MUSTANG NEWSLETTER
Issue: 3
Boom or bust?
April, 2015
What’s the up-side?..............
As long as there has been oil there has been “boom and bust” The up-side is that like Spindletop, everyone has flooded to the
cycles.
Believe it or not, this down turn is not that much different horizontal market and is producing from these horizontal plays as
than the ups and downs of the oil patch 100 years ago.
fast as they can. And, just like Spindletop, prices are down, so the
way to make money is to produce more. As we produce more, the
Oil is a consumer commodity; therefore, its price is directly related to reservoirs get depleted and reduce quicker than if companies
the demand that the consumer has for it, and that need for oil is ever conservatively pull the oil out at higher prices. As we continue to
growing. In the early years of the oil industry, these cycles were a lot produce and drill horizontal wells, we continue to have less oil in the
shorter as the market for oil was normally constrained to a small reservoir and the wells will begin to produce less. This is good news
geographical area and not influenced by world markets. In the early for us as Service providers. As the chart below illustrates we are
1900’s, oil prices were considerably high ($2.00/bbl). Demand was going to have some short term pain, as companies still need to get
up and there were only shallow wells in Petrolia, Ontario along with the oil out of the ground, they just need to get it back into a $45/bbl
scattered wells through the United States North East which produced economic environment. In the short term we are going to have to
all the oil consumers demanded. Then on the evening of January 10, lower rates and find ways to charge less. If you look out 2-3 years
1901 the whole world changed. Anthony Lucas punched his cable from now, the future looks bright as there is going to be less oil on
tool rig through a salt dome in Beaumont, Texas and brought in the the market and the formations that are producing the oil are
biggest well the world had seen called “Spindletop”, producing at a depleted. The boom will be back on to find more oil to quench the
rate over 100,000bbl/day. Overnight the Spindletop boom was on, world thirst. The cycle of oil will then start all over again and the
the market was flooded with oil and the price of oil dropped to the world will be on the hunt for that next oil play and welcome back to
point that you could not give it away.
the boom.
By 1902, productions out of the Spindletop field had declined sharply
from flush production highs and then in 1904 only 10,000 bbls were
being produced from over 300 well bores. In 1906 oil demands had
grown due to automobiles and the conversion from steam powered
equipment, North American production slowed, returning the oil price
back to $2.00/bbl.
The cycle we are in today is very much the same as that was
encountered during the Spindletop era. In the past 8 years North
America has unleashed a new Spindletop in the form of horizontal
drilling and fracturing. Since the days of Spindletop the oil market
has converted to a global economy, but has very much kept the
same “boom or bust” characteristics. The formation of OPEC in 1960
was the world’s attempt to keep individual countries from
flooding the market with oil. The problem is that North America is not
an OPEC participating member and have begun producing over 11
million barrels a day, surpassing any OPEC producing country’s daily
production rates. On November 27, 2014 OPEC decided that it
would not stand for North America exceeding them and refused to
lower rates, sending oil prices plummeting to the rates we see today.
Horizontal Well Cycle
from rig 3 & Jason and Nic, duck hunting , October, 2014
Mustang is in a great position to weather this stage of the cycle. We have chased the abandonment market that is going to be a huge part of
the next few years, and as discussed in the last issue, the AER is holding firm that energy companies clean up 20% of their liabilities a year.
According to the AER there are 60,000 wellbores with liabilities in the province of Alberta.
We will be a key provider for these cleanup efforts. Competition is going to be fierce for this market and pricing will be the key function of
getting the work next to doing a professional and outstanding job. In the months to come there are going to be some changes to
compensation and our general spending as a company to meet these 30-40% discounts energy companies are demanding. If we work as a
team and present ourselves as professionals, this down turn will not affect Mustang or any of our people the way that other s ervice
companies are going to be affected.
We are going to work together as a company and combine our services to pass the multiple-service saving on to our customers. We are
going to need to watch every penny we spend as a company, as we are going to chase every job in an attempt to keep everyone with a
paycheck. Most of all we are going to work like a team and support each other.
If you have an idea on how we can save some money or set ourselves apart from other service companies, please give me a call or come
talk to me at spring meetings.
Thank you, every one for being a part of the Mustang Team.
Sincerely,
Mike Kallal C.E.T.
Chief Executive Officer
Did you know…
Conrad Schlumberger
invented and tested electric
line logging in 1912, the first
log was a resistivity log. The
first commercial log was ran in
Canada in Turner Valley in
1928.
