Clariant Acquires Prairie Petro-Chem

CLARIANT : Acquires Canadian Oil Services

• Acquisition is in line with Clariant Oil Services' growth strategy for North America
• Significantly enhances Clariant's presence in the Bakken Shale, positioned to be North America's number one oil and gas producing region
• Prairie Petro-Chem serves more than 7,000 oilfield sites and holds significant share of the southern Saskatchewan/southern Manitoba market
• Leverages Prairie Petro-Chem's exemplary reputation and strong service orientation

Houston, Texas (USA), 01 April 2011 - Specialty chemicals expert Clariant has acquired Saskatchewan, Canada-based oil services company Prairie Petro-Chem and will integrate it into the Clariant Oil Services business. The transaction significantly enhances Clariant's presence in the important Bakken Shale, an area positioned to be the number one oil and gas producing region in North America.

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Prairie Petro-Chem, originally formed in 1969 and headquartered in Estevan, SK, operates locations in Weyburn and Oxbow, Saskatchewan, and in Virden, Manitoba. The company serves approximately 7,000 oilfield sites, representing more than 50% of the southern Saskatchewan and southern Manitoba market. Prairie Petro-Chem continued its steady growth pattern in 2010, achieving sales of approximately CAD$30 million.

"Prairie Petro-Chem has an exemplary reputation and market leadership position based on more than 30 years of continuous operation in this important region. This acquisition strengthens Clariant Oil Services' position as a top-tier global provider of production chemicals and services and greatly enhances our capabilities within North America," said Christopher Oversby, global head of Clariant's Oil & Mining Services business unit.

Brent Frehlick, General Manager of Prairie Petro-Chem, said, "We are looking forward to working with Clariant to capitalize on the additional opportunities created by the combination of our collective strengths.

As a Clariant company, our expanded geographic and strategic position will provide the ability to more effectively serve existing customers in other markets. In addition, our shared commitment to service excellence and our complementary solution-driven products will ensure we continue to provide our customers with the level of service they have come to expect."

Frehlick (son of Prairie Petro-Chem founder Ray Frehlick) and Assistant General Manager Blane Fichter will join Clariant as a result of the transaction.

"We are pleased to welcome the management and employees of Prairie Petro-Chem to Clariant, and we look forward to joining with them in providing our customers the highest quality of support and service, and bringing our sales, marketing and service support to bear for new customers in this fast-growing region," said Kenneth L. Golder, President of Clariant Canada Inc., and head of Clariant's North American region.

Source:  www.4-traders.com

Employment Opportunities on the Rise

Employment opportunities in the southwest, much of it linked with a spike in oil activity in the region, appears to be on the rise as numerous businesses and companies struggle in some cases to fill vacant positions.

“There definitely seems to be an increased demand right now for both skilled and unskilled labour,” said Jay Meyer, manager of the Whitemud Economic Development Co-operative. “There is a lot of activity in the oil sector right now and there is a short supply of skilled workers. In some cases, businesses are having a hard time finding employees. Plus, the service industry is always looking for more people, and those shortages are only compounded when there are job opportunities in other sectors of the economy.”

In fact, job opportunities seem to be up across the province as a record number of postings were made on the saskjobs.ca web site last month.

The site saw 10,183 job postings in January, a 27 per cent increase over last year and the largest January total since 2008. Employers from 278 Saskatchewan communities posted opportunities to the site.

There were 376 jobs listed in the Swift Current region, including more than two-dozen positions in the Shaunavon area and surrounding communities.

While the current job market is a sign of a bustling economy, Meyer also noted that long-term worker shortages can actually hinder some economic development.

“One of the biggest hurdles for local businesses is finding people to manage and staff the operation,” said Meyer. “It is the biggest factor that deters people from starting up or expanding a business.”

“We are always looking for people,” said Ted Fauser, who owns Marv’s Oilfield Service in Shaunavon, a local business that employs 20 workers.  “There are opportunities that come across my desk every single day, but there is only so much you can do because of staff limitations. Probably the biggest thing holding us back right now is a lack of workers.”

Meyer says there are other potential challenges to job growth in the region.

“Just finding a place for incoming workers to live is a problem,” said Meyer. “There is a real shortage of available housing. So even if there are new workers who want to come to the Southwest, it can be a challenge just finding them a place to stay.”

Meyer says he doesn’t expect the demand for workers to end anytime soon.

“One of the misconceptions out there right now is that this is a temporary situation,” he stated. “Yes, the level of oil activity is certainly dictated by the market, but everything seems to point to things being pretty consistent for the next few years.”

Of the 10,183 jobs posted to saskjobs.ca in January, more than a quarter were in the trades and transport category, which continues to show significant demand. Two of every three jobs posted were also full-time, while nearly half came from outside Regina or Saskatoon.

Source:  www.theshaunavonstandard.com

Enbridge Contracts for Bakken Pipeline

Enbridge Inc. said Monday it has secured additional commitments for its proposed $560 million Bakken pipeline expansion.

The Calgary-based pipeline operator said it now has binding contracts for 100,000 barrels per day on the line, which will push the total available capacity to 145,000 bpd when it comes into service in 2012.

Enbridge previously announced the expansion project and initiated the open season last August. Enbridge said future expansion phases could push the total to 325,000 bpd.

"The Bakken and Three Forks formations represent an area of tremendous opportunity," Stephen Wuori, Enbridge's president of liquids pipelines, said in a statement.

"Based on current activity and growth plans we anticipate that additional pipeline capacity beyond this initial Bakken Expansion Program will soon be required by producers."

Enbridge will expand its North Dakota and Saskatchewan pipeline systems in order to handle rising oil output from the Bakken field, which spans Saskatchewan and the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota.

Enbridge's Bakken expansion will see $370 million spent in the U.S. and approximately $190 million in Canada. The line will originate at Beaver Lodge, N.D., in the heart of the Bakken, and follow existing rights of way to the Enbridge main line terminal at Cromer, Man. From there, Bakken production will have access to the multiple markets accessible from the main line and connected pipeline systems, Enbridge said.

The company said 25,000 bpd of the new capacity will be available early this year with the remaining 120,000 bpd in place by late 2012.

The Bakken oilfield is one of the fastest growing onshore oilfields in North America.

According to the U.S. government's Energy Information Agency, U.S. production is expected to jump about 30 per cent by 2020 thanks to a larger contribution from unconventional shale oil sources like the Bakken.

Canada Oil, Natural-Gas Drilling to Rise, Group Says

Canadian energy explorers will drill 12,750 wells this year, up from 12,158 in 2010, according to the Petroleum Services Association of Canada.

Drilling in Saskatchewan will jump 11 percent to 3,075 wells as producers seek to tap the Bakken shale formation, according to the Calgary-based group, which represents oilfield services companies. Alberta will see the most wells drilled at 8,390, a 3 percent gain over 2010, the association said in an e- mailed statement.

“Due to strengthening oil prices and innovations in technology, we expect 2011 to see modest increases in drilling,” Mark Salkeld, president of the association, said in the statement. “The industry is still faced with weak natural- gas prices primarily related to oversupply in the market.”

The organization used a price assumption of $85 a barrel for benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude and a Canadian price of C$3.85 per thousand cubic feet ($3.84 per million British thermal units) for gas at the AECO ‘C’ hub in Alberta.

More than 5,000 horizontal wells will be drilled, the association estimated. Horizontal drilling is used in heavy oil production and to tap deposits of gas trapped in shale.

Source:  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-31/canada-oil-natural-gas-drilling-to-rise-group-says-update1-.html

Several Oilfield-Related Projects Have Begun in Estevan