Oil & Gas Network April 2015

Publication Mail Agreement No.: 40039458

APRIL 2015 Volume 16, Number 2 www.oilgas.net

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Contents APRIL 2015 Volume 16, Number 2 Publication Mail Agreement No.: 40039458 Publisher John Robertsen Editorial Associates David Coll Seema Dhawan

TRACKS FOR HEAVY DUTY 4X4 VEHICLES

7 Mirror, Mirror–Give Prentice a Chance 9 Industry Associations Step up for Companies in

Downturn

CUSTOM APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE

9 Neo Oiltools’ Drilling Technology NeoTork Mitigates

Slip-Stick and Vibrations

Joni Evans Donna Gray Elizabeth Hak Joe Perraton Design & Layout amanda@oilgas.net Advertising Sales John Robertsen

10 Bank of Canada Talk Illuminates Price Situation 11 Build a Predictive Maintenance Program With

Fluke Tools

12 17 Ways to Engineer Your Way Out of a Downturn 14 Solving Remedial Cementing Challenges

403.800.1226 jrr@oilgas.net Special Projects Jim Graham jim@oilgas.net

14 Creating More with Less; Optimizing Artificial

Lift Production

15 New Harber Coatings Facility Expected to Quadruple

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16 Blast-resistant Buildings: Gain Ground on Turnaround

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17 Still Standing in a Challenging Environment: Vertical

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18 Every Night Can be a Steak Night at Civeo’s

McClelland Lake Lodge

or email subscriptions@oilgas.net Return Undeliverable Canadian Addressed to: Oil & Gas Network Mail Suite #4, 2023 2nd Ave Se Calgary AB T2E 6K1 Oil & Gas Network is published six times a year. Reproduction in whole or in part of any material in this publication without the express written permission of the publisher is prohibited.The publisher of Oil & Gas Network is not responsible for errors or emissions printed, and retains the right to edit all copy.

Opinions expressed in the editorial

19 Steel Structures a Great Option in an Uncertain

Economic Time

20 William Day Construction Elected to Partner With

MegaDome 20 Workforce Housing Takes a Nod From Silicon Valley 21 Extremes!

22 Principal Technology Delivers Effective Sulfur Recovery

To Treat Sour Crude Produced in Western Canada

22 Complements FREECAP® Swellable Packer

Product Line

content of Oil & Gas Network do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher or Oil & Gas Network.

Printed in Canada by Calgary Colorpress

ISO 9001 REGISTERED QMS Cover photos courtesy of Vertical Buildings

Oil & Gas Network, April 2015

5

THE FUTURE OF TRUCK. THE FUTURE OF LEADERSHIP. The all-new 2015 F-150 wasn’t engineered with a military-grade aluminum body** to simply reduce weight by up to 700 lbs.* It was done to deliver more for your business: best-in-class maximum towing of 12,200 lbs*** and maximum payload of 3,300 lbs,*** more fuel efficiency,^ more dent and corrosion resistance, and a higher power-to-weight ratio. These are some of the many reasons why it is AJAC’s Best New Pickup for 2015. Put these numbers to work for your business. Make Ford Fleet the team behind your team. Contact us at focfhq@ford.com or 1.800.668.5515

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Max. towing of 12,200 lbs with 3.5L EcoBoost® V6 4x2 engine. Max. payloads of 3,300 lbs/3,270 lbs with 5.0L Ti-VCT V8/3.5L V6 EcoBoost® 4x2 engines. Class is Full-Size Pickups under 8,500 lbs GVWR vs. 2014 competitors. ^Best-in-class fuel efficiency with 2015 F-150 4x2 equipped with the 2.7L V6 EcoBoost® and 6-Speed SelectShift® Automatic Transmission, estimated fuel consumption ratings are 12.2L/100km city, 9.2L/100km hwy, 10.9L/100km combined, based on Government of Canada–approved test methods. Actual fuel consumption will vary.

Class is Full-Size Pickups under 8,500 lbs (3,856 kg) excluding Diesel versus 2014 and 2015 competitors’ 5-cycle ratings. ©2015 Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited. All rights reserved.

Coll’s Corner

Mirror, Mirror–Give Prentice a Chance It’s time we stopped talking about the past and take accountability for the future

By David Coll IT ALL STARTED WITH A SIMPLE, off-the-cuff remark on a CBC radio call-in show in early March.

Alberta Premier Jim Prentice was discussing what the province might do to tackle the looming revenue shortfall in the wake of seriously depressed oil prices. Pre-budget, there were no specifics – talk of spending cuts, potential reinstatement of health care premiums. However, Prentice remained firm that his government would not be looking to hike corporate taxes.

Then came the remark that lit up social media and inflamed many Albertans and opposition parties desperate for any juicy tidbit to sink their teeth into: “In terms of who is responsible,” Prentice told listeners, “we all need only look in the mirror, right?

Basically, all of us have had the best of everything and have not had to pay for what it costs.”

The remark triggered thousands of angry tweets and Facebook posts; the opposition demanded a formal apology; a protest with hundreds carrying hand-mirrors took place on the steps of the Legislature in Edmonton.

With the spectre of cuts to pay, personnel and/or government services, teachers, nurses and others were absolutely livid. Many were quick to extend the blame to the oilpatch, which they still perceive to be one fat-ass cash cow (forgive the use of social media language here).

I have friends in the teaching profession and I sympathize with their repeated lament – at a time when oil was over $100 per barrel, settling for a 0% ‘increase’ in pay over three years.

Here’s a snippet from one teacher’s Facebook posting in response to Prentice’s ‘mirror’ comment: “Had the PCs stood up to big business and gone ahead with royalty hikes, upping corporate taxes, saving up money for economic downturns, we would not be in our present circumstances. I clearly remember when Ed Stelmach was premier, he tired to hike royalties and the oil babies started howling and threatening to go get oil somewhere else!

“It is not our fault! It is the fault of a PC government that was more centrist and has now shifted right at a time when the people need a government focused on their needs, not the rich 1 per cent swine.”

The argument, a popular one among those in the public service, is that corporations and the wealthiest among us should be shouldering the burden in making up the looming shortfall. But, like it or not, the world doesn’t work like that – it’s a fine line raising the ante for businesses, especially when the economy is in the tank.

“I remain disgusted with Redford’s profligate spending but that’s old news and as much as folks would like, you can’t possibly blame Prentice for the mess we find ourselves in now.”

The aforementioned Facebook post also contained a meme (Google it, if you don’t know) showing a mother telling her son: “Jim Prentice is right, son, you are the reason for Alberta’s economic problems.

Not the Conservative government, they have never done anything wrong. Ever.”

I prefer to post pictures of my dog on Facebook, but I couldn’t resist responding, as follows: “When we digest our news through silly internet memes and biased infographics, it’s highly divisive and an unproductive means of resolving serious issues. I DO think the Tories could have saved more money during the ‘good times’ but the same can be said about any government the world over (not to mention individuals who fail to save for their own financial future).

“I remain disgusted with Redford’s profligate spending but that’s old news and as much as folks would like, you can’t possibly blame Prentice for the mess we find ourselves in now. Hiking royalties and raising corporate taxes during the Stelmach regime would absolutely NOT have helped this situation – and it won’t help now.

“Quite the opposite. The oil industry competes globally – increasing the cost of doing business would ultimately have led to an exodus of investment capital in the province, followed by jobs and lower overall tax revenues.

“Like it or not, the oil business remains the engine that drives Alberta’s economy. I’m sure Prentice would like to rephrase the ‘look in the mirror’ comment (it does seem insensitive given the previous government’s fiscal record), but I think people are seriously overreacting to this.

“I’m not thrilled at how Prentice became the Premier and I worry about the lack of opposition. But I can’t think of a better qualified leader to get Alberta back on track financially, On balance, we’ve had it pretty damn good in Alberta compared with the rest of the country (yes, it’s because of the oil business).

So I, for one, don’t really mind looking in the mirror.”

And now, to put ‘mirror, mirror’ to rest, I’d add this addendum: it’s time we all stopped talking about the past and take accountability for making the best of a bad situation. Kudos to the Premier for not apologizing for his remarks – he said it best when he said this: “We’re all in this together.”

Oil & Gas Network, April 2015

7

Industry Associations Step up for Companies in Downturn YES, 2015 BEGAN ON A CHALLENGING note as commodity prices took a deep dive just in time for the launch of the new year. The first quarter has since displayed some of the expected results of an oil downturn, including – unfortunately – the loss of some positions.

