

ment in principle to merge with Calgary-

based private oil and gas company Wood-

thorpe Petroleum Ltd.

Under the terms of the agreement

Woodthorpe and Reef agree to negotiate,

on an exclusive basis, a common share

exchange structure based on a mutually

acceptable valuation formula. Th e merger

would be subject to further due diligence,

Woodthorpe and Reef Resources share-

holder approval and meeting all applica-

ble regulatory and procedural guidelines.

Woodthorpe is a private oil and gas

producer currently producing 45 bbls of

oil equivalent per day from a high work-

ing interest property in the Chinchaga

area of northwest Alberta. Th e com-

pany holds 3,960 contiguous areas with

considerable upside through optimiza-

tion and step out drilling locations. Th e

company also owns 100% of its gather-

ing systems, compression facilities, water

injection system and disposal well and

facility-battery capacity up to 550 BOE

a day to support additional production

from future development and explora-

tion drilling.

W

w

W

Reef Resources put out an ad in January seeking a merger partner, not too different from those who seek mail-order brides. By Jan. 30, an engage-ment was announced, with Woodthorpe Petroleum Ltd.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

Reef plans to merge with Woodthorpe Reef plans to merge with Woodthorpe

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009B20

CUSTOM BUILT WELLSITE ACCOMMODATIONS

Wheeled UnitsWheeled UnitsSkid UnitsSkid UnitsService Rig DoghousesService Rig Doghouses

(306) 861-5655www.dembytrailer.comwww.dembytrailer.com

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.

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 March 19, 2009.

For more information call Cindy Beaulieu at 634-4970 or Connie Spencer at 634-1012

Check out our website at: www.oilwives.com

Hey Girls!Hey Girls!

Just wanna have

fun?

Dan O’ConnorOperations Manager

204-748-5088

Office - Kola, MB.204-556-2464204-556-2464

Daylighting, Oilfield Hauling, Steaming & Mobile Pressure Washing, Winch, Pressure, Water & Vacuum Truck Services (780) 875-0203 LloydMall

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By Brian Zinchuk

Regina – Winacott

Western Star & Ster-

ling Trucks is putting

up a new building in

the northeast corner of

Regina, not far from

the Ring Road on Ross

Avenue.

Th e building will

be 24,600 square feet,

about a quarter larger

than their existing facil-

ity on 6th Avenue East,

according to Trevor

Winacott, dealer prin-

cipal.

“More effi cient and

new,” he says of the new

building that was still in

the structural steel stag-

es when Pipeline News saw it in early February.

“We’re hoping the

end of June, but we’re

kicked back a few

weeks,” he says, due to

weather. “More like Ju-

ly-ish, if not August.

“We’re a heavy duty

truck/trailer dealership,

around since ’74,” he

says. Th e company is

active in the oilpatch,

according to Winacott,

with sales including a

heavy-duty oilpatch line

of Doepker trailers.

Winacott Western Star & Sterling Trucks in Re-gina is putting up a new facility on Ross Avenue East. Currently they are located on Regina’s 6th Avenue East.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

New building rises for Winacott

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009 B21

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306.634.6549

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Steve McLellanChemist

Rick Breisnes421-5502

Dean CarriereTechnical Service Rep.306-421-1238

By Brian ZinchukLampman - It’s lunchtime at the

Harvest Cafe, on the Main Street of

Lampman. Th e lunch crowd shuffl es

in, many in Nomex, with high visibility

striping. Make sure you get there early,

we’re told.

Th e place is busy, but not full on

this early February day. Th e smorg is

Ukrainian fare, and fi lling.

Jared Ottenbreit and his compa-

triot are kind enough to allow this re-

porter to sit with them.

Ottenbreit could be seen before

lunch, trenching a ditch along the north

side of a new shop for Carson Welding

and Maintenance, for whom he works.

Th e chain ditcher wouldn’t cut it, so it

was time to bring in an excavator; one

of over 70 Carsons has in its fl eet.

Ottenbreit works mainly in the

pipeline area with the company. He

moved to Lampman in the fall of 2008,

a task that was not easy to accomplish.

“It took almost a year to fi nd a place to

live,” the 27-year-old says.

Ottenbreit comes from Broadview,

and has worked with Carsons for a year

and a half. Prior to that, he had been

doing zero-disturbance lease building,”

mostly with a rubber-tire hoe,” he says.

He runs dozer, grader, skid steer

loader, and excavator. And perhaps, he

fi nally got tired of running in Alberta.

“I was in Alberta for fi ve years,”

he says. “I went there right out of high

school on drilling rigs, then did odd

jobs before the zero disturbance.”

Th e work was in coal bed methane.

“Th ey’d rig up in about an hour, and

drill in about and hour and a half. Th ey

were fast.”

So why come back?

“It’s my province, my home. [I]

came back to the best province,” Ot-

tenbreit says, adding his friends and

family were here.

“I hated Alberta. It just wasn’t my

cup of tea out there. I wanted to be

back where I knew stuff .”

What stuff ?

“I’m a big hunting, fi shing, out-

doorsy guy,” he responds, noting he

knows the lay of the land here.

In the cab of this hoe, Jared Ottenbreit ditches in utilities for a new shop a the Carson Welding and Maintenance headquarters in Lampman.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

Wasn’t his cup of tea

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009B22

GEE BEE CONSTRUCTION

KIPLING SASK

Alan Batters 736-2332 (Office) 736-7855 (Cell) 736-2334 (Fax) geebee@sasktel.net

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Carson Welding and Maintenance expanded its shop at Halbrite over the winter, providing more indoor storage. Photo by Brian Zinchuk

More storage

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009 B23

Calgary –Breaker Energy Ltd. has raised just

over $16.1 million through the sale of approxi-

mately fi ve million of its Class A shares at $3.22

each.

Th e revenue from the sale announced in Feb-

ruary will be applied to reduce debts and to fund

Breaker’s 2009 capital expenditure program, in-

cluding ongoing horizontal multi-frac drilling at

Fireweed, Provost and Irricana.

Breaker Energy Ltd. is a junior oil and gas

company focused on creating shareholder value by

growing per-share production and reserves through

acquisitions and a focused exploration, develop-

ment and exploitation plan.

Breaker has more than 375 net locations and

access to approximately 225,000 net acres of unde-

veloped land in Alberta, Saskatchewan and British

Columbia.

Breaker raises debt nances and capital funds through share sale

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PIPELINE NEWS March 2009B24

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PIPELINE NEWSSaskatchewan’s Petroleum Monthly

C-SectionMarch 2009

Ottawa - It’s not

often you get the Presi-

dent of the United States

and the Prime Minister

of Canada pointing to

a project, saying this is

what we should do, but

that was the level of ac-

colades the carbon cap-

ture project at Weyburn

and Midale received dur-

ing the presidential visit

to Ottawa Feb. 19.

In the communiqué

following the presiden-

tial visit, the U.S.- Cana-

da clean energy dialogue

is laid out. In it was the

statement on carbon cap-

ture and sequestration:

“To spur rapid progress

in this critical technol-

ogy, the two nations will

coordinate research and

demonstrations of carbon

capture and sequestration

technology at coal-fi red

plants. Th is will build on

our experience with the

North Dakota-Weyburn

project.”

Th e communiqué

goes on to say, “Th e Unit-

ed States will draw from

the $3.4 billion for car-

bon capture and seques-

tration demonstrations

in the American Recov-

ery and Reinvestment

Act. Canada’s Economic

Action Plan establishes a

$1 billion Clean Energy

Fund which builds on

Canada’s previous invest-

ments in carbon capture

and sequestration.

“A strengthened

U.S.-Canada partnership

on carbon sequestration

will help accelerate pri-

vate sector investment in

commercial scale, near-

zero-carbon coal facili-

ties to promote climate

and energy security.”

"Th is is a fantastic

day for Saskatchewan,"

said Minister of Crown

Corporations Ken Ch-

eveldayoff . "Th e impact

is huge. It shows that

at the very highest level

these two world lead-

ers are talking about the

technology that is being

developed here . . . it's

very exciting. Saskatch-

ewan will play a leader-

ship role."

SaskPower is moving

forward with its clean

coal test project at the

Boundary Dam Power

Station, with the Feb. 13

announcement of a short

list of companies follow-

ing a request for propos-

als. Th e project appears

to be directly related to

the references made by

the president and prime

minsister.

See related story on Page C7.

Obama and Harper hail Obama and Harper hail Weyburn COWeyburn CO22 project project

American President Barak Obama emphasized the Canada - U.S. relationship in their historic meeting in mid-February. Highlighting energy was one topic of common interest, speci cally citing a Saskatchewan project as a milestone. David Boily/afp/Getty Images

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009C2

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ESTEVAN, SASKATCHEWAN S4A 2H8

Saskatoon – He’s been peering into the ground for decades, having retired in

2003. Yet Zoltan “Zoli” Hajnal is still active in the University of Saskatchewan

Geosciences Department, where he has four graduate students and a seismic lab.

He holds a professor emeritus position.

