Western Energy Services Profile
Western Energy Services Corp. operates as an oilfield service company in Canada and the United States.
Segments
The company operates through Contract Drilling and Production Services segments.
Contract Drilling
The company’s contract drilling segment provides contract drilling services in Canada through Horizon Drilling from operations bases in Leduc, Alberta and Estevan, Saskatchewan, and in the United States through Stoneham Drilling, from operations bases in Williston, North Dakota and Midland, Texas.
Production Services
The company’s production services segment provides well servicing in Canada through Eagle Well Servicing with operating bases in Red Deer, Grande Prairie and Slave Lake, Alberta and Lloydminster and Estevan, Saskatchewan, and oilfield rental equipment services through Aero Rental Services which operates out of facilities in Red Deer and Grande Prairie, Alberta. Western also provides well servicing in the United States through Western Oilfield Services, from its operations base in Bakersfield, California.
The company owns and operates 57 drilling rigs (49 in Canada and eight in the United States). Western is the fourth major drilling contractor in Canada based on various rigs registered with the CAODC. In total, 56% of Western’s drilling rig fleet are Montney and Duvernay class rigs and the remaining 44% are Cardium class rigs.
The company owns and operates 66 service rigs (63 in Canada and three in the United States), including 32 singles, 26 doubles and eight slant service rigs. Western is the fifth largest well servicing contractor in Canada, based on the number of rigs registered with the Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors.
Aero Rental Services, the company’s oilfield equipment rental division, supplies exploration and production companies, as well as other oilfield service companies, with oilfield rental equipment for pressure control, hydraulic fracturing services, well completions and production work, coil tubing, and drilling services.
Contract Drilling Services
Horizon Drilling provides contract drilling services in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, while Stoneham Drilling provides contract drilling services in the Williston, Permian and Powder River Basins in the United States.
Services and Contracts
Contract drilling services are performed using drilling rigs and auxiliary equipment pursuant to contracts with E&P companies. Customers provide instructions to Western regarding drilling locations and the desired depth of the crude oil or natural gas well to be drilled. If the well is productive and could be economically produced, the drilling rig will set the production casing or liner to complete the well.
Equipment
The company’s contract drilling fleet includes 57 drilling rigs, 49 of which are in Canada. In addition, Western maintains a inventory of rotational equipment in Canada and the United States which is designed to ensure continuous operational efficiencies.
Production Services
Well Servicing
Eagle Well Servicing provides well servicing in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, while Western Oilfield Services provides well servicing in the Bakersfield area of California
Services and Contracts
Service rigs are used for completion services, production work-overs and abandonment services as well as various maintenance activities on producing shallow to deep crude oil and natural gas wells.
Completion services prepare a newly drilled well for production and may include well clean-out, or the installation of production tubing or downhole well equipment. The length of the completion process varies depending on the requirements of the well. Production workover services include major repairs or modifications to existing wells. Workovers are performed to restore and enhance production of an existing producing well or plugging or abandoning a well. Well maintenance services are also required to ensure continuous and production of a producing well. These services include routine mechanical repairs or replacing damaged production tubing, downhole pumps and rods (continuous or jointed) and typically are shorter jobs, sometimes taking less than two days to complete.
In addition to the benefits received from the company’s modern rig fleet, the industry trend towards crude oil related exploration and development activity continues to provide benefit as service rigs are utilized more for crude oil wells than natural gas wells.
Equipment and Operating Bases
The company’s service rig fleet consists of a total of 66 service rigs (63 in Canada and three in the United States). Eagle is the fifth largest well servicing contractor in Canada, based on the number of rigs registered with the Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors
Service rigs operate within a fairly close proximity to their home base, and therefore the competition is localized in nature and limited to other service rigs based nearby. Eagle provides services in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba from bases in Red Deer, Grande Prairie and Slave Lake, Alberta and Lloydminster and Estevan, Saskatchewan. Eagle also is a joint venture partner with the O’Chiese First Nation. The O’Chiese/Eagle joint venture owns and operates two well servicing rigs in Central Alberta. Eagle and the O’Chiese First Nation jointly market the rigs, and the rigs are operated and managed by Eagle personnel and O’Chiese First Nation members. Western Oilfield Services provides well servicing in California through its base in Bakersfield.
Oilfield Rental Equipment Services
Aero Rental Services operates from equipment rental facilities in Red Deer and Grande Prairie, Alberta. Aero’s rental equipment consists of surface pressure control rental assets, including conventional and coil tubing BOPs, accumulators, drilling and production manifolds, debris catchers, frac heads, spooling equipment, valves, tubulars, tubular cross-overs and various other pressure control and handling equipment used at well sites. Aero also offers conventional rental equipment, including power swivels, catwalks, drill collars, pipe racks and matting.