However, despite headlines announcing industry layoffs, many members of the Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC) are working hard to retain top workers and keep their people busy.

These companies know that keeping much-needed talent will be key to their resiliency as oil prices and demand recover.

Further, companies are continuing to apply science and technology to make their operations safer, cleaner and more efficient. This takes time, resources and human capital, difficult in these belttightening circumstances.

What many of these companies can’t afford to do right now is advocate on behalf of their sector and industry – with governments, industry peers and the public at large. They are much too busy facing internal challenges and managing their way through this downturn.

This is when industry associations play a vital role. Organizations like PSAC provide much-needed services like government advocacy, public relations, and employee engagement, all of which are especially integral at a time when many individual companies cannot spare the resources to tackle these kinds of externally focused initiatives on their own.

For example, there remains a pressing need to equip industry employees with information and insights that will help them confidently discuss operations with their peers, families and friends. No matter what economic and operating environment befalls us, a spotlight always shines on the oil and natural gas industry. Helping our workers become knowledgeable about operations and issues beyond their own roles – such as hydraulic fracturing and pipelines – ensures they remain our best ambassadors. PSAC’s employee engagement and information programs, including websites, videos, newsletters and posters, efficiently tackle that employee learning responsibility sector-wide.

PSAC and other industry associations also work tirelessly to ensure that important audiences know about the industry’s commitment to innovation. The innovative spirit of Canada’s upstream petroleum industry distinguishes it as a world-class leader, sought out by producers all over the world. A big part of PSAC’s government relations program is about making sure the services sector’s advancements get noticed and understood by those who matter, in Canada and beyond.

It’s already been a tough year and our industry may indeed move forward a slower pace than we would like for the foreseeable future. Industry associations like PSAC know that the answer is not simply to wait for a turnaround. Rather, this is a time to maintain – and in fact build – our advocacy momentum, highlighting successes and smoothing the way for companies that are displaying excellent leadership and farsightedness in very challenging times.

PSAC is the national trade association representing the service, supply and manufacturing sectors within the upstream petroleum industry. PSAC represents a diverse range of over 230 member companies, employing more than 70,000 people and contracting almost exclusively to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies. For more information about PSAC, visit psac.ca

Neo Oiltools’ Drilling Technology NeoTork Mitigates Slip-Stick and Vibrations Downhole Technology Cuts Down on Drilling Time and Cost NEO OILTOOLS ANNOUNCED the launch of its ground-breaking down-hole torque management tool, NeoTork.

NeoTork automatically manages torque generated from the drill bit and mitigates axial and torsional vibrations. As a result it brings down drilling time, reduces cost of drilling operations, while improving drilling performance.

“It is during times of challenge, such as the one the industry currently faces, that we often see new technologies emerge because service companies need to find ways to differentiate themselves,” said Pascal Bartette, Neo Oiltools CEO. “NeoTork addresses the operators’ challenge to cut costs and improve efficiency while limiting the number of trips that always remain a safety exposure .” “We expect NeoTork to be a very significant step forward for the oil and gas industry,” Bartette said. “There’s no other product that is as simple to use as NeoTork nor one that provides customers with such good value for their investment. Some have even called it ‘drilling made easy’ which I think sums up exactly what we’ve managed to create.”

The system has been through extensive lab and comparative tests in its development phase. In the results, vertical vibrations dropped by a factor of four and stalling virtually disappeared even with heavy loading (the drill string without NeoTork stalled 15 times). The BHA with NeoTork in place achieved a 40% improvement in the rate of penetration (ROP).

The technology has been designed to ensure that once downhole torque exceeds the preset limit, a system of disc springs and steel cables automatically contracts to reduce the bit depth of cut. The excess torque ‘stored’ in the system is slowly released as the drilling structure drills off. Crucially, the bit remains constantly engaged in the formation so drilling is never interrupted.

NeoTork can be used in a number of industry applications on both drilling rigs, or with coiled tubing in any operations that require milling, drilling or cutting of materials using rotation. It can also be used in specialized operations such as coring, hole enlargement, directional drilling, casing milling and well intervention.

Oil & Gas Network, April 2015

9

OGN News

Bank of Canada Talk Illuminates Price Situation Putting all the pieces together on the oil price equation IF YOU WANT TO KNOW what’s really going on in the energy industry, ask a banker.

That’s what the Madison (Wisconsin) International Trade Association did recently, when they invited Timothy Lane, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada to speak at an annual business outlook event.

“The recent movements in oil prices have been dramatic, but they are not random,” Lane told the audience. “Once we sort through the different economic forces at play, we see that underlying the recent drop in oil prices is a surge in unconventional oil supply against the backdrop of slower growth of global demand. Over time, higher-cost oil is still likely to be needed to satisfy growing global demand, but prices could go

lower, or remain low, for a significant period before those medium-term forces do their work.”

Underscoring the importance of oil and gas to the North American economy and U.S. Canada relations, Lane began by describing the economic forces at play, the uncertainties surrounding these forces and other factors affecting oil prices.

The growing demand for energy over the past decade and a half was fuelled largely by the integration of China, India and other emerging economies into the world economy, he explained. Industry responded by stepping up exploration, developing higher-cost sources and some major technological breakthroughs.

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China and India continue to grow – according to some estimates, another half-billion people in China and India alone will move to cities and likely join a growing middle class over the next two decades. As long as these trends continue, they will add to world demand for oil.

“Disappointing global growth, and the resulting slower growth of energy demand, are a significant part of the background to the recent movement in oil prices,” Lane said. “But, in our view, increased supply (of unconventional oil) probably played an even greater role.”

Two factors – first, the extraction cost of most of the new oil is relatively high. A barrel of shale oil costs between $40 and $80 to extract, depending on the project; oil from Canada’s oil sands costs closer to $60 to $100 a barrel.

Second, it takes time and, in some cases, major investments, to bring a new supply of oil on stream. When demand increased over the past several years, supply could not be expanded right away. Instead, prices shot up, creating incentives to explore, innovate with extractive technology and invest in new facilities. Over time, these activities have delivered an outsized supply response, which has been driving prices down.

So what happens next?

“When the price drops below the all-in cost of production, and is expected to stay there, that discourages further exploration and investment,” Lane said. “But before existing production is actually taken off stream, the price would have to drop a lot further - below the short-run marginal cost.

“Except for some smaller companies that may cut output more quickly as their access to financing is restricted, producers are likely to take time to adjust, especially if they have hedged against price movements. In all, it may take quite some time before supply and demand are brought back into balance - although technological change may enable some suppliers to adjust their production more quickly than in the past.”

“With current expectations for global economic growth, the demand for oil will continue to rise - and the world is likely to require some higher-cost oil to satisfy that demand.

Barring major changes to technology or a large shock to the global outlook, today’s oil prices are unlikely to be high enough to balance supply and demand.

“Of course, there is considerable uncertainty around the equilibrium level - both because all the risks to global growth translate into risk to oil demand and because new technology is bringing costs down all the time.

“Second, prices can be subject to large overshoots in the short run, in either direction. The only true floor to prices in the short term is the short-run marginal cost, at which point producers would lose more money by continuing to pump oil from existing installations than by shutting it in.”

The Deputy Governor also went on to describe three other factors affecting oil prices beyond supply and demand – OPEC, Geopolitics and Financialization.

Geopolitical developments often have a major impact on oil prices, he said, citing early 2014, conflicts in Libya and Iraq that led to temporary oil production outages -- keeping world prices high, even as supply elsewhere in the world continued to ramp up. When production came back onstream, it was an important trigger for the plunge in oil prices later in the year.

OPEC is another important influence on the dynamics of world oil markets, and this influence may be changing over time. “The drop in oil prices was accelerated in early December by OPEC’s decision to leave its production target unchanged, even as prices were falling. In effect, OPEC members were allowing the price to fluctuate so that more supply adjustment would come from other producers, rather than acting as the ‘swing producers’ as they had in some other episodes. This changing role may reflect, in part, the decline in OPEC’s share of world production - which, at about 40 per cent, is 10 percentage points lower than in its heyday. It is too early to tell whether and how OPEC’s behaviour will change as its market share continues to decline.”