His ground level offi ce in geology building, just down the hall from the tric-

eratops and tyrannosaurus rex, is crammed. He peers over a mammoth desk that

literally has a foot of books and maps covering it. You get there by navigating a

narrow channel of still more maps and sundry other academic material. It’s the

accumulation of having taught seismology for 36 years.

On one wall is a map of project one might think was science fi ction. Th ey

took seismic surveys of the earth’s crusts up to 60-70 km deep. Th e national pro-

gram was called the Litho Probe, looking at the earth’s lithosphere from coast to

coast. One of the major portions was in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, a project

Hajnal worked on.

From behind his mountain of papers, the topmost of which is a ‘poor man’s

3-D’ seismic survey, Hajnal gladly answers our questions.

What is the diff erence between geology and geophysics? “Fundamentally, the

diff erence is you are using physical measurements to diff erentiate between diff er-

ent rock types in the sub-surface.

“You can look below the surface. Geology looks at rocks on the surface,” he

explains.

Th at can involved using probes in bore holes that measure gamma, density,

resistivity, induction, and sonic.

“Th ere are now a great variety of probes used to diff erentiate between the

physical properties of rocks,” he says.

Hajnal talks of a harmony of earth sciences, using geology, geophysics, geo-

chemistry, and geochronology to establish environments below the surface.

“Over 90 per cent of our graduates end up working in industry, a great major-

ity in the oilpatch,” he says. During his active teaching years, they graduated 250

geophysics students, over 90 per cent of which ended up in the oil business.

“Th eir main goal is to locate petroleum reservoirs.”

Th e primary tool in that quest is the seismic survey, a technique where you

create acoustic vibrations and send them into the sub-surface. Part of the vibra-

tions echo back from the surface, and are detected using devices called geophones,

a form of microphone. Hydrophones are used on open water, but with a certain

diminishment of resolution.

Th e vibrations are set off by either explosives, or vibrators, large trucks that

lower a belly plate to the ground and shake. Hajnal refers to them as “the dancing

elephant.” Four of the largest of these machines, operating in synchronized mode,

were used during the Litho Probe.

Page C3

Computing horsepower improves seismic surveys: prof

Professor emeritus Zoltan “Zoli” Hajnal of the University of Saskatchewan’s Geosciences Department explains how seismic surveys have improved over the years, but seismic has no direct relationship to how much oil a petroleum engineer can get out of a reservoir.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009 C3

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Page C2Th e advances in computing technology have made great strides in the fi delity

of such surveys, providing much higher detail than you could get 20 years ago, he

says.

Additionally, better image display capabilities from much better graphics sys-

tems allow one to look at much bigger areas.

Similar to a digital camera, if you want sharp, detailed picture, you need to

increase the number of pixels. Seismic does the same thing, he says. Geophones/

seismometers can provide visuals as big as a football at depths of 1000 m.

Th e fi rst seismic system used in the search for hydrocarbons was a truck in

the 1920s, equipped with four or fi ve detectors. Current systems are capable of

putting out 50,000 channels. Th e resolution underground is a function of spacing.

If you place the geophones half a meter apart, you will have higher fi delity then

you would if you space them a kilometre apart.

It’s not always possible to place geophones where you would like. Hajnal talks

of a recent seismic survey under Paris where they were looking under the Champs

Elysees. In that case, it’s more of a scramble. But in Saskatchewan, where you still

have lots of open ground, you can do virtually whatever you want, depending on

the agreement with the landowner.

“In Saskatchewan, what we can achieve depends on the customer,” he ex-

plains. Optimal resolution is fi ve to ten metres delineating properties of the rock.

“In Saskatchewan, you can easily go two-plus kilometres.”

It’s possible to go a lot deeper, if needed, like up to 10 km deep in the Gulf

of Mexico. For very expensive wells, you want to be sure where you are drilling.

“Th at’s why this game of seismic became a big issue. You do everything possible

before you drill a hole.”

“When dealing with a complex medium, you want to provide more and more

detail. It’s like you want to describe a piece of cloth. It’s mainly blue. Okay, but it

has white stripes. You need the dimensions of how far apart they are.”

Is there a diff erence between looking for light oil or heavy oil?

“No diff erence,” he says. Seismic does not detect hydrocarbons, but rather

rock types and structures. Reservoirs are associated with anomalous structures at

depth.

“Yes, having more sophisticated seismic, you can detect smaller reservoirs, but

seismic has no direct relationship to how much oil a petroleum engineer can get

out of a reservoir.”

Professor emeritus Zoltan “Zoli” Hajnal of the University of Saskatchewan’s Geosciences Department.

New tech. leads to more detailed surveying

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009C4

By Geoff Lee

Regina – What a diff erence a year makes when

it comes to the sale of Crown petroleum and natural

gas rights.

Th e Feb. 9, 2009 sale of Crown petroleum and

natural gas rights generated just $6.3 million at an

average price of $189/ha compared to a whopping

$197 million tallied in the February, 2008 sale.

Of the total $6.3 million for this year’s sale,

$339,000 was generated from the sale of two licences

and 144 leases totally approximately $5.9 million.

Th e top land purchaser in the province was Scott

Land & Lease Ltd. that spent $1,603,719 to acquire

31 lease parcels.

Th e top price paid for a single lease was $411,000

paid by Sandstone Land & Mineral Company Ltd.

for a 65-ha parcel situated within the Tanglefl ags

East McLaren Sand Oil Pool, 35 km northeast of

Lloydminster.

Th e top price paid for a single licence was

$288,861 paid by Western Land Services Co. Ltd.

for a 9,321-ha block located situated 10 km south of

the Minton Winnipegosis Oil Pool, 12 km southeast

of Coronach.

Th e highest dollar per hectare was received from

Prairie Land & Investment Services Ltd. that paid

$6,889/ha for a 16-ha parcel located six km south of

the Frys East Tilston Beds Oil Pool, 16 km east of

Redvers.

Gas prone areas of the province generated

$704,631 in sales revenue for 6,022 ha, an average

of$117/ha.

Parcels off ering deeper rights only brought in

$846,291 (13.53 per cent of the sale) for an average

price of $202 /ha.

Lloydminster Th e total bonus for 52 leases received in the area

was $3,059,607, an average of $380 /ha.

Th is compares to $2,384,851, an average of $332.

/ha at the last sale in December, 2008.

Th e top purchaser of acreage in this area was

Scott Land & Lease Ltd. that paid $761,472 to ac-

quire 10 lease parcels.

Th e top price paid for a single lease in this area

was $411,000 by Sandstone Land & Mineral Com-

pany Ltd. for a 65-ha parcel situated within the Tan-

glefl ags East McLaren Sand Pool, 35 km northeast

of Lloydminster. Th is is the highest dollar per ha in

this area at $6,309 /ha.

Kindersley-Kerrobert Th e total bonus for 22 leases received in the area

was $520,521, an average of $106/ha

Th is compares to $2,136,544, an average of $122

/ha at the previous sale in December.

Th e top purchaser of acreage in this area was Mc-

Crank Stewart Johnson that spent $119,312 to ac-

quire two lease parcels.

Th e top price paid for a single lease in this area

was $103,969 paid by Canadian Coastal Resources

Ltd. for a 257-ha parcel situated adjacent to the Dru-

id Mannville Sands (Oil) Pool, 20 km southeast of

Kerrobert.

Th e highest dollar per hectare in this area was re-

ceived from Prairie Land & Investment Services Ltd.

who paid $441/ha for a 65-ha parcel located within

the Dodsland Viking Sand (Oil) Pool, 41 km north-

west of Rosetown.

Swift Current Th e total revenue for 25 leases received in the area

was $503,974, an average of $93/ha. Th is compares to

$2,839,534, an average of $143/ha at the December

sale.

Th e top purchaser of acreage in this area was

Scott Land & Lease Ltd. that spent $147,474 to ac-

quire eight lease parcels.

Th e top price paid for a single lease in this area

was $88,977 paid by Standard Land Company Inc.

for a 32-ha parcel situated within the Whitemud

Shaunavon Oil Pool, 16 km southeast of Eastend.

Th is is the highest dollar per hectare in this area at

$2,748/ha.

Weyburn-Estevan Th e total bonus received in the area was

$2,170,929, an average of $149/ha.

Th is compares to $40,163,783 an average of

$759/ha at the last sale. Th e total sale amount in-

cludes two leases totally $339,000 and 45 lease total-

ing $1.8 million.

Th e top purchaser of acreage in this area was

Scott Land & Lease Ltd. who spent $638,391to ac-

quire nine lease parcels.