Service Rig Update
By Nic Wolbeck, Operations Manager
Another winter has passed as break up has snuck up on us early this year and the
weather has put a quick halt to operations. We would like to commend all rigs that
went incident/injury free thru the winter months. A special recognition to the Rig 9
crew of Chris Sanders, Trevor Zacharias, Jason Macdonald, Ryan Gallant, and
Jarod Taylor as well as the personnel involved during crew rotations as your efforts
did not go unnoticed. Cenovus has commended the performance of our equipment
and crews during this project and has already requested to see rig 9 for the
2015/2016 project.
One thing that we need to remember during this time is to keep our tickets up to
date. So stay in communication with your field supervisor and let them know what
you have coming due. You never know when a job will come in and you will want to
be ready to go when that happens.
On that note GODI has now changed to Oilfield Driver Awareness. Remember the
material outlined in this course is valuable both at home and at the job site. Now
more than ever it is crucial to understand the importance of driver safety to minimize
incidents and costs. MWS is looking into setting up a course during breakup so keep
in touch with your supervisor for details.
Chris James from Rig 2 airbrushed
this animal skull and it is placed in Rig
2 Doghouse
The OAD course material will still cover the following:








Developing a professional driving attitude
Understanding and dealing with personal limitations (physical and mental well-being)
Driving proactively - how to be an defensive driver
Responding to changing road conditions
Planning for the journey
Controlling exposure to hazards
Developing Emergency Response Plans
Performing safety inspections
Did you know…
The first time a perforating gun
was used was 1932 in Los
Angeles county, USA for Union
Oil. The gun was fired with
electric controls at surface.
If you currently hold a valid General Oilfield Driver Improvement or Light Duty Vehicle certificate no action is required. Once the
certificate expires you will be required to take the new Oilfield Driver Awareness program.
Did you know…
In 1922 Halliburton
introduced the jet mixer, until this
time all cement pumped in a well
was mixed by hand.
The Oilfield Driver Awareness certificate is equivalent to the General Oilfield Driver
Improvement or Light Duty Vehicle certificate. Provincial agencies are aware of the
updated course offering and will be accepting the Oilfield Driver Awareness certificate as a
replacement of the GODI or LDV certificate. The demerit reduction process for the new
course will remain the same as it was for the General Oilfield Driver Improvement or Light
Duty Vehicle certificate.
For Further info on this please visit Enform’s website
www.enform.ca
The CAODC Competency and HDTC programs will remain a focus for us continuing through
2015. We would like to congratulate Darcy Myers for completing his Driller Competency, Kyle
Campbell, Shawn Fortney, Brody Wallace for completing their Derrickhand Competency, and
Mike Goacher who completed his HDTC training.
We would also like to congratulate Jon Schmidt from Rig 7 on the birth of his first child and also Curtis Fisher for his upcoming
wedding April 4th/2015, hopefully he will be fully recovered for our Spring Break up party April 18 th.
Innovator Division Technical Advancements—by Jude Reid
Did you know…
The Innovators are
the only service rigs
in the world to offer
wireline services as
well
The energy industry is highly challenged in the current market environment and as such abandonment work will become even
more important tomorrow as it is today. As surface casing vent flow/gas migration analysis is a big component of abandonment
work, Mustang has developed a noise signal processor that can visualize and interactively analyze formation gas source(s) and
aid in the picking of perforation intervals…SIGMA Viewer (Source Identification Gas Migration Analysis). This client-based CD
product will bring Mustang into the world of interpretive products and increase our exposure and reputation as a one stop shop
for technical evaluation/remediation for SCVF/GM. The Sigma Viewer will be ready soon as we come out of breakup.
Camrose Office Update
By Candace Kuflay, Office Manager
First off I would like to give a big THANK YOU to all our divisions for keeping up with entering the Tickets onto the FIRE
System. Having them uploaded daily is a huge help to us. We greatly appreciate it.
We would just like to remind all divisions to let Myself, Kayla and Lesa know of any updated personal
information ASAP to avoid issues with benefits, payroll, T4s, etc. in the future. This includes any changes made to addresses,
phone numbers, spouse/ common-law situations, children/ dependants, and banking information.
Lesa would also like to remind all divisions to send in ALL of their P.O.’s and
invoices, ESPECIALLY UFA. The quicker the better!
Thank you so much!
From the Camrose Office Girls
Cementing Update
By Petrit Belishaku, Cementing Tech
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Cementing crews and management for their contribution in making our first quarter so
successful.