The third factor is what Lane calls financial linkages. “With Continues on page 13

10 Oil & Gas Network, April 2015

Build a Predictive Maintenance Program With Fluke Tools FLUKE CORPORATION IS THE WORLD leader in the manufacture, distribution and service of electronic test tools and software. Fluke has achieved the number one or number two position in every market in which it competes. The Fluke brand has a reputation for portability, ruggedness, safety, ease of use, and rigid standards of quality. The 65 years designing and building tools is recognized as the industry standard in test and measurement. Fluke understands that the demands on you and your tools are continuously evolving. This drives Fluke to keep innovating, to learn from you what challenges you face and what you need from your tools.

Let them help you create a predictive maintenance program to help keep your world up and running.

Predictive maintenance involves measuring key indicators on critical equipment at regular intervals, documenting those measurements, trending those results over time, and looking for changes—particularly those that cross a threshold known to damage equipment. This approach is designed to help predict a failure before it occurs so that it can be headed off with scheduled maintenance. Preventive maintenance doesn’t use trending and threshold alarms to the same degree, but does involve regular, planned equipment

inspection and maintenance and, in some cases, planned equipment replacement.

In the past, industrial facility maintenance programs based their level of predictive maintenance on the degree of risk and consequences. Basically that meant “How likely was a failure, and how much damage would it cause?” If the answer to either was “little”, many facilities opted for a more casual and reactive approach to maintenance. Part of the reason for taking this approach was because

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predictive maintenance required significant expertise and complex equipment and software. However, two things have changed since then. One, manufacturing now runs so lean that the impact of downtime is high enough—even on average—to incentivize at least preventive maintenance practices. Two, inspection technology has improved significantly, lowering the cost and the skill set required for meaningful predictive maintenance programs.

A predictive maintenance program employs several different inspection techniques, ranging from thermal imaging to vibration testing, ultrasound, condition-based monitoring, basic electrical testing, and more. For predictive maintenance inspection applications in critical and/ or potentially hazardous situations such as chemical processing, nuclear power plants, and oil and gas facilities, you need as much diagnostic information as you can get to identify subtle changes. That means you need a high resolution infrared camera such as the Fluke TiX Expert Series line of infrared cameras. Recognizing the challenges in those extreme environments, these new Expert Series cameras were designed to provide a high level of detail as quickly and easily as possible to: • Remote sites/compressor stations • Towers, stacks, and air scrubbers • Steam traps, leaks, cat cracker degradation • Horizontal flares on offshore rigs • Top drives

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In addition to long distance exterior inspections, you can use high resolution infrared cameras to troubleshoot the standard equipment in a refinery from a safe distance so you may not have to secure a hot work permit or get close to high voltage.

Unscheduled downtime can cost millions and professionals who work in the oil and gas industry and know it is critical to maintain stable, continuous operations without sacrificing safety. You also know that regular maintenance, quick diagnosis of potential problems, and clear documentation are key to keeping production going smoothly and meeting regulatory requirements.

Accurate, consistent measurements and meaningful asset health analysis starts with the reliable tools. Discover the tools designed to meet your daily challenges, get helpful application notes, technical tips and register for Fluke predictive maintenance webinar at fluke. com/uptime.

fluke.com Oil & Gas Network, April 2015

11

17 Ways to Engineer Your Way Out of a Downturn While Boosting Production and Cash Flow IT’S ALWAYS A GOOD TIME to boost your production and increase your cash flow – but never more so than right now. With low commodity prices, every E&P company is facing tighter margins, which means fewer dollars to fund ongoing operations and capital investment. But the money they need to weather this current storm may already be in their current operations – and Reservoir Engineers may be in the best position to find it. In times like these, producers can improve the performance and profitability of their ongoing operations through a combination of increasing existing production, reducing operating costs, and improving their forecasting. The following is a list of things that companies – through their reservoir engineers – can do right now, without an increase in capital spending, to survive the energy downturn.

Increase Production Often the first instinct when faced with market uncertainties such as those we’re currently facing is for producers to confront the thing they have most control over: costs. And while lowering operating costs is an important part of the process, the truth is that the amount that a producer can save in cutting costs is not enough to sustain profitability on its own. It’s crucial that operational savings be combined with increased production from existing wells, which can be accomplished the following ways:

1. Downtime Analysis

is to include water as a variable cost for the primary product, resulting in a cost decrease as production declines when, in fact, it will result in a cost increase.

For gas wells, water may be your greatest cost because you usually truck it away from the lease. Look for a low cost disposal opportunity near the wells. Forecast the water production to know when plunger lift may be required.

For oil wells, there may be three facility limitations: free water knockout, treating and water disposal.

Pay attention to all three.

7. Cost Allocation and Shut-in Decisions Check to ensure you’ve allocated your costs properly to fixed plant, fixed well and variable oil, gas and water. Improper allocation may result in making wrong decisions in respect to well profitability and the impact of well shut-in.

• Make economic decisions without existing plant costs because those costs will persist with or without a shut-in well and will not change if you add a new well.

• Do not use accounting definitions for determining fixed and variable costs – think of variable costs as production sensitive costs.

• Exclude average workover costs when making shut-in decisions. Continue to produce the well until it is truly uneconomic or until a workover is required and the well cannot bear the workover cost.

Identify wells with persistent downtime and assess the value of downtime reduction for each well.

Prioritize your effort by ranking the opportunities in terms of increased first year cash flow.

Often, downtime improvement may be as simple as having a remote sensor on a well with scheduled callout staff, or installing a plunger lift on gas wells. But until you perform an accurate downtime analysis, you won’t know where to start in terms of improvements.

2. Increase Voidage Replacement In a water flood, the liquid production should increase during fill-up and then remain constant while the voidage replacement ratio is one. Decreasing liquid rate and/or increasing gas oil ratio are Figure 1: Running a production rate vs time report proindicators that the voidage replacement vides a quick view of how much downtime has affected ratio is less than one. This will result in production, and helps you to decide which wells require reduced production rate. attention.

The opportunity is to increase the injection volume to increase rate, or reallocate available water to patterns with the greatest oil productivity when sufficient water is not available. We teach that the reservoir pressure should remain at or below the bubble point to keep oil viscosity from increasing. In fact, it is possible for dramatic increase in pressure with little incremental injection if the pressure rises above the bubble point. The rate increase due to pressure can be greater than the loss due to viscosity.

3. Increase Drawdown This opportunity relates to high water cut heavy oil pools on primary production. Use a stacked oil/ water production graph to look for wells with a constant or falling liquid rate. Mobility ratios for heavy oil usually indicate that liquid rate will increase with recovery (increasing water saturation). This diagnostic will lead to shooting a fluid level to confirm the potential to increase drawdown and production rate.

4. Field Compression Use gas material balance to identify the potential reserve gain and value from lowering the abandonment pressure. For compressors running below capacity, investigate the potential to reduce inlet pressure by reconfiguring cylinders. Assess the short-term value of renting an additional compression stage to reduce inlet pressure.

5. Artificial Lift Implement a program of regular fluid level shots and IPR curves to determine potential oil production increase and the Figure 2: Stacked oil/water production graphs help scheduling of artificial lift. Monitor casidentify opportunities for increased drawdown. ing pressure to detect when plunger lift may be effective and continuously monitor the plunger settings to optimize production.

Reduce Operating Costs While lowering costs alone may not be enough to sustain profitability, it is an important step. However, many producers might miss the following opportunities when looking at operating cost savings:

6. Water Handling Pay attention to the cost of handling water by having it as a separate variable cost in your lease operating statements and as a separate line item in your economic and reserve evaluations. Normal practice

12 Oil & Gas Network, April 2015

Plant and Battery Operations Cash flow is not just found at the well. Make sure to take a close look at your plant and battery operations to ensure you’re finding all the possible savings and operating efficiently.

8. Capacity Limitations If your plant is operating at capacity, consider altering which wells you choose to produce. With high volume lift operations, choose to shut-in high water cut wells and increase production from low water cut wells where possible. For gas plants, there will be a trade-off between fixed cost and low-volume royalty incentives.

9. Liquid Yield Carefully examine the economic value of your liquid sales products to determine whether they should remain in the gas or be sold separately. Can you extract ethane? Do you want to? Are you receiving proper payment for your liquids? Most third party plant operators will allocate liquid production in their favor. Make sure that the gas analysis for your wells is current and that you have made this information available to the plant operator. Run liquid yield calculations using plant efficiencies and compare liquid production to your lease operating statements to identify potential plant allocation issues.