Th e top price paid for a single lease in this area

was $171,955 paid by Scott Land & Lease Ltd.

for a 65-ha parcel situated one km southeast of

the Flinton Tilston Beds Pool, 25 km northeast of

Stoughton. Page C5

Lloydminster leads province

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PIPELINE NEWS March 2009 C5

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Provincial Feb. 9 Land Sale Posted Sold

Parcels Hectares Parcels Hectares Bonus $/Hectares Licences 6 26,663.52 2 10,292.37 339,000.51 32.94

Lease 199 30,198.31 144 22,656.11 5,916,030.68 261.12 Total 205 56,861.83 146 32,948.48 6,255,031.19 189.84

Weyburn-Estevan Posted Sold

Parcels Hectares Parcels Hectares Bonus $/Hectares Licences 6 26,663.52 2 10,292.37 339,000.51 32.94 Lease 68 5,573.58 45 4,314.17 1,831,928.60 424.63 Total 74 32,237.10 47 14,606.54 2,170,929.11 148.63

Swift Current Posted Sold

Parcels Hectares Parcels Hectares Bonus $/Hectares

Licences 0 0.00 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 Lease 45 10,614.85 25 5,401.56 503,973.53 93.30 Total 45 25 5,401.56 503,973.53 93.30

Kindersley/Kerrobert

Posted Sold

Parcels Hectares Parcels Hectares Bonus $/Hectares

Licences 0 0.00 0 0.00 0.00 0.00

Lease 29 5,737.60 22 4,895.13 520,521.51 106.33

Total 29 5,737.60 22 4,895.13 520,521.51 106.33

Lloydminster

Posted Sold

Parcels Hectares Parcels Hectares Bonus $/Hectares

Licences 0 0.00 0 0.00 0.00 0.00

Lease 57 8,272.28 52 8,045.25 3,059,607.04 380.30

Total 57 8,272.28 52 8,045.25 3,059,607.04 380.30

February 2009 land sales

Page C4Th e top price paid for a single li-

cence in this area was $288,862 paid by

Western Land Services Co. Ltd. for a

9,321 ha block situated 10 km south of

the Minton Winnipegosis Pool, 12 km

southeast of Coronach.

Th e highest dollar per hectare in

this area was received from Prairie

Land & Investment Services Ltd. who

paid $6,889/ha for a 16.19 ha parcel

located six km south of the Frys East

Tilston Beds Pool, 16 km east of Red-

vers.

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009C6

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Lampman – The

RM of Browning No.

34, is a mix of old oil,

and new. One of Sas-

katchewan’s first fields,

the Steelman, is along

its southern side. The

north side of the RM

is part of the Bakken

play.

The Rural Munici-

pality of Browning has

Lampman as its seat,

on the western side of

the R.M. It’s the larg-

est community in the

R.M.

The RM and town

have been working on

a cooperative industrial

park, with approxi-

mately 60 acres being

surveyed for commer-

cial usage. Some lots

have already been sold.

Lampman has also

bought land for resi-

dential development,

with a private devel-

oper.

There’s been wells

there for years and

years, says Reeve Randy

Fleck of the Steelman

field. Old fields like the

Midale and Weyburn

fields have seen new

life infused in them,

with the injection of

carbon dioxide. “I’ve

heard somebody’s look-

ing into that. It is an

old field, and I would

think it makes sense to

do it.”

Highway 361 di-

vides to the RM into

northern and southern

halves. North of 361

is the majority of the

Bakken wells.

“In our RM, we’re

seeing most of the drill-

ing in the north half.

Mostly Bakken, some

Frobisher and Midale

zone.”

In 2008, there were

75 new drilling licens-

es. “We have approxi-

mately 1,400 wells in

our RM.”

Most new wells are

horizontal, with multi-

stage fraccing. “We

hardly ever see a verti-

cal well anymore.”

“The biggest in-

creases we’ve seen is in

truck numbers on our

wells,” Fleck says.

It means more

gravel, more grading,

trying to maintain the

infrastructure.

The new assess-

ment will bring in more

commercial and agri-

cultural value. There’s

no plan to decrease the

mill rate, though, as the

additional funds will

be gobbled up by road

maintenance.

Commercial assess-

ment makes up about

80 per cent of the tax

base.

“They realize they

have got to get the oil

hauled, and they need

decent roads to drive

on,” Fleck says.

The farmers are

happy to see oil in the

area, he notes.

As for jobs, he notes

it ’s never really been a

problem to find a job in

Browning.

Indeed, the RM has

had a hard time find-

ing employees for its

operations. They lost

two over the summer.

“We hired a guy from

Ontario. We are pres-

ently looking for two

full time,” he said in

early February. “With

the slowdown, this may

help us. We’ve had to

increase our wages to

compete.”

With all the snow

this winter, they’ve

been running pretty

well seven days a week,

keeping roads open

for both buses and oil

trucks.

There’s one road

that leads to the BP

plant that can have over

a dozen trucks lined up,

queued to make deliver-

ies. Ten to 12 inches of

clay will be used to re-

build the road, and then

gravel will be added.

RM of Browningworking withindustry

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009 C7

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Power is moving for-

ward with work on the

Boundary Dam Inte-

grated Carbon Cap-

ture and Sequestration

Demonstration Proj-

ect. Evaluations are

currently underway on

carbon capture tech-

nologies for the project,

according to a Feb. 13

SaskPower release.

In July 2008 Sask-

Power issued a request-

for-proposals for car-

bon capture technology

for the demonstration

project, inviting com-

panies from across

Canada and around the

world to submit propos-

als for consideration.

Three companies have

been shortlisted to pro-

ceed to the next stage

for further evaluation –

Powerspan Corp., Can-

solv Technologies Inc.

and Fluor Canada Ltd.

“We had an in-

dependent consultant

evaluate the proposals

based on performance,

cost of capture, capital

costs, operating costs

and associated risks,”

said Mike Monea, vice-

president, Integrated

Carbon Capture and

Sequestration. “The

technologies that were

selected present the

lowest cost and risk for

CO2 capture and are

best suited to our dem-

onstration project.”

The Federal Gov-

ernment has contrib-

uted $240 million to-

ward the project, which

has an estimated value

of approximately $1.4

billion.

The companies will

now move forward to

the next stage of the

process, which involves

the preparation of de-

tailed project designs,

cost estimates and risk

profiles. Due to the

rapidly evolving nature

of the carbon capture

industry, SaskPower

will also continue to

monitor and evaluate

emerging carbon cap-

ture technologies and

trends in the industry.

The final selection of

a carbon capture tech-

nology will take place

by the end of 2009.

The Boundary Dam

Integrated Carbon

Capture and Seques-

tration Demonstration

Project will transform

the aging Unit 3 at

Boundary Dam Power

Station into a reliable,

long-term producer of

clean base load elec-

tricity, while enhanc-

ing provincial oil pro-

duction and reducing

greenhouse gas emis-

sions, according to Sas-

kPower. The Crown

corporation notes the

project will result in

capital investment,

increased royalty rev-

enues (from coal and

petroleum production)

and innovative employ-

ment opportunities by

extending the life of

the unit for another 30

years.

To ensure long-

term support for the

province’s economic

growth, SaskPower will

also continue with the

development of other

supply options. Future

options under consider-

ation include polygen-

eration, demand-side

management, cogene-

ration, natural gas, im-

ports, purchased power,

nuclear, large and small

hydro and renewables –

like biomass and wind.

Three carbon capture proposals for Boundary Dam shortlisted

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009C8

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Calgary – Ivory Energy Inc. says it has entered into

a defi nitive arrangement agreement with privately held

Emergo Energy Inc.

Th e $21 million transaction value includes the as-

sumption of debt, working capital and transaction costs.

Ivory continues to produce oil from its Saskatch-

ewan heavy oil properties

and natural gas and natural

gas liquids from its Obed,

Alberta gas property. For

the month of January 2009,

Ivory estimates its sales by

volume to be approximately

1,020 bbls of oil equivalent

per day. Routine fi eld opera-

tions, including minor work-

overs, will continue to the

extent reasonably possible.

Th e transaction will be eff ected by means of a court

approved plan of arrangement in accordance with the

Business Corporations Act (Alberta). Under the terms of

the arrangement, holders of common shares of Ivory will

receive four cents in cash for each Ivory share while hold-

ers of 9.5% convertible secured subordinated debentures

of Ivory will receive $226.92 in cash for each $1,000 in

principal amount of Ivory debentures outstanding.

As of Feb. 10, Ivory’s 52 week high was 48.5 cents

per share, reached May 27, 2008, and bottomed out at 1.5

cents a share on Christmas Eve, 2008.

Holders of options and warrants to acquire Ivory

shares will receive no consideration and the options and

warrants will be cancelled.

Th e arrangement is subject to the approval by the

securityholders of Ivory, as well as court and regulatory

approvals.

Th e board of directors of Ivory, including a commit-

tee of independent directors, has considered the arrange-

ment and unanimously determined it is in the best inter-

ests of Ivory and its shareholders given the challenging

conditions of the severely constrained equity and debt

markets, very low commodity prices and Ivory's position

with respect to its lenders.

Th e Ivory board of directors has retained Haywood

Securities Inc. to provide a fairness opinion with respect

to the arrangement.

Subject to the satisfaction of customary closing con-

ditions and the receipt of applicable regulatory and other

approvals, it is anticipated that the closing of the arrange-

ment will occur shortly after the meeting of securityhold-

ers of Ivory, anticipated to be held no later than March

31.

Emergo proposes to buy Ivory Energy for $21 million

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009 C9

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Boyd sees no need to match Stelmach’s junior energy bailout

Regina – Not likely. Th at was the short answer

Energy and Resources Minister Bill Boyd gave when

asked if Saskatchewan would follow Alberta’s lead to

provide tax credits and drilling incentives to slump-

ing junior to mid-sized energy companies in that

province.

Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach told a Calgary

Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Feb. 5 that de-

tails of an incentive package would be made public

in March. Boyd says there has been no demand from

energy companies to change the status quo in Sas-

katchewan.

“We haven’t heard many details about the an-

nouncement,” said Boyd the day after Stelmach’s

speech. “In Saskatchewan, we feel that we have a very

good business climate and we have a royalty structure

that is very competitive.

“We do have a number of drilling incentives in

place currently. We haven’t been asked by any of the

companies to look at any further assistance programs.

At this point in time, we are not contemplating any-

thing of that type. It doesn’t mean that we won’t be,

but we have no plans with respect to it.”

In addition to off ering small Alberta energy com-

panies tax credits and drilling incentives, Stelmach

said his assistance package would include measures

to promote more reclamation of abandoned wells.

“Th e future of the energy sector is of critical im-

portance to this city, but as well to our province,” said

Stelmach in Calgary.

Alberta’s new royalty rates announced in Oc-

tober, 2007 and eff ective since Jan. 1 this year, have

been blamed by some critics for the drop in invest-

ment and drilling activity.

Boyd says that the fact Saskatchewan didn’t make

any changes to its royalty structure, “has resulted in a

tremendous amount of investment in the oil and gas

sector of our province. We’ve seen huge land sales and

drilling that is at a level we haven’t seen in a long

time.”

Saskatchewan ended 2008 with a record $1.12

billion in revenue from land sales and Boyd says de-

spite the fact oil prices are down and there has been

a pull-back, Saskatchewan is “well placed compared

with other jurisdictions.”

As for his take on where the energy sector is

headed for the remainder of this year, Boyd says the

province will be monitoring the situation closely.

“Th e price of oil is on the mind of all govern-

ments,” he said. “I think the fundamentals are such

that we are likely to see prices increase over time. At

this point in time, the companies are all evaluated

their capital programs for the year”

In his Calgary address, Stelmach said although

the government doesn’t control global fi nancial mar-

kets or the price of commodities, he has instructed

his own Energy Minister Mel Knight to “look at the

cash-fl ow situation facing our junior energy compa-

nies.

“I know those companies are fi nding it particu-

larly diffi cult to access the capital they need for op-

erations – and that means idle rigs and Albertans out

of work,” said Stelmach.

In Saskatchewan, Boyd says the province’s stable

royalty regime, existing drilling incentives and a com-

petitive taxation system, “hold Saskatchewan in very

good stead.

“We are taking a wait and see approach to what

happens. We think we have – and there is all indi-

cation from the companies themselves – they tell us

we have a very competitive structure in Saskatchewan

and there isn’t much need for changes.”

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009C10

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Lloydminster –Th e more things change, the more

they stay the same, at least for some regional munici-

palities like the RMs of Wilton and Britannia when

it comes to fundraising for road building and main-

tenance.

When the RM of Wilton was formed in 1909,

one of the fi rst bylaws passed was for the purpose

of raising debentures to pay for $20,000 of road im-

provements.

Fast forward to 2009 and both heavily travelled

jurisdictions are hoping to tap into a new $100 mil-

lion per capita Municipal Economic Enhancement

Program fund in Saskatchewan for urban and rural

infrastructure projects.

Th is fund is part of $500 million worth of in-

frastructure funding the province has moved up to

the current fi scal year from its $1.5 billion Ready for

Growth infrastructure program in the 2009-10 bud-

get.

Th e RMs also seek a share of $31.6 million from

the federal-provincial Building Canada fund for sim-

ilar projects that will include roads.

Th e deadline to apply for the Economic En-

hancement Fund was Feb. 28 and both RMs need

money to repair their networks of oil and gas roads.

Wilton spends about $7 million a year for its road

improvement program.

“We have a number of projects that are engi-

neered and sitting on the shelf and ready to go if

funding becomes available,” said Wilton Reeve Glen

Dow, shortly after the funding announcement on

Feb. 2.

“We’ve looked at the details in the Building Can-

ada fund and we are looking at an application for that

one. Th e new municipal fund is on a per capita basis

and we will have to determine what the guidelines

are.

“In a rural setting, when you take a look at the

population base, cities carry a lot more weight and

have a greater need because of that. We will put to

good use whatever they (government) feel generous

enough to part with.

“In the Northwest part of Saskatchewan, we are

in the heavy oil zone. Trucks are the pipelines up here.

Th at means the economic infrastructure has a signifi -

cant impact on any kind of road. Th ere is always a need

to upgrade the basic road structure.” Page C11

Two RMs eye infrastructure funds to maintain busy oil roads

A grader blades and rips a layer of y ash and cement to the subgrade of a road in the RM of Britannia. Photo submitted

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009 C11

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A tractor works on a section of improving the subgrade of 4 Mile Road in the RM of Britannia.

Photo submitted

Page C10 Th e RM of Wilton

has more than 1,626 oil

wells and more than 700

km of roads. Dow says

about 400 km of the

total network is “signifi -

cantly impacted by oil

transport trucks and bi-

product transport trucks

hauling sand and saline

water produced from

wells.”

Th e Husky Upgrad-

er lies within the RM

boundaries but Dow

says the company is not

a high user of infrastruc-

ture because a lot of their

product is pipelined in

and out. “Th e local wells

that supply it have a high

impact use on the roads,”

he explained.

RM of Britannia

Administer, Louis Gen-

est estimates his RM

would get $164,000

from the new municipal

infrastructure fund to go

toward the Green Street

corridor road running

east and west of Lloyd-

minster, 16 km north of

Highway 16. It’s a high

volume oil traffi c and

residential route.

“We typically try to

put every cent of grant

money that’s been avail-

able into roads,” said

Genest. “Th at’s a direct

result of the oil and gas

industry.

“A total of $164,000

doesn’t go a long way

toward a road. Typically,

the bottom standard of

roads costs us between

$100,000 and $150,000

per mile. A corridor

road would be quite a bit

more.”

Th e RM has also ap-

plied for Building Cana-

da fund for the planned

corridor road. Th e RM

has also received amounts

ranging from $750,000

to $1 million for road

improvements from the

provincial Roads to Re-

sources program the last

couple of years.

Britannia has ap-

proximately 915 km of

roads including 90 km

of upgraded roads for

heavy oil traffi c, 40 km

of supergrid-gravel roads

and 58 km of supergrid

paved roads.

“We have some

roads that have over 500

primary weight trucks a

day on them,” says Gen-

est. Th e RM of Britan-

nia, Wilton and Eldon

have the highest traffi c

volume in the province

due to the type of oil we

have and the method of

recovery. For the most

part, it’s trucked.”

In the RM of Wil-

ton, Dow says spring

road bans are handled

“in a manner to enhance

industry and minimize

the impact of roads.

“Our spring road

ban program is inter-

nal so we monitor the

roads carefully. If we get

into a situation where

the damage would be

too excessive, we try to

make the ban as short

as possible. We have a

graded scale whereby

load would be based on

certain conditions.

We have a lot of

roads and they all take

a beating. Sometimes

we have completed road

failure in wet weather.

Our base is clay and

silt. If you put enough

weight on it you can

lose complete sections

of road.

A few years ago, we

put about $1 million of

rocks on the road just to

solve that problem. One

of the challenges in this

area is that there isn’t

much of a base.”

Th e RM won a Mu-

nicipal Service Excel-

lence award in 2007 for

its full-depth subgrade

strengthening of road-

ways. It has more sandy

land for building better

roads than Wilton does

with primary weights

allowed in summer and

winter.

“We allow that be-

cause of some the road

agreements that we have

with oil companies are

a mutual benefi t. Th ere

is no doubt, that does

place a big strain on the

roads and we could sure

use the money. We have

some mechanisms to

recover costs from the

oil companies.

“We make our best

eff ort now to let one of

these grant programs

slip by us because it’s

so necessary. Our truck

station budget is over

$7 million a year.”

Money needed to maintain hectic oil eld roads

C12 PIPELINE NEWS March 2009

Regina - Rock is heavy. Imagine moving dozens of boxes full of rock each

day, pretty much all day.

Th at’s what the warehouse staff do each day at the Saskatchewan Subsur-

face Geological Laboratory, also known as the core repository, in Regina.

“Th ese boxes are pretty heavy,” notes Kim Desjarlais, who heads up the

warehouse staff of the core repository. “Our guideline is they shouldn’t lift

more than about 10 tonnes a day, and preferably not on successive days.”

“Some days, if it is really busy, they can hit their limit before lunch.”

In that case, they switch off , operating the forklift instead, for instance.

“It is repetitious. You probably get an average 45 to 50 lbs a box.”

Some are heavier.

Do they hire body builders?

“No. We try to keep them short,” he laughs. Tall guys have a rougher go

of it, apparently.

Usually companies will phone ahead, requesting core be pulled. “Usually

we can have it on the table before they get here.”

One of the most critical things about core is keeping it organized, laid out

in the right order, and keeping everything facing the right direction. “Every-

thing’s in order out there,” he says.