Mustang’s Cementing Division had three winter projects: Husky - 68 jobs, Cenovus - 27 jobs and an additional Husky project
- 8 jobs. In addition to managing the needs of these customers, 20 other jobs were successfully completed. It was a busy time
for our teams because we also continued doing conductor casing jobs throughout the winter.
Positive reviews were received from our customers: Husky, Cenovus, and Keyera. A quote from the review from Keyera was
as follows:
“Doug / Petrit
I just wanted to let you know that the crew Keyera had on location today was very professional today in every way. The
location is very small and they had to do some fancy foot work to get the truck spotted for the job along with other issues to
deal with on a tight location. Randy kept a smile on his face the entire time and no complaining from any of the crew while R/U
was heard. Lastly they carried out the job efficiently and the job went very well in my opinion.
Regards ,Shannon”
Our Engineering and Lab unveiled a new cement blend MWS-Gas Tight which is a latex system developed for squeezing wells
that have a surface casing vent flow (SCVF).
This blend will help to further distinguish Mustang as an
abandonment specialist.
Thank you to our Sales team, John and Anton, for your support with the Cementing Division’s growth over the last three years.
Our customer list has grown 62.5% from years’ 1 to 2; 42.3% from years’ 2 to 3; and an overall growth of 131% from years’ 1
to 3.
EFFECTIVE APRIL 1ST, 2015
LACOMBE has a NEW OFFICE
3709 - 53 Ave
Lacombe AB T4L 0A1,
Phones will remain unchanged
RIG UPDATE
By John Setla, VP Sales and Marketing
The last few months have been a testing environment for us all to work and survive in
as the oil price has collapsed and we have been challenged to reduce costs. The initial
cost decrease pressures have leveled off a bit, but we know they will be always present
as oil companies adjust to this new business environment.
This winter we had winter-projects that earned us accolades from our clients in all
divisions: Service rigs, Innovators and Remedial Cementing.
Through your dedication and strong work ethics, we have continued to move forward
and retain our current clients as well as, made inroads with new clients.
We are looking forward to the opportunities we can see as well we have talked to
clients about abandonments. The AER will be forcing clients to abandon wells in a
more defined and planned scenario to achieve the Government set targets.
We have made inroads with a number of new customers and the feedback has been
positive. Mustang has been able to retain our existing customer base and by turning
over rocks and Anton and I have been able to introduce “the Mustang Advantage” to more clients .EG GS E&R Cequence,
Raging River, etc.
Although the markets will be a bit topsy-turvy, we believe Mustang and it’s divisions are perfectly positioned to move forward to
capitalize on opportunities that will present themselves. Mustang is in an enviable position that we have a dedicated senior
management team, knowledgeable division leadership and a dedicated and talented group of staff that are committed to
customer excellence.
Anton and I have put together a targeted program to increase our market presence, provide value pricing to address marketplace
competition, and evaluate any and all opportunities that we may capitalize on. Together with all your hard work and dedication in
executing operations and managing our costs, we will work our way through these challenging times,
What are our customers are telling us:
Overall it appears that although drilling will be mostly decimated except for the deeper Gas/ Liquids there will be some limited
production work-overs if the cost benefits can be achieved. The opportunity for us will be with the AER Regulatory Compliance
issues all oil companies will be faced with. Our task as we go forward is to bring an integrated approach showing value-added
services that will increase efficiency, manage costs and provide the quality experienced crews Mustang provides.
What does the future hold:
Mustang has just executed a Husky 1 year with option to extend 1 year Remedial Cementing MSA.
Apache has just executed a 5 year MSA with Mustang for all our services. This is not guaranteed work but it allows us the
opportunity to be on a list of selected vendors to work for them.
ConocoPhillips has extended our MSA to include rigs, Innovators and remedial Cementing for 3 years.
Mustang will continue to work our way through these challenging times, but as you have heard before, there is no “I” in “Team”;
with all your dedication and hard work , our Team’s effort will allow us to survive and grow.
From Anton and I we say a BIG THANK YOU for all your hard work and understanding
Innovator Division Update
By Peter McNamara, Innovations Operations Manager
The winter projects are complete and we are ready to do some maintenance and a little relaxing after a busy first few months of
2015. I really want to thank all of our employees for their continued professionalism, expertise, focus and for their hard work and
dedication. I would also like to acknowledge the Camrose office ladies for all that they do to make our jobs easier day to day.