10. Plant Processing, Compression, Gathering When was the last time you negotiated your fees? Plant operators will be trying to keep their plants full. If you have alternatives, this would be a good time to explore them. Can you be creative with your liquids or alter the processing terms?

Do you need your plant for strategic reasons? If not, consider selling to a midstream company and use the proceeds to clean-up your balance sheet or fund operations.

Production Forecasts With low commodity prices, you will be counting on cash flow to continue operations. Monthly cash flow management is essential, and this requires accurate short-term production forecasts. Know whether your cost cutting measures will be enough and ensure that you can schedule additional capital spending if cash flow improves.

11. Cash Flow Management Keep your production forecasts, operating costs and price estimates current. Your monthly cash flow projections must be current and accurate. You need to know whether you can pay the bills and which capital projects you can afford.

Rank your capital projects to identify those that are self-financing. These projects will payout during the current year and yield incremental cash flow. They will help keep the lights on or fund additional capital projects later in the year.

Analog Forecasts will provide the best short-term production forecast for wells that have very little Continues on next page

Continued from previous page

production history. This method has been shown to predict two to three year production volumes to within a few percentage points.

Understand the sensitivity to prices that your wells have. By checking several price points you can plot a breakeven price slope to better understand these sensitivities.

15. Identifying potential Compare your well production to other operators in the area. Using public data and a bubble map is a good way to quickly visualize differences and zero in on anomalies.

16. Project economics vs well economics Run project/field level economics to make better decisions rather than looking at just well level economics. Sometimes shutting in wells where there are significant fixed costs to be covered will just overburden your good wells and you may end up no further ahead. Identify wells that should be abandoned and lower your liability.

17. Review A&D opportunities Low price environments can create some excellent acquisition opportunities. They can also suggest a review of your portfolio and perhaps a sale of non-core assets.

Continued from page 10

the run-up in commodity prices during the past couple of decades, much attention was paid to the ‘financialization’ of commodities including investor flows into commodity-based mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, increased involvement by global investment banks in commodity-backed lending and physical commodity trading, and the prominent role of large commodity-trading houses.

Financialization has gone into reverse in recent years, owing to a combination of moderating trends in commodity prices and regulatory changes.”

He concluded with this, “Putting all the pieces together, we conclude that there are two-sided risks around current oil prices: sizable short-run movements in either direction are quite possible.

Despite some promising research at the Bank of Canada on forecasting oil prices, the range of uncertainty around even the best forecasts is very wide.”

Figure 3: Predict 2-3 year production volumes using Analog Forecasts to better manage cash flow.

12. Workover and Operating Opportunities Automatically forecast your wells using settings to allow a negative hyperbolic exponent. A negative exponent is indicative that there is progressive damage occurring in the well.

There could be a leak in the tubing, wax buildup, scale deposition, plugging in the reservoir or a host of other maladies. This is your first clue.

Look for deviations from your most current forecast. This will provide early warning to a potential performance issue one would normally miss in a morning well review because the change is too subtle. Where possible, include daily production data for this review and look at each well at least once a month. This is the reservoir-engineering version of production surveillance.

GORR Royalty Income 13. Missing Royalty Find instances where you are not being paid over-riding royalty or where the amount paid is too low. These opportunities have the potential to generate a large cash influx because the unpaid royalty may apply to the entire life of a well.

Quick Things to Do 14. Breakeven Analysis Perhaps it’s a good time to do a breakeven analysis on your producing wells to find the wells that can survive low prices, and review wells requiring high prices to break even. It’s important to understand why some wells are able to withstand significant price changes and why others can’t. This means you should be looking at the economics of wells that require $30 oil to break even vs those that need $80. What makes them different? Is there something that you can do to improve on the high priced wells to make them more like the low priced ones?

Figure 4: Bubble maps help you compare your well production with other operators in the area.

Oil & Gas Network, April 2015

13

Creating More with Less; Optimizing Artificial Lift Production

By Nav Dhunay CEO PumpWELL Solutions

Solving Remedial Cementing Challenges IN 2015, ALBERTA-BASED PRODUCERS have three compelling drivers to address aging or deteriorating wells. The first and most important is that on April 15, 2015 the Alberta Energy Regulator is introducing its Inactive Well Compliance Program (IWCP). The goal of the IWCP is to address 20 percent of compliance problems each calendar year resulting in abating the backlog of inactive wells within five years. This includes inactive wells that have been categorized by a level of risk and have specific suspension requirements assigned to each category.

The second key driver is to evaluate both producing and suspended wells in this low oil price environment. During peak activity, remedial services are often prioritized towards well construction but the market has created the opportunity to procure remedial related services at a lower cost.

The third driver pertains to Producers objectives around reducing their License Liability Rating (LLR) which took effect in Alberta in 2013. By reducing the LLR, Producers can often lower the required security deposit held by the AER and in some cases this can be a source of additional funds to offset the cost of remediation. By proactively managing the well abandonment liability during downturns, Producers can better position themselves for a market upturn by focusing capital on production growth and revenue generation, and not on remediation.

By using remedial cementing techniques aging, abandoned or deteriorating wells can be repaired. Remedial cementing is a process used to repair or properly abandon a wellbore using a regular or specially-formulated cement. The need for remedial cementing can stem from a variety of issues such as: • Poor cement bond created during the well construction process • Abandon nonproductive or depleted zones • Casing failure or casing leaks • Gas migration or surface casing vent flows which can occur during the life of a well Providing remedial services is not new to Canada’s largest oilfield services cementing company, Sanjel provided services to 620 reme-

dial operations in Canada and 322 in the Rockies, Bakken and south Texas region in 2014.

Within its remedial services offer, Sanjel provided the technical expertise needed to assist with the remedial cement job assessment and design, and also has a full suite of specially-formulated remedial cementing products in its REMEDIALmix product line. During the assessment phase, Sanjel’s engineers approach each remedial and abandonment challenge with an investigative approach that requires a complete well history and information gathering from a variety of analytical methods including carbon isotope testing, cement bond, noise, open-hole and pulsed neutron logs. Once the scope of the job is identified, Sanjel selects from a number of remedial cementing techniques to effectively address each step of the job. This also includes selection of the best cementing product for the service.

All of Sanjel’s remedial cementing products have undergone rigorous testing in a lab environment that replicates the demands experienced in an actual operating environment. Sanjel is Canada’s cementing leader, a position earned after 32 years of industry focus.

Sanjel effectively combine’s our expertise with our comprehensive products for primary and remedial cement services with an objective of long term well isolation and integrity. For more information about how Sanjel can resolve your remedial cementing issues, visit sanjel.com.

Cement Mixes Application Class G Cement The industry standard sulfate resistant cement for less complex jobs or when high compressive strength is desired. Thermal 40 High temperature or SAGD wells where thermally stabilized cement is needed for well sections that will be exposed to temperatures over 110°C. SanSeal MF Wells with low squeeze rates that require a specialized microfine formulation with engineered physical and chemical characteristics such as viscosity and particle size to optimize penetration. SanSeal MF HT Thermally stabilized version of SanSeal MF to allow for placement in hotter wellbore environments where conventional microfines may have chemical instability. Micromix MF Wells with extremely low squeeze rates where only very fine cement can be injected into the miniscule cracks.

ARTIFICIAL LIFT IS EVERYWHERE. Current estimates have 96 percent of U.S. oil wells - and only slightly fewer across Canada – requiring artificial lift from the beginning to aid in oil extraction – especially the extraction of heavy oil which doesn’t easily rise to the surface.

In a well where the natural drive energy of a reservoir is not strong enough to force oil upwards, artificial lift uses increased pressure within the reservoir to encourage the oil to the surface and improve production volumes and longevity. Even where wells have enough pressure in their early stages to drive oil to the surface, as they mature in their lifecycle, they will often require artificial lift to sustain production volumes.

The New Year has brought big changes to the oil industry. A dramatic decline in the price of oil has forced the industry as a whole to tighten its belt and find ways of producing oil at a lower cost.

Budgets are shrinking, projects have been put on hold, layoffs are happening and producers are focused on finding new ways to shave operating costs.

Pressure to do more with less The truth is, cutting key areas solely as a result of a declined price can have a severe impact on the producer’s ability to fully recover when prices inevitably rise. So, while managers might rush to slash capital budgets, cuts in the wrong areas have the potential to cause significant long-term damage. Also, there remains a constant, overriding pressure to maintain and even increase production.