When hiring new staff , does one of the interview questions ask how clean

they kept their bedroom?

No, he says, laughing. “Actually mine was pretty messy.”

Heavy lifters

Each of these boxes weighs an average for 45 to 50 lbs per box, and each core sample is 12 to 14 boxes. Moving them takes some serious effort by warehouse staff at the Saskatchewan Subsurface Geological Laboratory.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

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quick, easy installation (well shutdown during installation is recommended)separate models available for any style stuffi ng boxesspacious, semi-transparent holding tank - instantly monitor fl uid levelsEnviroTrap two-piece cover is easy to remove and replace to accommodate packing changes and cleaningavailable with Murphy Auto shutdown switch

360º INSTALLATIONWELLHEAD CONTAINMENT UNIT

CHEMICAL BARREL CONTAINMENT STAND

NEW CHEMICAL PUMP BOX

unit cost is less than clean-up cost from one packing failure

minimal or no installation cost minimal maintenance requirements - parts and

service readily available if needed

MISSION STATEMENT“We Work In Harmony With Both The Oil Industry & Landowners

To Protect Our Environment”

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 stuffi ng 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.

ADVANCED DESIGN FEATURESfully enclosed and self-containeddurable, rust-free constructionU.V. resistantall hardware is corrosion-resistant stainless steelsloped collection tray provides natural drainage, making the unit more drainage effi cient and maintenance-freetapered polish rod washer drains migrating fl uid back into collection unitautomatic pumpjack shutdown also available360º installation

This is what our customers are saying...

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.

Bruce MinersenerPLUS RESOURCESPembina Lead Operator

Exclusive to Smoke ‘Em Diesel and first available in Canada: DPF Delete

kits for your new diesel pickup.

Increase mileage and Increase mileage and cure problems associated cure problems associated

with all day idle.with all day idle.Also available all diesel performance,

lift kits and heavy duty/race series transmissions with up to 3 year/60,000 km warranty.

Call for all your needs (306)545-5911Saskatchewan’s #1 NADP Dealer!

A new 12,000 square foot shop is being constructed on the east side of Jerry Mainil Limited’s main building, on the southeast corner of Weyburn. Photo by Brian Zinchuk

Jerry Mainil shop nears completion

Weyburn – Going up a little slower than expected,

a new shop for Jerry Mainil Limited in Weyburn is

rising just to the east of their main facility.

“It’s not going as fast as we’d like to see things,”

says Dennis Mainil. Originally the 12,000 square foot

facility was planned for Nov. 1, then December. Now

it looks like it will be mid-March before the building

is up. Th ey knocked down the previous building on

that site in August, last year.

Th e building will be heated, and open inside.

Th ere will be four bay doors, including one that is

22 feet high and 28 feet wide, for large projects. Th e

purpose of the building will be storage and fabrica-

tion, according to Mainil.

“At least we’ll have the shell up and heated,” he

says, noting the delays in construction were due to

last year’s boom.

Th ings have slowed down since then, however.

“We’ve had to cut back,” he noted in mid-February.

“It’s defi nitely slowed down. It’s defi nitely a

slower economy than what it was.”

He points to the decline in rig counts, stating

there is a direct correlation between the rig counts

and their activity. “If they go, we go. If they stop, we

stop.”

“Make hay while the sun shines,” Mainil says,

noting they are “just waiting in the wings.”

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009C14

• Welding

• Fabricating

• Machining

• Hydraulics

• Painting

• Sandblasting

Custom Metal Fabricating:Custom Metal Fabricating: Manufacturing, Sales & RepairManufacturing, Sales & Repair

501 6th Street & Highway 39 East Estevan, SKPhone: 634-8388 Fax: 634-8389

Email: doallmetal@sasktel.net Website: www.doallmetal.comBig

or

Sm

all w

e D

o A

ll

Dedicated to Customer Satisfaction

• ConductorBarrels

• Ratholes andMouseholes

• Piling Holes

• Backhoe andSkidsteer Service

Bruce Hodgkin: (306) 861-7800Dean Hodgkin: (306) 861-2604Adam Walliser: (306) 861-9722

842-1868

Good grubIt’s no wonder the high vibility vests can be seen tromping past a line of pickups, parked in front of the Harvest Cafe in Lampman. The food is ll-ing, and the local oilmen seem to like it.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

C15PIPELINE NEWS March 2009

BADGERDAYLIGHTING™

SafetyIt’s What We Do.

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Full Service Hydrovac FleetAvailable to Saskatchewan

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Regina................................ (306) 531-9487Saskatoon ......................... (306) 934-2964Swift Current ..................... (306) 773-0724Lloydminster ..................... (306) 875-1640Kindersley ......................... (306) 463-6006Carlyle................................ (306) 577-3400Weyburn ............................ (306) 848-0906Carnduff ............................. (306) 482-5270

Toll Free: 1-800-465-4273www.badgerinc.com

Custom Canadian HomesCustom Canadian Homes

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Custom Designed/Built HomesCustom Designed/Built Homesfrom Modest... to Magnificent...from Modest... to Magnificent...

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yard for delivery anywhere on the northern Great Plain

Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Canadavisit us across Highway 39 from the Ramada Inn

phone 306 842-4414 toll free 1 888 842-4005

Lyle Leclair - Cell: 306-421-7060Larry - Cell: 306-421-7131

LECLAIRTRANSPORT

General Oilfield Hauling

Chris Scholpp421-0557

redlinewell@sasktel.net

• Completions• Consulting & Supervision• Contract Battery Operating• Production Management• Canada & USA 24 Hour Hot Shot Service

Phone: 487-7790Of ce: 487-2201

REDLINE WELL SERVICE

•CO2 storage and EOR potential (1); NGC (1); Oil, southeast

(1); Oil, Bakken-east, Torquay (1); Basin Modeling (1); PGB

computer databases, protocols (2); Oil-resource assessment (2);

Coal (2); Industry consulting (2); Technical editing (3)Stratigraphic expertise shown to left, other areas of expertise shown to right Levels: (1) – Lead Expert; (2) – Back-up expert; (3) Additional expertise

Fran HaidlSK stratigraphy, general (1);

Lower Paleozoic (1);

Bakken west (2)

•Subsurface resources, general (1); Oil, deep southeast (1);

Geoscience outreach (1);

Technical editing (1); Industry consulting (1);

Heavy oil (Bakken-west, Mannville) (2)

Saskatchewan Ministry of Energy and Resources Petroleum Geology Branch, Southern Geoscience:

Geoscience Knowledge and Research Capacity (December, 2008)Saskatchewan’s Subsurface Geology Laboratory in Regina has eight in-house geologists. Each has several specialties, but they are also generalists, with a province-wide perspective. One of their main reasons for being is to off er assistance to those who need it.

Melinda YurkowskiPost-Mannville to base glacial cover (1);

SK stratigraphy, general (2)

•Unconventional gas (1); Oil, southwest (2); NGC (2);

Subsurface resources, general (2); Oilsands (2); PGB

computer databases, protocols (2); Technical editing

(2); Oil-resource assessment (2)

Chao YangDevonian (1);

Bakken east, Torquay (2)

•Potash (1); Oil-resource assessment (1); Brines (2);

Oil, Bakken-east, Torquay (2); Geothermal (2);

Regional hydrogeology and fl uid migration (2)

Arden MarshPost-Mississippian to base Colorado (1);

Structure (1);

Mississippian (2)

•Regional geoscience framework (1); PGB computer data-

bases, protocols (1); Oil, southwest (1); Heavy oil (Mannville)

(1); Basin modeling (1); Coal (1); Oil-resource

assessment (2); Oilsands (2);Technical editing (3)

Erik NickelMississippian (1);

Bakken east, Torquay (1)

5 Senior Research Petroleum Geologists: 3 Research Petroleum Geologists:

Gavin JensenLower Paleozoic (2);

Devonian (2)

•Regional hydrogeol-

ogy and fl uid migration

(1); Brines (1); Geo-

thermal (1); CO2 stor-

age and EOR potential

(2); Potash (2)

Jeff CoolicanPost-Mannville to base

glacial cover (2);

Structure (2)

•Geophysical log

analysis (1); Regional

geoscience framework

(2); Unconventional

gas (2); Geoscience

outreach (2)

Dan KohlrussBakken west (1);

Post-Mississippian to

base Colorado (especially Mannville Sands,

west-central) (2)

•Geophysical log

analysis (2); Oilsands

(1); Heavy oil (Bakken-

west) (1) Oil, Bakken-

east, Torquay (2)

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009C16

T R U C K I N G“MORE THAN JUST GRAVEL”

• Top Soil • Gravel • Top Soil • Gravel • Sand & Crushed Rock • Municipal & Oil Lease • Sand & Crushed Rock • Municipal & Oil Lease

Road Gravelling • Aggregate Screening Road Gravelling • Aggregate Screening • Excavating • Loaders • Graders • Lowbeds• Excavating • Loaders • Graders • Lowbeds

Cell: 577-7553Cell: 577-7553Fax: 455-2433 • ARCOLA Of ce:Fax: 455-2433 • ARCOLA Of ce: 455-2429455-2429

JJJJJJ

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From some of the world’s most common and widely used packers like the sturdy AS1-X to advanced Open Hole Treating systems, Xtreme Oil Tools sets the stan-dard for innovation, performance and reliability in packer technology.