Don’t forget that the Innovator division is moving to our new and improved location in Lacombe later this month. We should be
all lined up to work out of the new office by April 17 so stop in to check it out.
IT Update
I’m not telling you this so you can hack into celebrity accounts. I tell
you this so you can take some precautionary measures to
protecting yourselves and your families.
Here are some
suggestions to keep in mind when you set your password and
security questions:
By Dave Wolsey, IT
Beefing Up
Security

A few months ago there was a hacker who was able to access
celebrity iCloud accounts and retrieve photographs and all sorts of
private and confidential information. This isn’t exclusive celebrities.
Here is how the hacker did it.
Have you ever forgotten your password to a website? Most
websites give people the option to recover their password if they
have forgotten it with a few simple ‘security questions.’ Some of
these questions aren’t exactly rocket science, like “What is your
favorite color?” or “What was your first teacher’s name?” or even,
“What is your mother’s maiden name?”
For celebrities, the answers are all over the internet. They have
given out all this information in various interviews, which are
recorded online. So you see the hacker didn’t need to know the
person’s password. All he needed to know was where to look for
the right answers.


Complex passwords. Most hacking software is programmed to
guess passwords that are 6-8 characters long using upper
case, lower case and numbers. Try adding punctuation to the
mix and make your password more than 8 characters long to
make it more complex
Change your password frequently, and don’t leave it written
down under your keyboard or stuck to your monitor
Make spelling mistakes in the answers to your security
questions. If the question is “What is your mother’s maiden
name?” and the answer is “Smith”, spell it in a way that you
and only you will remember. Perhaps “htimS” or “Smeeth”.
The more complex you make it, the harder it is for hackers to
guess
No one ever wants to be hacked and the feeling is awful when it
does happen to you. It can mean loss of irreplaceable information.
Always have a local backup.
One thing to keep in mind about storing personal information on the
Cloud is knowing where that information is stored and the
governmental laws that govern that province, state, or country. Just
because it is illegal to hack someone’s account in Canada, doesn’t
mean it is illegal overseas.
Edmonton Oilers Fantasy Draft
On February 20th, Dave Wolsey was invited by Rogers Wireless to participate in the Edmonton Oilers Fantasy Camp. It was
a fun filled day which started with breakfast with Patrick LaForge, CEO of the Edmonton Oilers. The day only got better from
there! First was watching the Oilers morning skate, then being drafted by Team Louie Debrusk and suiting up and playing
against Jason Strudwick’s team. There was a brief photo shoot with the alumni, then one of the best lunches with both teams
and the alumni. The day concluded with newsroom access and a front row ticket to the Minnesota Wild game. It was truly an
experience of a life time!
NAIT Career Day
By Peter McNamara
Mustang’s IR-04 and Innovator division supervisors Sam Vreugdenhil and Grant Rach were
on hand with Operations manager Peter McNamara on April 8 at the NAIT annual industry
day, to speak with a variety of students studying Petroleum technology, instrumentation,
geology and other technical programs regarding our company, the work that we do and how
an Innovator works. Sam and Grant walked students though the data cab, explained logging
and perforating, what makes an Innovator so attractive in the abandonment market and we
got them up on the working floor to see and feel life from that vantage point. Students were
welcomed to tour the auxiliary truck complete with BOP stack and power tongs and Peter was
seen drawing out well bore diagrams and teaching introduction to hydrostatics to some of the
students so that they could understand what a work over and abandonment was all about.
The feedback was great and Mustang was thanked by Bruce Reinders, the organizer of the
event which celebrated its 10th year.
Peter would like to thank not only Sam and Grant but the other Innovator supervisors for coming in to prepare the equipment for the show as
well as Neil Donnelly for making the trip up to Edmonton the night before the event with some graft for the students.
In Appreciation
By Bruce Reinders, Chair
Petroleum Engineering Technology, Chemical Engineering Technology & Geological Technology
Thank you to everyone who had a part in making the April 8th event a success. The event got media coverage by CTV, Global,
City TV, Edmonton Journal and Shaw. The students had a fantastic time meeting everyone and getting to know their
equipment and the role their company plays in the industry. Please pass this thank you on to everyone in your organization
who had a part in this event. None of this would be possible without your support and commitment.
