Trican Well Service Ltd. Chasing the Bakken Brings Trican to Brandon

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Chasing the Bakken oilfield boom has led multi-national oilfield service company Trican Well Service Ltd. straight to the heart of southwestern Manitoba.

Established in ’s oil country in 1996, Trican Well Service provides a variety of oilfield services to energy exploration and production companies across North America and select markets in Russia, and to The North Sea region through Trican Completion Solutions. Trican provides specialized, engineered, and integrated solutions to its customers involved in the exploration and development of oil and natural gas reserves. Among its oilfield-focused products and services are acidizing & production enhancement, cementing, coiled tubing, fracturing, geological solutions, industrial services, multistage fracturing tools, nitrogen, pipeline services, remote well monitoring, reservoir solutions, and well intervention tools. With 18 operating bases in Western • Trican Well Service employs in the already established, the company made a strategic move east into range of 2,500 people worldwide and Manitoba in early 2012 with the opening of its new facility in Brandon. is ranked amongst Canada’s Top

100 Corporate Research & Located on five acres on Limestone Road East in Brandon’s southeast industrial Development Spenders area, the Brandon base is Trican’s easternmost Canadian location and focuses exclusively on providing cementing and fracturing services to oil companies • drilling in Manitoba’s Spearfish formation. Company officials made the decision to The company’s Brandon base opened in January of 2012 and expand into Manitoba after finding that crews from its Estevan, , base were travelling more and more regularly to job sites in the Virden oil well provides two main oilfield pumping area – and Brandon provided the necessary “infrastructure” of supplier businesses services (fracturing and cementing) and the hotel/housings stock required, not to mention a strong local labour pool to oilfield companies in southwestern accompanied by the high potential for employee retention. Thanks to those Manitoba enticing factors, Trican purchased land on the edge of Brandon and began its • operations there in January of 2012. Little more than one year later, the company The Brandon base employs expanded its original 3,000 square-foot shop into its current 23,000 square-foot approximately 60 individuals, ranging facility, which it officially opened in the fall of 2013. from journeyman mechanics, administration staff, parts and Currently employing in the range of 60 people, Trican’s Brandon base services electronic technicians, journeyman wells primarily in the Virden area, though the demand for work can sometimes mechanics, equipment operators and take them south to the U.S. border and as far north as the Yellowhead Highway. Class 1 truck drivers Trican works for major companies in the area such as Tundra Oil & Gas Partnership and Crescent Point Energy Corporation. Trican’s method of • Trican Well Service provides a cementing wellbores is to pump dry cement powder mixed with water straight into variety of oil well services to oilfield a steel casing positioned in the well. An average cement job can be completed in companies across North America 4 to 8 hours. Trican’s fracturing service, meantime, involves pumping a fluid – and select markets in Russia and consisting mostly of water and sand combined with a small percentage of additives The North Sea - down the wellbore with sufficient pressure to crack the rock, creating a pathway for hydrocarbons to access the wellbore and rise to surface. Trican crews can be • Trican Well Service has been on the ground for a fracturing job for anywhere between 8 hours to 36 hours, recognized as an employer of choice, depending on its complexity. A diverse skillset is needed for this type of work, and earning accolades as a Top as such, Trican’s employee base ranges from journeyman mechanics, parts Employer in Canada and Alberta technicians, Class 1 truck drivers, specialized equipment operators, electronic over many years

410 9th Street Brandon MB R7A 6A2 204.729.2132 866.729.2132 [email protected] Trican Well Service Ltd. Chasing the Bakken Brings Trican to Brandon

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technicians, as well as office staff and administration at the Brandon base. All of Trican’s regular equipment maintenance is also done right on-site at its Brandon shop.

Even with the oilfield industry’s prolonged slowdown, Trican is still managing to carry a dominant market share in the Virden area, though it has decided to put a planned Brandon expansion on the back burner until the industry can rebound. Company officials predict the upcoming year will bring about markets that are equal to or slightly less than the current year’s activity. This company isn’t resting on its laurels, however. Thanks to robust research and development centres in , Alberta and Woodlands, Texas, Trican prides itself on being a technology company, providing specialized products and unique material blends for its cementing and fracturing services. From methods of “floating” sand used in fracturing to specialized quick and slow-setting cement, Trican’s ability to evolve with an ever-changing technology has allowed it to enjoy its current 49 th place spot on the list of Canada’s Top 100 Corporate Research and Development Spenders, as compiled by Research Infosource.

With the oil zones being chased in Virden viewed as relatively young, Trican’s commitment to the southwestern Manitoba region is part of a long-term strategy in the area, with some potential for Brandon’s base to service business even further east in Manitoba. Since setting up shop in Brandon, Trican has cemented its presence in the business community and created high-paying jobs and positive economic spinoffs. Meanwhile, Brandon has been able to provide Trican with a fresh, young approach to how it offers oilfield services and a firm toehold in Manitoba’s oilfield industry as it continues chasing the Bakken!

TricanWellService.com

410 9th Street Brandon MB R7A 6A2 204.729.2132 866.729.2132 [email protected]