With declining turnovers, it’s difficult to convince management teams to pursue anything new, or perceived as ‘risky’, in oil extraction, yet in times of crisis, the most forward-looking companies look for alternative and innovative solutions. While operators themselves may not be able to spare resources for R&D or improvements to their own tool sets, the need for solutions is real and crucial and because of this, many are turning to sophisticated optimization of existing artificial lift wells.

No matter the price of oil, when carried out properly, artificial lift optimization has the ability to reduce operating costs, reduce downtime and maximize production. This combination is more valuable now than ever.

Artificial lift and well optimization are two separate entities. Not all artificial lifts are optimized and properly optimizing a well that doesn’t have an artificial lift solution isn’t possible.

Traditionally, manipulations or minute operational changes were made to artificial lift manually in an effort to boost production and minimize downtime. This process dictated that engineers be on site to physically observe the well and make changes to the pumpjack that were deemed necessary to aid efficiency. Whether or not these changes had any positive impact couldn’t be seen right away. In some cases, getting this data might take up to a month.

Sophisticated developments in optimization technology Technology that allows for minute changes to be made electronically from a panel attached to a well has been around for some time.

Continues on next page

14 Oil & Gas Network, April 2015

New Harber Coatings Facility Expected to Quadruple Productivity and Offer Valuable Cost Savings to Oil and Gas Companies HARBER COATINGS INC. OPENS its new facility on May 1st, 2015. The exclusive manufacturer of InnoGUARDTM Flakeless Electroless Nickel Coating (ENC) is focused on significantly reducing replacement costs of parts, tools, and downtime in the field for customers. Their proprietary, high phosphorous-nickel coating protects raw metal parts and tools from corrosion, abrasion and salvages worn or mis-machined parts.

Replacement and repair of damaged equipment is the largest maintenance requirement in the oil and gas industry. Ken Wang, President and CEO, explains “Corrosion and wear damage is avoidable through effective surface engineering processes. Our InnoGUARDTM ENC extends the life of critical metal items by over 20 times, even when parts and tools are mechanically impacted, exposed to sour service or placed in highly corrosive environments. We are the only company in North America to offer a lifetime no flaking or peeling warranty on a coating.” Mr. Wang is committed to provide a peak performance metal coating and also strives to address environmental concerns such as unnecessary discarded parts and a safer work environment. “Being eco-friendly by eliminating air toxicity and electrical current use, while maintaining low pricing, is crucial in this industry”, he adds.

The new Harber Coatings Inc. facility will be located at 6313 – 35 Street SE, occupying over 20,000 square feet of production area in the Calgary Foothills Industrial Park. This site will boast significantly larger processing equipment and double the current production area. Wang says “With larger equipment, we will we be able to quadruple our productivity and meet rising demands of customers requiring larger parts and tools to be coated. Working more efficiently will also enable us to reduce pricing by up to 15%. Due to the recent decline in the oil and gas sector, this will prove to be a huge benefit for companies dealing with tighter

budgets.” Another component to Wang’s expansion plan is to use the Calgary facility as a staff training centre and open new locations globally over the next five years.

What is Electroless Nickel Coating? It is a nickel-phosphorous alloy deposited by a chemical reaction from hypophosphite on a catalytic substrate, without the application of an electrical current. The coating thickness, anywhere from 0.0005 inches to 0.004 inches, is controlled by the length of time the metal substrate is left in a chemical bath solution. This autocatalytic chemical reaction deposits a controlled and uniform thickness even on complex part geometry.

ENC effectively coats parts with sharp edges, deep recesses, seams, threads and blind holes without negatively impacting functionality and eliminates the need to mask off areas. Having an equivalent thermal co-efficiency as the substrate also ensures no micro-cracking occurs to compromise the substrate material. Additionally, ENC maintains an identical surface profile prior to coating, ensuring the same smoothness is achieved as the substrate material used.

Heat and chemical post treatment of the coating increases ENC hardness, achieving even greater corrosion and abrasion resistance by transitioning the coating’s amorphous characteristics into a crystalline structure. ENC is much less porous than other metallic coatings such as hard chrome and is applied without compressive stress, making it less prone to corrosion and reduces surface friction by two-thirds. According to Wang “It is often a better replacement for hard chrome plating, polymer coatings and many thermal spray applications due to superior performance and cost benefit.”

A significant ENC advantage is that clean, economical material such as new carbon steel does not require sand-blasting prior to

coating, nor being machined after coating. This further reduces time and cost, as well as avoiding potential part and tool damage. Wang explains, “In this economy, customers are looking for the best longterm value to protect their assets. They want a better coating for the same or lower price than competitive products. Off the shelf solutions simply don’t produce high quality coatings to satisfy customers, resulting in early function failure. Also, in most situations, a much less expensive substrate material can be coated and still outperform expensive raw metal many times over.”

Harber Coatings Inc. is a high-tech research and development production company in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 2002, the company has successfully developed its own intellectual properties and processing technologies, including InnoGUARDTM Flakeless Electroless Nickel Coating. With research and development facilities funded by the National Research Council of Canada, Harber Coatings Inc. continues to develop innovative technologies such as Metallic Ceramic Liner, Ultrasonic Electro-thermal Spray and Laser Assisted Nano Fusion products. The company’s quality assurance system is ISO:9001:2008 certified and is ISNetworld approved.

Continued from previous page

However more recently, there have been further groundbreaking advances in this technology which have led to new levels of production efficiency and hardware protection.

Keeping bottom hole pressure low while at the same time having adequate pump fillage is an exceptionally hard combination to achieve. Using a combination of sophisticated hardware, patented software and specialist engineers, the most effective optimization systems are able to monitor downhole conditions and constantly analyze the amount of free gas inside the barrel. Real-time analysis of this pumping data then triggers autonomous, remote, millisecond adjustments to a pumpjack stroke in order to constantly fine-tune a well’s performance.

This type of advanced artificial lift optimization system can generate an IPR curve to assist in setting target levels for production.

Tracking actual production against these targets is the quickest way to determine if wells are operating optimally.

If careful decisions are made in times of industry uncertainty, producers can act to positively position themselves to rebound as the industry gains back its footing. Through sophisticated artificial lift optimization systems being implemented during a downturn, production can be maximized, operating costs minimized and a stable and prosperous foundation set for when the industry fully recovers.

Oil & Gas Network, April 2015

15

Buildings and Temporary Oilfield Structures

Blast-resistant Buildings: Gain Ground on Turnaround MODULAR BUILDINGS SHIELD WORKERS in the field from all kinds of occupational hazards.

Some are relatively mild, like sunstroke or blowing snow, but at sites where an explosion or blowout is a possibility, the site’s buildings need to be blast resistant as well.

Turnaround events, when companies take equipment and facilities offline to conduct maintenance, represent some of the most critical times for having blast-resistant buildings. With hundreds or even thousands of extra employees on site, the consequences of having under-built structures could be catastrophic.

“These buildings are there to protect people and save lives,” says ATCO Structures & Logistics’ (ATCO) Chad Bjorgan, Product Manager – Blast Resistant Modules. “In the past, when these accidents have happened, the buildings in the blast zone collapsed on people. With an unprotected unit you’d actually be safer on the outside than you were on the inside.”

Structures built by ATCO Hunter Blast Shelters Ltd. – a partnership between ATCO and Hunter Buildings – are designed to make sites more accessible with blast-resistant offices, lavatories and tool cribs. Companies need to have their personnel and tools as close to the site as safely possible, maximizing productivity and safety during turnaround.

“When you’ve got that many people on site during a turnaround, safety is of paramount importance.

Blast resistant buildings become a necessity, not a nice to have,” notes Bjorgan.

All of ATCO’s shelters are thoroughly tested to ensure their blast resistance. And while ATCO isn’t the only company to produce blast-resistant buildings, it has been one of the few willing to test and ultimately damage its own inventory in order to make sure that its products meet the highest standards.

“Blast testing blast-resistant buildings is not something done by every member of our industry,” explains Bjorgan. “It’s a very expensive and irreplaceable way to test predictable engineering integrity.”

To conduct the test, ATCO Hunter randomly selects a unit from its fleet and inflicts an 8-PSI blast on the building using 1,250 pounds of ANFO explosives. A third party then measured the blast impact using pressure transducers, acceleration compensators, crash test dummies and high-speed cameras to record the event.

The result: a pop can placed next to a dummy spilled a little of its Mountain Dew. Otherwise, the dummies were untouched.