I would like to specifically acknowledge the following companies and individuals for their contributions:
Canadian Society for Unconventional Resources (Opening Address)
Alberta Energy Regulator (Opening Address and Equipment)
PROMORE (Equipment, Sponsorship and doo prize)
Schlumberger (Equipment and Food Sponsorship)
Voltage Wireline (Equipment and Sponsorship)
RGL Reservoir Management (Equipment and Food Sponsorship)
Performance Wireline (Equipment and Sponsorship)
Copper Tip Energy services (Equipment and door prize)
Baker Hughes (Equipment)
Mustang Well Services (Equipment)
Bantrel (Tech Talk)
Packers Plus (Tech Talk)
Cathedral Energy Services (Display)
Premier Integrated Technologies (Equipment)
CFER Technologies (Tech Talk)
SPE Edmonton Chapter (Sponsorship)
David Morrill (Tech Talk)
Statoil (Tech Talk)
Endeavour Technologies (Display)
Stingray Well Solutions (Equipment)
Hamdon Wellsite Solutions (Equipment)
Sun Hills Mining (Sponsorship)
Hurricane Industries (Equipment)
Titanium Corporation (Tech Talk)
Iron Horse Energy Service (Equipment)
Trican Well Services (Equipment)
Jewel Energy Services (Equipment)
Weatherford Wireline (BBQ trailer)
Lafarge (Tech Talk)
Weir Seaboard (Equipment)
Logan Completion Systems (Equipment)
WISE Intervention Services (Equipment)
I hope everyone enjoyed the day as much as we did. We are all looking forward to next year.
Bruce
Did you know…..
German engineer Ludger Mintrop began experimenting using the way
sound travels through the earth to locate the position of heavy artillery
pieces during World War I, he had little idea that his work would have
important and more peaceable applications. But by 1924 his method of
estimating the depth to geological formations by setting off an
explosion and measuring the time taken for refracted sound waves to
travel through rocks had already been used to discover an oilfield in
Texas. At the same time, American engineer J. Clarence Karcher was
working on a seismograph which could record surface-generated sound
waves reflected from horizons deep within the earth, resulting in 1928 in
the
first
oil
discovery
by
seismic
reflection .
[Source: geoexpro.com/articles/2011/12/80-years-of-discovery]
EMPLOYEE CHRONICLES:
MY STORY—by DARREN SMITH
M
A
y name is Darren Smith; I am currently the rig manager of Mustang rig#3. I was approached by one of the management team in regards
of “telling my story”. Well here goes.
little background on me is… I started out as a typical easterner, spending my whole life on the water. Grew up on a lake and spent the
first part of my adult life as a fisherman. If it swims in the Atlantic Ocean and you could sell it, I went fishing for it. From ground fish to
sword fish, lobsters, crab, and bait fish, you name it, and I probably caught it. I was a commercial fisherman for almost 10-years. My main
source of income was lobster fishing in the fall, winter and spring, then sword and tuna fishing in the summer.
I
t was kind of like it is right now with oil and gas; the lobster fishery was starting to plummet with prices dropping drastically in the spring of
2004. I wanted to be my own boss and to buy into a lobster rig (license, gear and a boat), but the price tag was well over a million. There
was no guarantee I would even be able to catch enough fish to make the payments or sell them if I could catch them. With a wife and three
kids I needed to start looking at my options, working in the back of a boat for the rest of my life hoping for a paycheck didn’t seem to be the
best plan of attack. I finished out the spring fishery that lasted till the end of May and started looking.
I
heard out west there was good money, so I started looking on the computer (which was dial up) and three days later when I got connected
I found that there was a training course on service rigs that would show a person hands-on how to work on one, and what you needed to
know to get you into the oil patch out West. Sign me up I thought. I made a few phone calls and before I knew it I was in Dartmouth, Nova
Scotia taking a course that made you rig-up, BOP-up and run 6 jts of tubing. It also had a rod spinning section and all the necessary equipment
needed for a fully functional service rig. You learned how to run tongs, strip on a rubber, pick up and lay down tubing, and even pull-back and
throw pipe. Every day there was class time with tests on what you learned. You did this every day for a week and as part of s igning up you got
a hotel with one meal-a-day looked after. After passing the course, the company holding the course would set you up with an interview and
take you out together with the rest of the class to Alberta. My group was taken to Sedgewick to meet with the people from Accell Well Services
(later bought out by Savanna). Mike, one of the owners of Mustang was a salesman for Accell and one of the first people I met.