Our packer system selection is the most comprehensive in the industry, and forms the foundation for a complete range of fit-for-purpose completions for all types of well environments and applications, from the simplest single-zone completions, to the most complex horizontal, multilateral and intelligent completions.

“Packing Quality and Service into Everything We Do”634-7966 • 106 Perkins Street, Estevan, SK

www.xtremeoiltools.comE-mail: cmcgillicky@xtremeoiltools.com

Register Today

Estevan Safety Training Courses (Rural locations speci ed)

CPR/1st Aid – Mar. 2-3; 16-17; 21-22; Apr. 7-8; 15-16; 18-19; 27-28;

Carnduff – Apr. 22-23;

Carlyle - Mar. 30-31; Apr. 13-14; Oxbow – Mar. 23-24

Confi ned Space – Mar. 18; Apr. 17; Oxbow – Mar. 25

Carlyle – Apr. 3; Carnduff – Apr. 20

H2S Alive – Mar. 11; 24; 28; Apr. 6; 14; 21; 29; Carnduff – Apr. 24;

Carlyle – Apr. 1; 16; Oxbow – Mar. 26; Waskada, MB – Apr. 7

CPR/1st Aid Refresher – Mar. 11; Apr. 9

TDG/WHMIS – Mar. 10

Detection & Control – Apr. 24

Ground Disturbance – Mar. 20; Carlyle – Apr. 2; 17;

Oxbow – Mar. 27; Carnduff – Apr. 21

Ground Disturbance Train the Trainer – Mar. 4-5

OH&S/WHMIS – Apr. 13; Carlyle – Apr. 15

Special Provisional Engineer – Mar. 23-26

SECOR Refresher – Apr. 1

COR – Apr. 2-3; Virden, MB – Apr. 6-7

Fall Protection – Apr. 1-2; 4-5

Rig Rescue – Apr. 3; 6

Well Service BOP – Apr. 13-16

Service Rig Assessor – Apr. 17

Safety Mgmt. & Reg. Awareness – Apr. 20-22

SMRA Refresher – Apr. 23

1st Line BOP – Apr. 20-23

Early Safety Training Week in Estevan & Carlyle – Apr. 13-19Students ages 16-21 may apply for an Early Safety Training

Bursary

Oxbow Safety Training Week - March 23-27 CPR/1st Aid; C. Space; H2S Alive; Gr. Disturbance

Carlyle Safety Training Week - March 30 – April 3

CPR/1st Aid; H2S Alive; Gr. Disturbance; C. Space

Carnduff Safety Training Week - Apr. 20-24

C. Space; Gr. Disturbance; CPR/1st Aid; H2S Alive

SEESS (Southeast Environmental Safety Seminar)

Mar. 18 in Weyburn, SK

Contact Debbie for info 306-637-4926

ENFORM Classes at the Estevan Campus:Incident Command Systems – Mar. 9

The Petroleum Industry in Canada – Mar. 31-Apr. 1

Supervision, Team Leadership & Motivation – Apr 6

Safety Inspection Skills – Apr. 14-15

Safety Training for Jobsite Supervisors – Apr. 16-17

SAIT Business Courses at the Estevan Campus: Supervision Skills – Mar. 26-27

Presentation Skills – Apr. 30

For more info or to register call 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 off er 1A Truck Driving Call 637-4921 for info.

Check out our website at www.southeastcollege.org

1305 Railway Ave., Weyburn, SK842-4185 or 842-4462 Fax: 842-7799

We Offer A Complete Stock Of: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

Highest Market Prices Paid For:Steel • Cast • Brass • Copper • Stainless Steel • Radiators • Batteries

• Lead • Aluminum etc.

Order Desk - 842-35481-866-84STEEL (1-866-847-8335)

mryglod.steel@sasktel.net

Desk and DerrickThe Southeast Saskatchewan Desk and Derrick Club met at the new Borets-Weatherford facility on Estevan’s west side on Feb. 9. Borets-Weatherford held a grand opening in January.

Photo by Brian Zinchuk

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009 C17

* Bed Trucks* Winch Tractors

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RIG MOVING Phone: 482-3244

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Edmonton, AB (Head Office) | Calgary, AB | Lampman, SK | Titan Logix USA Corp.

Find us online at www.titanlogix.com

sales@titanlogix.com

Toll Free: 1-877-462-4085

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WEYBURN OIL SHOW BOARDP.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

■ Golf Tournament ■ Exhibits■ Socializing ■ Barbecue ■ Hospitality■ Keynote Industry Speaker: John Gormley,

June 4

13th Biennial Saskatchewan

Oil & Gas ShowExhibition Grounds, Weyburn, SK

June 3 & 4, 2009Set-up and golf tournament—June 2, 2009

Home of the SaskatchewanOil Patch Awards

➟Chairman: Ron Carson,Carson Welding & Maintenance

➟Vice Chairman: Dennis Krainyk,Apache Canada Inc.

➟Honourary Chairman:Hon. Bill Boyd,Minister of Industry & Resources

By Patricia Ward, Weyburn Review

THE SHOW YOU WON’T WANT TO MISS…

Platinum Sponsors: GoldSponsors:

BronzeSponsors:

Ministry ofEnergy and Resources

By Brian ZinchukArcola - It’s a trip back in time, travelling up the stairs to Buddy’s Pub in the

former town hall building of Arcola.

“I’ve been a bartender all my life. I was born in Saskatchewan, I wanted to

come home,” says Ramona “Ronnie” Aschenbrenner.

She and her partner Gary Kerr bought the High House, a heritage building

that used to be the town of Arcola’s town hall. Th e brick building is old, and you

have to sling a lot of beer to heat it, , but boy, has it got character. Th e upstairs

bar looks like a time warp. Th e main fl oor is Shirley’s Buff et, and there’s also Mi-

chael’s Pizza, a takeout joint.

“I saw this one, fell in love, and we bought it,” Aschenbrenner says of the

bar.

It probably doesn’t hurt to have all the young men working in the oilpatch in

the area. She notes the town has been very supportive.Buddy’s Pub attracted a lifetime bartender to move from Tumbler Ridge, BC to Arcola. Photo submitted

She fell in love

Ahealthy

lifestyle startshere

See us for the area’s largest selection of

vitamins & natural foods.

Old Fashion Foods405 Souris Avenue NE

Weyburn, SK. • 842-3003

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009C18

THINK GREENTHINK GREENTHINK GREEN

CALL 1-877-877-4370CALL 1-877-877-4370CALL 1-877-877-4370Focusing on Quality

ThinkThinkThink Free Product Guide

on Request!

Fire Fighting and

Spraying Equipment

Many Options Available

Utility Tanks

50 - 100 gal

Call Today To Be Directed to Your Nearest Dealer!

Transport Tanks

100, 150, 300, 400, 500, 800, 1000,

1600, 2200, 2500, 3000 Gal.*

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*Sizes in US Gallons

1000, 1550, 1650, 1750, 2000, 2100, 2500,

3000, 5000, 5500, 6000, 6500 Gal.*

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DENNIS TROBERTDENNIS TROBERTOwner - 421-3807

Norm MeyersNorm MeyersSales - 421-8640Les McLenehanLes McLenehan

Dispatcher/Sales - 421-8810

30 Ton Picker30 Ton PickerWinch TrucksWinch Trucks

Bed TrucksBed TrucksLow Boy & High Boy TrailersLow Boy & High Boy Trailers

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Phone for more Information:Leon 577-7133 • Don or Ken 483-2828 For Bookings Call: Dispatch 483-2848

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By Geoff Lee

Saskatoon –Th e job of transporting

one of the heaviest and longest loads

on the roads of Saskatchewan to Fort

McMurray caught the attention of

rubberneckers when the mega load left

Saskatoon Feb. 17.

Th e behemoth is a pressure vessel

made by Hitachi Canadian Industries

Ltd. in Saskatoon and is over 200 feet

long and weighs more than 384 metric

tons.

It took nine days to move by

Mammoet Canada Western Ltd. under

the direction of project manager Bert

Bergermann along with two police es-

corts and four pilot vehicles for safety.

Th e Pipeline News caught up with

Bergermann just as the convoy began

moving west on Highway 7 after a

tricky overnight journey out of Saska-

toon. Once it’s on the highway, it can

only be moved in daylight hours.

“Th is one has attracted more atten-

tion because it’s the fi rst one of this size

out of Saskatoon,” said Bergermann.

Th e vessel, known as a vertical re-

fi nery processing tower, took three and

a half days to load beginning Feb. 12

and sparked a celebration among HCI

employees who worked on the assem-

bly.

“Th ey worked very hard over the

last year getting the vessel out,” said

Murray Daku, HCI’s vice-president in

Saskatoon. “At the end of the day, we

completed it on schedule.”

Th e shipment was the largest prod-

uct ever made at its facility in Saska-

toon.

“It was a big event,” said Daku.

“We had cake and coff ee for all of our

employees a couple of afternoons when

it was done.”