ATCO’s blast-resistant buildings also protect workers from gas leaks, another major concern during turnover events.

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“We’ve also tested the safe haven capabilities of our buildings,” says Lynn Efferson, Hunter Buildings’ General Manager of Canadian Operations. “If there is a gas release around a refinery, something like lethal hydrogen sulfide, people can seek shelter in our buildings and seal them off from the outside. The air conditioning system will close, but continue to re-circulate the air inside, allowing people to breathe safely until the toxic gasses are contained.”

A recent toxic gas test on a Hunter building confirmed it was making 0.02 air changes per hour, double the industry standard.

During a turnaround, and all year round, it’s essential that employees are protected from the hazards that surround them. Safety is the first priority for ATCO Hunter Blast Shelters Ltd. and testing provides peace of mind that these buildings can save lives.

Buildings and Temporary Oilfield Structures “It was a big win for our company,” he says. “These are the building blocks in our business that has allowed us to evolve from where we started off in the fabric building business.”

While cookie-cutter solutions seem to be the mandate of some companies in the industry, Hrab states that most clients are looking for more personal solutions.

“I can tell you there are very few installations that are ever the same,” he says. “We’re currently working on an innovative project—a large client camp with needs for generator, wastewater,

Still Standing in a Challenging Environment: Vertical Buildings Sees Remarkable Growth IN THE SOMETIMES UNFORGIVING CONDITIONS in northern Alberta, you’ll find resourcefulness and ingenuity in every corner. That includes offering range of sturdy, reliable products and services by Vertical Buildings—a Canadian design, manufacturing and construction company specializing in tensioned fabric, steel and modular structures.

Managed by Mark Loos and Kevin Hrab, who grew up in the small farming community of Hines Creek, Alberta, they know what it takes to get stuff done in the North—something that their clients appreciate, according to Hrab.

“There is a strong obligation to their clients and ensuring their needs are taken care of,” says Hrab, who adds that the company’s band of specialists has carefully navigated clients through building projects and geographical challenges across the entire country for 20 years–at any time of the day or night.

The company combines sales and support for the installation of tensioned fabric structures along with a dedicated manufacturing plant in Kamloops for the fabrication of modular structures utilizing a proprietary steel box modular construction. The structures serve industrial (oil and gas, mining, energy and forestry), commercial, public works and recreation facility clients.

“Our installations have catered to virtually all industries in Canada,” Hrab adds. “The portfolio has become extensive with thousands of installations, ranging from ore mines in Ontario and Quebec to oil and gas projects across Western Canada.”

From concept to completion, (including on-the-fly schematics on the back of a napkin when necessary), projects include construction of all types of buildings, from warehouse, offices, workshops and custom fit fabrication and special use facilities. Tensioned fabric structures range in sizes from 18 feet by 160 feet free span widths and virtually unlimited in length, with potential to accommodate even larger requirements no matter the geography or environmental conditions.

“There is virtually no part of the country that we have not been able to deliver our expertise in Fabric Structures,” states Hrab. “The strict attention we pay to our clients has allowed our team to service the needs of some of the most demanding clients in Industry.”

Working from their base in Grande Prairie, the teams of designers, engineers, welders, builders and project managers create turnkey solutions and custom designs for top-notch fabric buildings and modular structure requirements.

A key strength of the company has been their ability to incorporate modular units into the sales and installation of the fabric structures.

“Modular fabrication is relatively new and very exciting addition to our core capabilities,” says Hrab. “This is one of the biggest initiatives

we have. It came from an outgrowth of retrofitting shipping containers into applications like offices, lunch rooms and washrooms facilities.”

Since the inception of this business stream, the demand has grown for Vertical to deliver standalone camps offices and lavatories constructed from the modular structures.

Hrab says Vertical’s design-build mentality has also moved into conventional pre-engineered steel buildings. One of the largest jobs ever awarded in the company’s history includes office and warehouse and truck bay space for an environmental company in Grande Prairie, AB. This further evolution of the company has again expanded the offerings of Vertical to their current client base and potential markets.

A recent Vertical Buildings structure in Fermont, Northern Quebec for Cliffs Natural Resources Bloom Lake Project: Corner Cast supplied modified containers to help complete the project.

warehouse, water storage and office structures. It’s a big project, but we’ve got the in-house and vendor partner capabilities that allow us to tackle this turn-key. That really differentiates us. We’re a smaller company, but we’ve got a broad business scope.”

Hrab says the recent downturn in the oil and gas industry has contributed to cautious decisions but business is still strong and growing.

“We added our camp division of products and services, and even in a downturn market, we’re still being entertained as a vendor,” he states. “I think it comes from the quality and reliability of the structures, but we also that fact we service the heck out of our customer.”

Cost control is the order of the day, according to client comments that Hrab picks up in meetings. He says flexibility is the key to survival in these times.

“You’ve got to be nimble in tight circumstances,” he states. “In terms of what the impact commodity price is having on overall economy, when money becomes tight, infrastructure and spending is impacted.

We’re sensitive to that. We’ve gotten requests from vendors to re-evaluate pricing—that’s a trend right now. Producers are asking for concessions on pricing and ideas to get the best quality without too much sacrifice.”

A standing example of how brilliant ideas can translate into lowered costs is a project recently completed by the Vertical team.

“We were approached by a British Columbia mining company that needed a 68-foot tall free span clearance to do maintenance on their haul trucks,” Hrab cites. “We sat down and round-tabled ideas and created a three-stack sea container foundation—a tall side structure for the high-lift environment.”

Hrab adds that the solution offered the client significant savings over conventional construction methods. The structure also provided extra reinforcement to handle the high snow and wind loading.

“It was a watershed moment for us and for the client we recieved a number of accolades for the project and the CEO flew his management team from Alabama to inspect the project, it has become a signature for Vertical Building Solutions” With their stoic upbringing and dedication to getting the job done right the first time, Hrab says the company’s philosophy of tackling client challenges with smart solutions is complemented with continuous improvement and a robust health and safety program.

“We’ve got great people working for us and we make it a point to be highly responsive to the client to make sure all our construction projects are secure and people are safe and productive. That’s key to our business and the success of our client’s bottom line.”

Oil & Gas Network, April 2015

17

Buildings and Temporary Oilfield Structures

Every Night Can be a Steak Night at Civeo’s McClelland Lake Lodge Civeo introduces à la carte dining and mobile check-in and checkout to reduce line-ups ANYONE WHO THINKS OF STEREOTYPICAL BLAND, unhealthy meals when camp food is mentioned must have not been to a workforce lodge in a while. As the amenities and architectural features have developed in the past decade, so has the variety and nutritional values for meals available at the lodges.

Take Civeo’s newest open lodge in Alberta, the McClelland Lake Lodge located approximately 90 km north of Fort McMurray. The lodge features a proprietary food services system, which gives guests

Guests can choose from a variety of take-away lunches

including butter chicken and chicken vindaloo to their microwavable entrees program, which offers hot lunch options for guests to take with them to the jobsite.

“When our guests asked for healthier and more ethnically diverse lunch menu options, we listened,” says Rochford. “These dishes are handcrafted with ingredients that you can actually pronounce.

They do not include any added preservatives.”

Civeo (formerly PTI Group) has been operating in the workforce accommodations industry close to 40 years and has been in the forefront of increasing the standards. “We definitely take feedback from customers and guests into consideration when we are designing new lodges and developing our amenities. In the end, our purpose is to ensure we keep our guests happy, healthy and safe. In addition to proper nutrition, resting and relaxing between shifts is extremely important,” says Sean Crockett, Vice President of Business Development at Civeo.

At McClelland Lake Lodge the common areas include a recreation and a dry lounge space, which provide an outlet for guests to socialize and unwind at the end of their work day. Comfortable seating and eight TV’s (including two 80” screens) provide a great environment for keeping up with hockey and other sports. The games area includes pool, poker, foosball and table tennis. Massage chairs are the latest addition to the space.

For the fitness enthusiasts, the lodge features Zumba lessons and separate fitness rooms for men and women. With free weights as well as cardio and workout equipment the rooms rival their urban counterparts.

Each of the 1,997 guest rooms is equipped with private bathrooms. There are two sizes of guest rooms: the 125 ft2 superior room with a single bed and the 226 ft2 deluxe room with a double bed and a seating area.