W
e did our hire package on a Monday morning in late July and by Tuesday I was working on a local rig(rig#14) based out of Killam as a
6th hand. Five days later my Toolpush told me I was going to get transferred to a rig in Edson. I told him I didn’t care where I was as
long as I could stay busy. Apparently that was the answer he wanted and kept me on full time and released his greenest guy. By late August I
had stayed crazy busy with maybe a day or two off (not complaining) and asked my Push for a week off in order to move my family out west. I
had done a little house shopping on early days, but had not come up with a place to stay and was staying in the Wagon Wheel Motel in Killam.
The answer I got was nothing short of awful. His response was “if you want this job - you will be back in 5 days, those days start tonight!” I
wanted the job, needed the job and said if that’s what it took, I would make it happen. Now I’m on the phone booking plane tickets and telling
my wife she needs to have the house packed by morning because come hell or high water I was going to be there with a U-Haul in the
morning; whatever she wanted to take was getting loaded up and the rest was going up for sale. When I showed up to our house that morning
the whole damn house was packed into boxes, the same friends and family that helped packed, loaded that 24ft U-Haul and car trailer up, and
by noonish we started our trip back across Canada with my family watching our kids till we got settled enough to have them come out.
S
ure as $h!t we made it back to Killam in 4 ½ days. Back to work I went the following day, leaving my wife Shelly to house shopping. She
found this nice little spot in town with a big backyard that would allow us to rent until my place sold back east and if and when it sold, and
we liked the new place we could buy it. Well, my place sold and we bought the new place, and shortly after my parents flew the kids out in
early September’04 and our new life began. Trying to do all the paperwork on the new house and final preparations was difficult due to
moving across Canada isn’t cheap and I couldn’t afford it and time off wasn’t an option because my Toolpush didn’t believe in giving days off.
W
e stayed very busy working for the oil company Dominion, with Guy Genovese being our main consultant. Nic our current Ops
Manager was working derrick on my rig and within a year was drilling on another rig. I had worked my way up to Stud Roughy very
quickly and before I knew it, in the summer of ’05 had made it to Derrick Hand. We continued working for Mr. Genovese and by summer ’06,
after going through a number of different rig managers and drillers, my new Toolpush sent me for my BOP ticket. I told him I wasn’t ready to
drill, but he seemed confident and assured me I would be fine. Little did I know he wanted me to be his Monkey, trained to run the blocks up
and down and that’s about it. In reality that was fine since yes, I was what I considered to be a good derrick hand but not ready to drill. I didn’t
hurt anybody or anything like that, but did have my share of hiccups we will say when I started.
A
fter a bit of time my Toolpush had a falling out with Mr. Genovese and we got sent to work elsewhere while another rig came in to scoop
up the broken pieces. I believe Nic even went to do some work for him for a while. I had a good crew and we all worked hard, but my
Toolpush had a hard time letting the crew do as I said. He still just wanted me to be the monkey and not let me do what a driller’s job is. The
crew told me that they weren’t happy and probably would go look for work elsewhere if he continued down the same road. As their driller, I
went to talk to him and needless to say it didn’t go over very well. This was in the summer of ’07. I was approached by Nic who was
relief-pushing for a small company with just two rigs and he was hoping I would jump ship with him to this new company which was going to
build us a rig to go to work for Paramount Energy Inc.; which so happens to be the company that bought out Dominion and you guessed it,
had kept on Guy Genovese. This offer could not come at a better time for me. I put in my two weeks’ notice and started helping build Mustang
Rig#3 in the fall of ’07. By November the rig was ready to go and off we went for Shane Sharp and Paramount for the remainder of the year
then travelled north to Slave Lake for its first winter. We stayed busy till spring and moved back south and switched around consultants
between Shane Sharp and Guy Genovese that year then back up to Slave Lake for our 2 nd winter with Jack Kuhn. The same thing happened
after the winter and we moved back south staying busy again; with Nic getting the call to go into the office as a field supervisor and me taking
over the rig as the new rig manager in the fall of ‘09. We spent one more winter out of town with Shane Sharp and Ray Blair as consultants
and moved back south, picking up a new field with heavy oil completions and work-overs with Perpetual Energy Inc. which bought out
Paramount in the Mannville area 60km or so east of Lloydminster. Guy Genovese still was being the main consultant and Derek Kuhn, Craig
Johnson and Shane still getting some time in with us as well. We have stayed in this area since then and are still currently working there
performing pump changes and work-overs on the wells we completed since’10. The drilling was shut down in early’14 but we managed to drill
close to 100 wells which seem to keep us busy fixing and turning the odd one into injection wells.