HCI began making pressure vessels

for the energy sector in 2002. Pressure

vessels are large steel tanks use to store

process gasses and liquids used during

the oil extraction, upgrading and refi n-

ing process.

Page C19

Saskatoon to Fort McMurray:

This is a side view of the pressure vessel as it made it way into Rosetown on the rst day of a nine-day delivery trip from Saskatoon to the oilsands of Fort McMurray. Photo by Ian MacKay, The Rosetown Eagle

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009 C19

BAKER PETROLITE

Estevan Of ce83 Devonian Street

636-1640

John Prette421-9676

Rob Hildebrand421-3495

Bob Garrow421-3235

Dominic Cote421-0973

Dustin Hockey421-3623

Matt Clausen421-6214

Nolan Balon461-6012

Blair HeamanVirden, MB

204-748-7963Mike Rookes204-851-5382Collin Holmes204-851-5860

Virden Of ce

204-748-6858

• 24 Hour Service • Oil Hauling

2 Locations: Kisbey & Lampman Phone: 462-2130 • Fax: 462-2188

CLIFF NANKIVELLTRUCKING LTD.

WATER & CRUDE VACUUM TRUCK

SERVICE

WE RENT• Scissor Lifts/Electric & Dual Fuel

• Man Lifts/Straight Boom & Articulating Boom• Zoom Boom Forklifts

G. T. & H HOLDINGS INC.Chad - Cell: (306) 421-1896Garry - Cell: (306) 421-0529

Estevan, SK

634-314467 Devonian Street, Estevan, Saskatchewan

Vacuum Truck Services Steam Cleaning

Septic Tank Service

Pressure Washing Dry Steam Boiler

Portable Bathroom Rentals

delivery a feat to complete

This monster sized pressure tank over 200 feet long made by Hitachi Canadian Industries in Saskatoon took nine days for Mammoet Canada Western Ltd to move to Fort McMurray. Photo by Greg Pender, Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Page C18 “Over the past few

years, we’ve done a sig-

nifi cant volume of work

for the oil industry, but

things have slowed down

recently,” said Daku.

“Pressure vessels are a

small part of our business

but we are positioned

for future growth in this

area.

“Pressure vessels are

one of our four main

product lines. We do

work in the power gener-

ation fi eld, wind turbine

industries and after-sales

service work for power

generation equipment.

“One of our strategic

focuses is to target more

oil and gas work. Th ere is

other work in the chemi-

cal industry that we can

use similar capabilities. If

the local (Saskatchewan)

oil sands market develops,

we will be very interested

in participating in it.”

Daku says the design

and planning for the Fort

McMurray pressure ves-

sel began back in Octo-

ber 2007 with production

starting last April.

Th e fi nal assembly of

the vessel was completed

on rails and rolled out of

the HCI shop and lifted

by Mammoet’s overhead

cranes onto a pair of hy-

draulic pressure trailers

that were bolted together.

“Th ese are 10-axle

trailers and there is one

under each end of the

vessel with a turntable,”

explained Bergermann.

“We had a lot of

spectators come by the

Saskatoon shop when

we were loading. We also

had a lot of media cov-

erage when we left our

parking spot just west of

Saskatoon.”

Th e transportation

route and planning took

months to complete

and involved detailed

coordination between

HCI, Mammoet and

government agencies like

SaskPower to fi nd a safe

route.

Th e convoy planned

to take Hwy. 7 to Alberta

where it becomes Hwy. 9

and head north on Hwy.

36 near Hanna on route

Mammoet has taken be-

fore to Fort McMurray.

Top speed for this con-

voy was 39 km/h and the

convoy had to pull over

now and then to let traf-

fi c go by.

“Traffi c is not really

a danger unless someone

doesn’t follow the police

or pilot vehicle direc-

tions,” said Bergermann.

“It’s not an exception-

ally wide load. It’s 21 feet

which is wide enough,

but the length is a bit of

a challenge.”

Bergermann either

follows or leads the con-

voy in a pickup truck and

says his job as project

manager during transit

is to make phone calls or

decisions. Where to stay

and park has been pre-

determined by route su-

pervisors.

“We have to fi nd

somewhere to park where

we can pull in and out of

easily,” said Bergermann

We can’t make tight turns

especially at corners that

are perpendicular. Th ere

are a few spots where we

have a good angle to ap-

proach to get the vehicle

in and out.”

Mammoet is a heavy

lifting and hauling com-

pany with operations in

Edmonton, where they

mostly transport heavy

oil equipment in Alberta

that comes by rail over-

seas or is made in Ed-

monton.

“Saskatoon is also

becoming a viable op-

tion to ship from,” said

Bergermann. “We have

also shipped from Lloy-

dminster.”

Daku thinks it was

a matter of capacity in

shops closer to Fort Mc-

Murray and HCI’s com-

petitiveness that landed

his company the con-

tract.

“When it comes

right down to it. We are

not a lot further from

the oilsands than a shop

in Calgary. Edmonton

would just be that much

closer,” he said.

Once the pressure

vessel arrived the plan

was to install it in the ver-

tical position at a height

of just over 62 m or 19

storeys high. It is 5.2 m

wide.

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009C20

Boom and bust land sales Boom and bust land sales shadow world economyshadow world economy

By Geoff Lee

Regina – Gravity

has brought once soar-

ing oil prices and land

sales back to earth with

a thud. Th e reaction to

the sales echoed the

thud.

Th e February 2009

sales of Crown petro-

leum and natural gas

right bought in just $6.3

million in revenue com-

pared with a recording

setting $197 million

in February, 2008. Th is

year’s sale is only 3.4

per cent of the February

2008 total. Land sales

revenue hasn’t been

this low since February

2000 when sales tallied

$5.4 million.

Th e reaction to this

year’s sale by Energy

and Resources Minis-

ter Bill Boyd was also

in stark contrast to his

comments following the

great start to last year’s

record-ending total of

$1.12 billion.

Th is year Boyd said,

“Th e lower results for

the February land sale

are not entirely unex-

pected.

“Th e 75 per cent

drop in the spot price

of oil in the last seven

months is a major con-

tributing factor, along

with the now much

tighter fi nancial markets

in which energy compa-

nies are operating.

“We are not alone

here, and see those new

global market condi-

tions refl ected in recent

lower land sale results

in Alberta and British

Columbia.

Flashback to the

record sale of February

2008 when a happier

Boyd said, “Th ese num-

bers are simply incred-

ible and are a great start

to 2008 for our province

and our oil and gas in-

dustry.

“Th ey speak to the

dynamic investment

climate for our oil and

gas resources, and un-

derscore the heightened

interest in the rich Bak-

ken oil play in southeast

Saskatchewan and the

emerging oil play in the

Shaunavon area.”

Th is year, the Lloy-

dminster area led land

sales with bonus bids

of $3.1 million. Th e

Weyburn-Estevan area

was next at $2.2 mil-

lion, followed by the

Kindersley-Kerrobert

area at $520,000 and

the Swift Current area

at $503,000.

In February, 2008

the highest price paid

for a single parcel was

$30.7 million. Th is year,

the highest price paid

for a single parcel was

$411,000. Sandstone

Land & Mineral Com-

pany Ltd. acquired this

65-hectare lease in an

oil pool 35 km north-

east of Lloydminster.

In 2008, the highest

price paid on a per hect-

are basis was $15,255

compared with a per

hectare price of $6,889

paid in 2009.

Prairie Land & In-

vestment Services Ltd.

bid over $111,000 for a

shallow rights lease of a

16-hectare parcel above

the Bakken Formation,

16 km east of Redvers.

Despite the boom

and bust comparison

of year- over- year land

sales, Boyd remains op-

timistic.

“We are coming off

a record 2008 calendar

year for land sales, and

the two-year explora-

tion licences that many

companies bought

should result in a shift

from land acquisition

to drilling and explo-

ration as those compa-

nies move to maximize

return on their invest-

ments,” he said in a

news release.

“As well, companies

investing in our prov-

ince are aware that at-

tractive oil and gas plays

like the Bakken and

Lower Shaunavon are

like ‘money in the bank’

to them over the medi-

um and long term.”

Last February,

Boyd exclaimed, “We

have a great oil and gas

story to tell, and Pre-

mier Wall and I have

been telling that story

across the country.”

The February

2009 sale included

two petroleum and

natural gas explora-

tion licences that sold

for $339,000 and 144

lease parcels that at-

tracted $5.9 million in

bonus bids.

Th e next sale takes

place April 6, 2009.

Experienced Crew ForemanFOR 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

Apply inconfidence to:

Fax (780) 808-2273

OILFIELDCONSULTING & CONSTRUCTION

SERVICE LTD.

RJ HOFFMAN HOLDINGS

Flush By and Steamer positions available. We train drivers. $23/hr starting driving wage or higher wages for experienced opera-tors. We pay overtime and provide benefi ts. 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

IS ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR

CLASS 1A & 3A DRIVERSCLASS 1A & 3A DRIVERSBased out of St. Walburg, SK or Lloydminster, AB

CNC Plasma / Oxyacetylene Operators

Applicants must have welding background.Driver’s license required. Reliable, team player.