On top of the food services system, the lodge features another innovative program. Upon arrival, guests to the lodge can quickly check themselves in on their mobile device, head to their room and avoid all line-ups. Likewise, express check-out with a simple swipe of a guest key at a kiosk in the lodge lobby makes the departure effortless.

“From a guest service aspect, we have enhanced the arrival and departure process by providing this self-serve optionality. Our focus was to shorten wait times and we have seen a decrease from two minutes to as low as ten seconds,” says Meagan Martin, Manager of Property Management Systems and Reservations at Civeo.

After all, nobody enjoys waiting in long line-ups so why not create programs to avoid it?

A chef monitors à la carte dinner orders

access to à la carte dining every day. Some years back, who would have pictured à la carte dining at a camp in very remote northern Alberta? Christopher Rochford, Senior Director Food Services at Civeo did.

“We wanted to provide a dining experience more akin to urban restaurants for our guests. Not only can you customize your order by choosing your preferred side dishes, but the program also takes the most common allergies and dietary restrictions into consideration. Each serving is freshly prepared for the guest who ordered it. It actually took four years to develop this program,” Rochford says.

The extensive menu includes items such as steak, pork chops and grilled salmon. “We have received so much positive feedback on this program,” says Yves Paradis, the lodge manager. “Everyone is so pleased that they can choose from thirty-some à-la-carte items and daily features each night and do not have to wait in long line-ups for their meal. Steak nights are no longer limited to one night a week!”

In addition to dinners, the take-away lunches are quite impressive these days. The selection is no longer limited to fruit and sandwiches. Recently Rochford’s team introduced new recipes

18 Oil & Gas Network, April 2015

Deluxe rooms include a double bed and a seating area

Buildings and Temporary Oilfield Structures

Steel Structures a Great Option in an Uncertain Economic Time THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY has been dealing with some significant challenges over the past few months due to the falling price of oil, and companies have had to respond in various ways. From employee layoffs to implementing long-term plans to achieve a sustainable, lower cost structure, oil and gas companies are having to take a closer look at the decisions they make regarding spending.

There has been a lot of speculation regarding how long these economic conditions will last. Some reports say it could be a few months, other say a few years - there are many unknowns. However, it is clear that while onsite production, operations and expansion may be scaled back during this time, it won’t stop, and there will still be a need for modular buildings and mobile structures.

During times of constraint, companies need to be more strategic about their purchasing decisions for modular buildings, looking more closely at how a structure will be used, how long they need it to last, and what it will cost to maintain. When looking at cost implications from this broader perspective, BigSteelBox Structures products really perform.

Quality Workforce Housing Improves Your Bottom Line

Benefits of a Steel Building Building with steel shipping container technology offers a number of advantages that make sense when you consider the harsh climates and wear and tear that these buildings will encounter in the field: Rigid and Robust: BigSteelBox structures are of composed of corrugated corten steel roof and wall panels, heavy duty steel corner posts, and reinforced floors. The entire frame is built to withstand rigorous movement and other harsh elements encountered while being shipped by ocean, truck and train. They are rust-resistant, durable, and low maintenance.

The uniform corner post design provides support to maintain the structural load when stacked, and allows for them to be easily and safely lifted and transported.

Efficient Onsite Assembly: Corner castings allow modules to be locked together vertically or horizontally, making them easy to assemble onsite much like life sized Lego blocks. Container buildings are built to withstand consistent movement and re-assembly, without affecting the integrity of the structure.

Highest Level of Health and Safety: While it may be obvious that the stronger frame of a steel building will make it less susceptible to damage caused by onsite hazards or harsh weather, their interiors are constructed to provide superior health and safety features.

BigSteelBox Structures are completely sealed and insulated with 2lb closed-cell polyurethane spray foam, making them resistant to mold and mildew, and extremely energy-efficient.

Choosing a modified shipping container for mobile laboratories, offices and storage units is commonly accepted across the energy industry given that these types of structures will need to be moved often and designed to fit a companies’ specific needs or safety guidelines. However, containers are just as beneficial for workforce housing.

There are a number of misconceptions about using steel shipping container technology for workforce accommodations, often stemming from the stigma of housing employees in “Boxes”. In reality, a BigSteelBox Structure is a much higher quality product than the housing found in most remote work areas.

“We are dedicated to creating functional and comfortable work and living environments for every type of worksite,” says Devon Siebenga. President of BigSteelBox Structures. “By leveraging the newest building practices and quality finishes, we are ensuring that these spaces will stand up to wear and tear and feel modern for years to come. Our finished living quarters and wellsite units truly provide a condo feel, often including oversized windows and built-in millwork to maximize on space.”

BigSteelBox Structures aims to change how people view modular buildings. “Research has shown that creating excellent working and living environments will help to create a culture of excellence and encourage optimal performance from those who use them,” continues Siebenga. “We pay close attention to the finish and details of each structure, and commit to delivering the highest quality product.”

Whether the market is up or down, BigSteelBox Structures’ goal remains the same - to deliver a better worksite living experience that will increase productivity and employee retention, ultimately improving their customers’ bottom lines.

Learn more about BigSteelBox Structures modular building solutions at www.BigSteelBoxStructures.com or call 1-877-373-1187.

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19

Buildings and Temporary Oilfield Structures

Workforce Housing Takes a Nod From Silicon Valley TODAY’S WORKFORCE DEMANDS and deserves more than just a bed to sleep on and a roof over their head. Gone are the days of purely utilitarian and sterile industrial accommodations, replacing them are high end complexes, designed and modeled using the same technology employed to build apartments for the tech savvy in Silicon Valley.

Guerdon Modular Buildings, one of the industry’s leading producers of large scale modular projects, has an extensive resume of building both upscale multi-story apartment buildings and long lasting workforce housing accommodations. Though the two may seem to be on opposite ends of the spectrum, the technology employed is the same for both.

Guerdon recently built a 5 story, 5 building apartment in the heart of Silicon Valley. The complex located adjacent to the Sysco campus, houses a very sophisticated clientele. The project pushed Guerdon’s team of engineers to employ skills which translate well when called upon to build multi story camps and implement modern technologies like high speed internet and networking throughout.

William Day Construction Elected to Partner With MegaDome MEGADOME OFFERS permanent and temporary building solutions that help corporations save money on storage, operate more efficiently and be more profitable in the end. Our building solutions are adapted to the reality of mining and oilfield operations and typical turnaround times are counted in weeks, not months! Whether the building is needed for storage, garage, workshop or other application, MegaDome’s in-house engineering resources are available to support customers in developing the ideal solutions for their businesses.

This is exactly what was done in the summer of 2013, when Vale, a global mining leader, issued a tender for a 5-year contract to design/build/manage a new 20,000 ft2 Copper Concentrate storage facility for their Clarabelle Mill in Copper Cliff, ON. They invited a number of contractors, including William Day Construction Ltd., to submit proposals for the tender.

After reaching out to several building suppliers, William Day Construction elected to partner with MegaDome after receiving a very thorough and competitively priced proposal which included an XP90 x 222 foot long building. After successfully securing the contract with Vale, the Day group was impressed with MegaDome’s “excellent sales and engineering support to ensure we complied to both Vale and the Greater City of Sudbury’s requirements”.

Gerry Duhamel, of William Day Construction Ltd., explains: “The technical specifications for this building were quite complex. The copper concentrate is highly corrosive and the fact that it would be stored in bulk piles made for an even greater engineering challenge. Fortunately, MegaDome had experience with similar projects and their knowledge made us confident the building provided would be safe, durable and reliable”. Since Vale planned to take ownership of the building after the 5-year contract expires, Duhamel would not risk providing anything less than superior quality.

As an unexpected bonus, the superior MegaDome quality was very competitively priced compared to other suppliers the Day group was soliciting, which ultimately led to helping secure the Vale contract. Mr. Duhamel was impressed that MegaDome’s experienced construction crew completed the work “on schedule and without incident” in spite of the harsh and challenging winter conditions the team encountered in late February and early March of 2014. “Our experience was positive and we would use MegaDome on future projects” concludes Duhamel. www.megadomebuildings.com.

20 Oil & Gas Network, April 2015

It’s pretty easy for Guerdon to point at their work in San Diego and say, “chances are we have already built a project similar to what you need and we can draw on that experience to get your project done right”. Having built 3 story camps and 5 story residential buildings, their experienced team of engineers can move from project to project at the drop of a hat.