S
ince 2004, I started this oil patch way of life and have worked extremely hard to get to where I am today. I moved from Killam to an
acreage north of Viking in ’13 and drive 70km to work every day. I have spent 3 winters out of town in almost 11 years and have basically
been working for the same consultant my whole career. Don’t get me wrong, I have done some gypsying around and have met a lot of
people, but have not led the typical riggers life. Then again, what is the typical riggers life? Same as the typical easterner’s life I spoke of? I
don’t know. All I really
know is that without my
wife to help guide me in
the right direction and to
stand beside me through
all that I have put her
through, I would not be
where I am today. And that
is wishing I was back at
work and not typing this
story out. That however is
what you can call ”My
Story” in a very small nutshell with a whole bag of
peanuts to fill in the blanks
during that time. I hope
you enjoyed it and Thanks
for reading.
D
arren Smith
HSE UPDATE:
Did you know…
Did you know…
The majority of oil being
produced around Edmonton
comes from ancient marine reef
structures and beaches left
behind from the Cretaceous
period when the province of
Alberta was a tropical ocean.
Hydrostatic pressure changes
with different fluids. Light fluids
such as oil produce low
hydrostatic pressure where a
salt water solution produces
larger hydrostatic pressure. This
is why we weight up fluid to kill
wells with high pressures.
By Dale Gadway, HSE Manager
“A big thanks to all who participated in the MWS Safety Stand
Down Meetings”
MWS Safety Stand Down topics were:
“Safety Responsibilities and the New MWS Injury Claims
Management Program and Injury Rig Kits”
Held Safety Stand Down Meetings with the following:
MWS Rig 1, 4, 5, 10, 11 & 12, Innovators Rigs 3 & 4 and
Cementing Units
During all the MWS Safety Stand down Meetings, crew members
were participating and being very interactive by asking great
questions and getting answers.
I took the opportunity to talk to some men individually about what
brought them to MWS, and since they have come on board, what
they have experienced. I was amazed at how eager they were
share with me about the crew they were working for. The
mentoring of the Rig Manager and the crew as a whole, they felt
the training they received was paramount to their safety each day
they worked. Yes, it’s a family atmosphere, how they looked out
for each other and looked forward in getting up each day to work.
I talked with a number of consultants that MWS crews were
working for and they were very pleased with the safety culture of
the crews, and how professional and committed the men were.
In closing I believe, we all contribute by bringing our talents in our
own unique way to the table of Mustang Well Services Ltd., a
wealth of work and life experiences. Yes, that is why Mustang
Well Services Ltd. is so successful today, as a leader in the Oil
and Gas Industry; it is a result of the people within
Mustang Well Services Ltd.
Keep up the great work…for each one of us are truly
helping build the path for others to follow and take lead.
Hazard Identification
The man in the picture forgot to wear his
hard hat and safety glasses……………..
KUDOS CORNER
THANKS FOR THE CHOCOLATES!
Did you know…
The derrick was named
after Thomas Derrick, an
English executioner in
the Elizabethan era
because of its
resemblance to the
frame from which a
hangman’s noose hangs.
John & Staff,
Thank you kindly for the chocolates, they are much appreciated
and thanks for the great work Mustang has done for ARC in 2014.
We look forward to working with you again on our 2015
abandonment program. All the best to you & your families of the
holidays.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year,
Grant Vessy,
Sr. Abandonment Coordinator, ARC Resources Ltd.
Feb 25, 2015
To Whom it may Concern
Dear Sirs:
Re: TUSCANY ENERGY LTD.
REFERENCE FOR
100% SATISFIED!
We have completed our service rig jobs without any incident
because Mustang Innovator did a pretty good job. The Innovator
moved faster than the other big rig so we reduced our cost among
the wells. We are 100%satisfied. I will contact you when we need
a service rig next time. Again, I appreciate everything, have a
great day.
MUSTANG WELL SERVICING AND CEMENTING
TJ
Over the past two years Tuscany Energy has utilized Mustang
Well Servicing on approximately 40 abandonment operations.
They have provided Tuscany with safe and efficient service.
Tuscany provides the following comments:
1.
2.
Using the Innovator (Service rig & wireline combined) has
resulted in a reduction of the time required to perform the
abandonment operations and thus reduced the capital
costs. The reduced time is a result of the seamless
switching from the service rig to the wireline operations. In
addition, it has eliminated the travel costs associated with
using an independent wireline unit.
Tuscany has also used Mustang’s cementing services on
those jobs requiring either remedial cementing or setting of
cement plugs. Again we have reduced capital costs as a
result of the efficiency of utilizing a common service
provider. The Mustang cementing services are well suited
for these types of operations.