Wages depend on experience. Benefi ts available.Performance bonuses.

Only those to be interviewed will be contacted.

Apply in confi dence to: Fax (780) 808-2689

www.suretuf.com

Technical Assistantwanted for full time position.

Basic computer skills required. Organizational, technical, troubleshooting & good telephone etiquette an asset.Duties include:• Assisting with programming and testing of remote monitoring equipment• Providing telephone assistance to installers and customers for remote monitoring equipmentEmployer willing to train. Wage to commensurate with quali cations & experience.Interested applicants can fax, e-mail or drop off a resume to:

Acutec Systems Ltd.109 Main St., Lampman, SKFax: 306-487-2776acusteve@sasktel.net

Journeymen Electricians Needed

Email resume to randy@elteksupply.com

or fax to 306-483-2340

We offer:• bene ts custom to YOUR needs• company vehicle• advancement opportunities for a progressive personWe require:• valid drivers license & trade ticket• experience in commercial & residential electrical an asset

JOIN A GREAT TEAM!

CareerCareerOpportunitiesOpportunities

ResourcesResources GuideGuide

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009 C21

Cell: (306) 461-9679

Your Sandblasting, Painting & Coating Specialists with over 20 yrs. experience in the industry

Spool Coating now available

P.O. Box 54 • Benson, SK • SOC 0L0bullyblasting@sasktel.net

BullyBlast & PaintServices Ltd.

• Shop & Field Service• Tank Linings

Bus.: (306) 457-2264

• Structural Steel• and more

RADVILLE, SK“ Line Locating for All Your Oil eld,

Residential or Farm Needs”

Cell: (306) 869-8181 • Cell (306) 463-8021

TERRY DODDS(24 hrs.) (306) 634-7599

Cell. (306) 421-0316

“All Your Construction and Maintenance Needs”SPECIALIZING IN: ENGINES, PUMP UNITS, UNIT

INSPECTIONS, PIPE FITTING, TREATERS AND PRESSURE TICKET WELDING

Box 1605, Estevan, Sk. S4A 2L7Cell. (306) 421-3174, (306) 421-6410, (306) 421-2059

Fax: (306) 634-1273

M.E.T. OILFIELDCONST. LTD.

4” Hevi Wate Drill PipeBrad Lamontagne

(306) 577-9818 or (306) 739-2263smrltd@sasktel.net

COR Certi edEstevan, Sk.

634-7348

VegetationControl

(Chemical or Mechanical)

Southeast Tree Care

Gil BlackstockOwner/Operator

PH: 306.634-CORE (2673)Cell: 306.421.3322Fax: 306.634.8604wgb.gilligan@accesscomm.ca

REASSURING THE FINEST QUALITY AND VALUE.

OVER 20 YRS IN CORING SERVICES

• Pressure Vessels• Well Testers• Frac Recovery• Wellbore Bleedoff• Ball Catchers• 400 bbl Tanks• Rig Matting

Dale (306) 861-3635 • Lee (306) 577-7042Lampman, Sask.

• Complete Trucking Services

HYDROVAC SERVICES306.388.2225 - 306.421.5954

Cory BjorndalDistrict ManagerDownhole Tools

93 Panteluk StreetKensington Avenue NEstevan, Saskatchewan S4A 2A6PHONE: 306-634-8828CELL: 306-421-2893FAX: 306-634-7747cory.bjorndal@nov.comwww.nov.com

311 Kensington Avenue, Estevan • 634-1400

www.pennwest.com

SONAR INSPECTION LTD.Head Of ce1292 Veterans CrescentEstevan, Sk. S4A 2E1E: sonarinsp@sasktel.net

P: 306-634-5285F: 306-634-5649

“Serving All Your Inspection Needs”UT - LPI - MPI

Wayne Naka 306-421-3177Taylor Gardiner 306-421-2883Cory Rougeau 306-421-1076

Peter Koopman - Industrial Tank Sales, Southern SaskatchewanPh. 306-525-5481 ext. 311 Cell 306-596-8137

www.westeel.com www.westeel.com www.northern-steel.comwww.northern-steel.com

100, 200 and 100, 200 and 400 BBL Tanks400 BBL Tanks

Serving the Saskatchewan Petroleum Upstream from our facilities in Regina & Tisdale.

Please call us with your Custom Fabrication Requirements!

JUSTIN WAPPEL - Division Manager

401 Hwy. #4 S. Biggar, SaskatchewanPO Box 879 S0K 0M0Ph (306) 948-5262 Fax (306) 948-5263Cell (306) 441-4402 Toll Free 1-800-746-6646Email: jwappel@envirotank.comwww.envirotank.com

a l t u s g e o m a t i c s . c o m

Specializing in well site and pipeline surveys

Yorkton

306.783.4100

Weyburn

306.842.6060

Regina

800.667.3546

Swift Current

306.773.7733

Lloydminster

780.875.6130

Medicine Hat

403.528.4215

Edmonton

800.465.6233

Calgary

866.234.7599

Grande Prairie

780.532.6793

Fresh Water HaulingCustom Bailing & Hauling

Gordon HartyBox 95 Marwayne, AB T0B 2X0

Bus. Phone(780) 875-9802

Fax No.(780) 847-3633

Res. Phone(780) 847-2178

Lloyd Lavigne • Kirk ClarksonOwners/Managers

6506 - 50th AvenueLloydminster, AB

Phone: (780) 875-6880

5315 - 37th StreetProvost, AB T0B 3S0

Phone: (780) 753-6449

Fax: (780) 875-7076

24 Hour ServiceSpecializing in Industrial & Oilfield Motors

Proudly Serving Alberta & Saskatchewan

Full Hydrovac • Services

Capable of • Steam

24 HOUR DISPATCH24 HOUR DISPATCH

780-205-7666780-205-7666Lloydminster, AB

www.silverbackhydrovac.com • geoff@silverbackhydrovac.com

COIL TUBING SERVICESFLUSHBY SERVICES

Serving Alberta, B.C. & SaskatchewanToll Free1-866-363-0011

www.tazwellservicing.com

COIL TUBING SERVICESFLUSHBY SERVICES

RP Automotive Inc.Complete Automotive Repair

Reliable & Affordable • Fast & Friendly

• Tune Ups, Injector Purges• Transmissions, Clutches• Shocks and Struts• Oil Changes• Diesel Repair• After-market Accessories• Wheel Alignments• Engine Repair• Steering and Suspension

• Cooling System Flush & Repairs• Brakes• Differentials• Exhaust• Diesel Purges• SGI Inspections• Flywheel Resurfacing

47-13th Street, Weyburn, SK

842-4022®

Certi edService Centre

ResourcesResourcesPIPELINE NEWS March 2009C22

GuideGuide

New to SaskatchewanThe Vice-president The Vice-president

Mrs. Suzanna Nostadt and Mrs. Suzanna Nostadt and President President

Mr. Jacques Tremblay are Mr. Jacques Tremblay are enjoying a break from the enjoying a break from the

cold weather in front of the cold weather in front of the parts counter at Tremcar parts counter at Tremcar

West Inc.West Inc.The rst Tremcar Service The rst Tremcar Service Shop in Western Canada Shop in Western Canada capable of Tanker Repair, capable of Tanker Repair,

Testing, Inspections, Testing, Inspections, Steaming, Customer Service, Steaming, Customer Service,

Tanker trailer leasing and Tanker trailer leasing and Part Sales.Part Sales.

Tremcar West Inc.Ph: 306-842-6100 • Fax: 306-842-6101Ph: 306-842-6100 • Fax: 306-842-6101

For more information visit our website: www.tremcar.comFor more information visit our website: www.tremcar.com

#5-22nd Ave. ,Weyburn, SK S4H 2L2#5-22nd Ave. ,Weyburn, SK S4H 2L2

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009 C23

NW Sask - for all of your advertising needs contact: Ph: 780.875.6685 Fax: 780.875.6682

Email: daniela@pipelinenews.ca

SE Sask and SW Manitoba - for all of your advertising needs contact:Ph: 306.634.2654 Fax: 306.634.3934

Email: adsales@estevanmercury.ca

SE Saskatchewan and SW Manitoba

Jan BoyleSales Manager

21 Years Experience

Cindy Beaulieu16 Years

Experience

Glenys Dorwart15 Years

Experience

Kristen O’Handley8 Years

Experience

Deanna Tarnes3 Years

Experience

Saskatchewan’s Petroleum MonthlyPIPELINE NEWS

Saskatchewan’s Petroleum Monthly

Over Over 35,00035,000 circulation circulation targeting the Oil and Gas Sector!targeting the Oil and Gas Sector!

YOUR ADVERTISING TEAMYOUR ADVERTISING TEAM

SW Sask - for all of your advertising needs contact:

Ph: 306.773.8260 Fax: 306.773.0504

SW Saskatchewan

Doug EvjenSales Manager

devjen@prairiepost.com

4 Years Experience

Andrea Bonogofskiabonogofski@prairiepost.com

2 Years Experience

NW Saskatchewan and NE Alberta

Daniela ToblerSales Manager

PIPELINE NEWS March 2009C24