Another project that crosses the chasm is the recently completed Cheecham Lodge in Fort McMurray, Alberta built for Target Logistics. Guerdon’s modular construction scope included a new kitchen and dining room, new recreation facility, and an insulated central corridor allowing workers access to all areas of the lodges without going out in the cold. Residents may forget they are at work when they experience the high-end resort like finishes such as stone fireplaces, antler chandeliers, knotty alder trims and major amounts of light pouring in from two separate clear stories. The similarities are obvious in comparison to the finishes Guerdon employed on 5 hotels being built for the US Parks Service in Yellowstone National Park. Both projects were destined for very remote, very extreme regions. Both were designed for a very different type of client but Guerdon’s experience helped bring both to fruition, without skimping on the end user’s experience.

Chris Bradley, Business Development Manager for Guerdon said, “The thing that people don’t realize is that there is a greater amount of labor and a higher quality of finish work going into our ‘man-camps’ than that of a residential apartment. These units have to outlast the rigors of transportation, extreme weather conditions and heavy wear. Our workforce clients demand the best and that is what we give them.”

Buildings and Temporary Oilfield Structures

Short or Tall, Large or Small Trust Pavilion to Build it All CANADA IS A COUNTRY FULL of extremes demanding of its inhabitants a highly versatile culture. As a proud family owned Canadian company Pavilion has integrated some of this culture into the very fabric of our business model. Since our inception in 1995 we have tried hard to achieve extremely high quality in the products we offer and accompany that with extremely proficient services. When it comes to high quality tensioned fabric membrane structures we are the leader.

Pavilion got its start when, our founder and current CEO, Andrew DesLauriers had a vision of creating a product that met the stringent quality demands required by high end industrial customers looking for engineered solutions for their custom needs. At a time when the pre-engineered fabric structure market was seeing corporate giants offering mildly engineered product, with strong corporate ethics for low prices over solid engineering, Pavilion stood out extremely well.

Fast forward to a decade later and Andrew’s son Dustin DesLauriers graduates University of Alberta with a MBA and a drive to grow the company. Bringing a background including extreme snowboarding Dustin has reignited the culture of extreme in Pavilion as the company pushes for growth.

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So what sets us apart from the competition? The consumer trend for markets with individual vendors being less preferred over supermarkets with a one stop shop motto is the same trend that has driven Pavilion’s growth and attitude towards meeting customer needs.

Today, with over a decade and a half of Fabric Structure Research and Development knowledge, along with a CWB certified fabrication facilities and astute management, Pavilion has grown to more than just a custom fabric building manufacturer. Pavilion now offers a variety of products and services all under one roof minimizing customer frustrations and cost: • In-house engineering focusing on safety as the major motivator for fabric building design, foundation design and retaining wall designs.

• Steel Fabrication of buildings, foundation base rails, concrete

foundation accessories, stairs, ramps and a variety of smaller steel fabricated products A Construction division servicing Canadian and International clientele. Personnel and equipment to service to whomever wherever including project management, fabric and steel building erections, electrical, HVAC, site prep, concrete work and maintenance services for fabric buildings including competitor products as required.

A Transport division hauling product and equipment through Canada additionally offering transportation and logistics services to customers in Western Canada.

2012 expansion into steel building supply and turnkey related services

Pavilion’s experience with Industrial construction and a customer list, including some of the biggest companies in the world, helps Pavilion’s confidence shine on even the most stringent and highly regulated construction safety sites in the world. Our green rating with ISNetworld along with an impeccable safety record means we are ready for business wherever it takes us.

Whether its hoarding for concrete work, a quick shelter at an Oil site, a portable solution for storage or a permanent enclosure look no further than the leader Pavilion as we are sure to have the right product and services for your need.

At Pavilion we are proudly Canadian, extremely dedicated and constantly versatile whether at work or at play. We believe that quality equals safety and a building is only a building while it is standing. We not only stand behind our product we are more than happy to stand under it.

Short or Tall, Large or Small Trust Pavilion to build it all.

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Oil & Gas Network, April 2015

21

Principal Technology Delivers Effective Sulfur Recovery To Treat Sour Crude Produced in Western Canada Modular Units Address the Specific Issues of Small Capacity Sulfur Recovery PRINCIPAL TECHNOLOGY INC., a provider of total system solutions for natural gas, refining, petro-chemical, and processing facilities, offers modular sulfur recovery units that are effective in removing the relatively higher concentrations of sulfur found in in some Canadian crude oil. Principal Technology provides total engineering, procurement and construction services to deliver sulfur recovery units in any capacity up to 500 LTPD and larger. Principal Technology’s SRUs apply industry best practices combined with exclusive features to meet each client’s exacting sulfur recovery requirements.

Applying its expertise in SRU design, Principal Technology has created a modular platform for engineering SRUs, including small capacity systems. Fabricating modular components in the controlled environment of an off-site fabrication shop assures quality control and testing during the manufacturing phase. Completion of the units at a refiner’s site involves connecting components and final testing, reducing installation time and minimizing disruptions to ongoing plant operations. The modular components can be sized for transport to virtually any location.

“The light sour crudes produced in Alberta, with sulfur contents ranging from .86 to .96 percent, are just above the .5 percent sulfur mark that distinguishes sweet from sour. So some sulfur removal is required in order to meet United States environmental standards for petroleum products,” said Matthew S. Hodson, P.E. (Texas), president and CEO of Principal Technology. “Since 1997, Principal Technology has been engineering SRUs for major refining and gas treating operations. Based on this expertise, we have scaled the systems down to create effective, affordable SRUs to meet the needs of small capacity plants. Our turn-key units provide cost savings and, with our modular designs, faster installation to reduce refinery down-time.”

Principal Technology’s small capacity SRUs apply the best technological solution for each individual gas treating or refining operation, accounting for capacity and the amount of sulfur generated. With particular emphasis on heat conservation and temperature management, Principal Technology designs systems with high turndown ratios that can accommodate fluctuations in feeds for more flexible operation. Principal Technology carefully sizes equipment to maintain optimum process efficiency and meet

the capacity demands of any refinery or natural gas plant while retaining operator access to all components for successful operation and easy maintenance.

“Over the years, we have built a unique expertise in this area, and have delivered total engineering, procurement and construction services for SRUs of any capacity: from 2 to 50 LTPD range and larger,” said Hodson. “Principal Technology applies industry best practices, combined with exclusive features to meet each client’s exacting sulfur recovery requirements. Our SRUs include superior application and utilization of analyzers, instrumentation, and control schemes to enhance reliability and plant operations.”

Complements FREECAP® Swellable Packer Product Line TAM International, Inc., an independent oilfield services company providing inflatable and swellable packers, has introduced a new swellable packer technology as part of their extensive FREECAP® swellable packer product line. The TAM FastSwell® technology utilizes a proprietary process that alters the geometric design of the elastomer to provide ultra-fast, but predictable and controlled swell rates for challenging downhole conditions currently unsuited for a swellable packer due to long swell times.

TAM has the industry’s most extensive line of fit-for-purpose swellable elastomer compounds, and the new TAM FastSwell® design can be applied to any of these current offerings. The technology can be customized to increase or decrease the swell rate by changing the configuration of the elastomer geometry, providing operators many options for applications where they currently cannot use a swellable packer.

Both water-swell and oil-swell elastomers can utilize the new technology, which is now available for operator applications worldwide.

“This technology breakthrough is a major step forward in swellable packer technology and continues our standard of developing elastomer technology that performs in a highly predictable and reliable manner downhole,” said Ray Frisby, TAM’s Vice President of Technology.

TAM FastSwell® technology, like all of TAM’s elastomers, does not rely on protective coatings to prevent premature swelling during the trip in the hole. Reliable prediction of swell times is designed into all the numerous compounds TAM has developed for various global well environment applications.

This new technology dramatically enhances the performance envelope of TAM’s existing elastomer suite.

Testing has confirmed the TAM FastSwell® design satisfies existing downhole packer differential ratings. These currently can reach up to 12,000 PSI differential and downhole temperatures ranging from 70° to 575 ° F (20° to 302° C). Extensive laboratory testing has been performed at downhole conditions and in actual well fluids to determine how the elastomers perform. As part of the TAM FastSwell® service, customers can also provide anticipated well fluid samples in advance and TAM will perform well-specific lab testing to ensure the optimal elastomer and geometry is selected.

For more information about TAM International, visit www.tamintl.com.

CONNECTED

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