Please feel free to contact the undersigned directly at
403) 269-9889 ext. #112.
Canadian Manager, GSE+R (Korean Company)
HUSKY WORK UPDATE
John/Doug:
Mustang 3 (Innovator) rig crew had a few issues the other day with
the booster pump and got it fixed up with a little down time but not
much. I can’t believe the crews attention yesterday while drilling.
They were on the ball and seen wireline in the returns and notified
the consultant ASAP. We were lucky and shut down the drilling
before we were planted in the well. It turned out that I and the
ARO group both missed the fact that there was 150m of slick line
left in the well. If this would have gotten above us we would have
been planted. Mustang 1 has had great reviews from both John
Farion and Trevor Oleskiw so that is great.
Doug:
The cement jobs have been executed perfectly from what I have
been hearing. Please feel free to pass this on if you feel it won’t
jinx us.
Yours truly,
I look forward to the rest of the winter with these crews.
Tuscany Energy Ltd,
Dave Scheffelmair
Donald K. Clark
Completions Superintendent, Contractor, Slave Lake, Athabasca
Vice President Operations
You Could Win!
By Neil Donnelly, VP Operations
Mustang is pleased to announce that we will be drawing the winner of our 3 rd MWS
Motorcycle at the 2015 Banff Springs Spring Meeting. The winner will receive a 2015 RMZ
250 Motorcycle and Helmet. To be eligible for the random name draw, employees must be
employed for a minimum of 3 months in any field role (excluding office staff and senior
management)
Below are the list of names that were entered, I look forward to seeing our next winner at the
MWS Spring meeting!!
APRIL 2015 DIRT
BIKE
RIG DIVISION:
44 QUALIFIERS
INNOVATOR:
24 QUALIFIERS
Adam Sutherland
Alex Pohl
Austine Ehigiamusoe
Brandon Nash
Brody Wallace
Cam Kozak
Chris Sanders
Chris Woods
Clayton Lee
Cole Vogelaar
Corey D Myers
Corey Russell
Craig Zakaluzny
Curtis Fisher
Daniel Brennan
Daniel Mattis
Daniel Roth
Darcy Myers
Darren Smith
David Allen
Derek Weselowski
Desmond Rock
Devan Fisher
Elijah Armitage
Gabriel Gendron
Garret Caldwell
Gilbert Granda
Grant Rach
Ian Shepelwik
Jacob B MacNeil
Jason Rentz
Jean-Francois Moreau
Joey Borris
Jonathan D Schmidt
Joseph Davis-Leslie
Justin Zaplitney
Kent Martin
Kris Anderson
Kyle Campbell
Lee Clancy
Lucien d'Entremont
Luis Arellano
Mark Quarton
Mel MacDonald
Michael Lundle
Michael Orten
Michael Schroeder
Nathan Pukancik
Nathan Reid
Omar Adbelatty
Peter Dobni
Randy Forsyth
Rob Clark
Ryan MacDougall
Ryan Reschny
Ryan Traynor
Samuel Vreugdenhil
Seain Melvin
Shane Bell
Shaun Bollinger
Shawn Fortney
Stanley Tucken
Tannan Riise
Troy Stewart
OPERATIONS UPDATE - By Neil Donnelly, VP Operations
There’s growing concern about job cuts and slowing economic growth following the collapse in oil prices in the second half of
2014, and the resultant deep cuts to oil companies’ 2015 capital spending plans. A precipitous drop in the price of crude oil has
negatively altered the outlook for MWS in 2015, but even with the expected slowdown, we will continue to prosper. Mustang is a
diverse organization that has targeted a prospective market through innovative equipment and catering largely to well
abandonments. Although there have been various negatives that have interrupted our expected revenue, with the aid of our
committed personnel and our diverse business structure, our continued goal will be to sustain stable earnings and revenue for
the personnel and company.
We look forward to this opportunity to grow as a team and continue to prove that Mustang Well Services is a superior service
group. Thank you, to all of our dedicated and committed personnel and I look forward to seeing each of you at our Spring
Meetings.
Congratulations to January’s Motorcycle Draw Winner Bill Eoakemidis
Contact Us - WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!!
Please send any interesting photos of you or your equipment, or give us a call to discuss your ideas:
[email protected], Calgary: (403) 540-3600, Camrose: (780) 678-2000
Stay tuned for Issue 4 of the Mustang Newsletter in July 2015