Slowdown?

Usually this time of year there are oilfield loads non stop heading up north. I've seen virtually none since before christmas. Talked to a couple guys who have indicated that it's very slow. The thing is, we still need production to meet market needs. It will put a crimp in new projects for sure, but I would think existing contracts to haul crude and it's related products should still be happening? Maybe we'll hear from some of the guys in frac, cementing, or some of those lines.

 

Well servicing is laying off, rigs are being stacked, projects are being shelved, yes the slowdown is real and happening quick. Was at Cenovus and got shut down Sunday at lunch, told to pack up my room and head home.

 

Looks like the jobs are going to be in fluid hauling from the back 40

 

I am directly involved with drilling in basically the same area you are in. Since January 1st activity is up slightly up for me over last year at this time but there are more (and bigger, including a couple more super triple) rigs in my area. All of these rigs had work scheduled before it became obvious prices were not going to jump back up very soon. Based on known drilling contracts henceforth I am anticipating a 50% drop in business for me and my colleagues, which is the same figure that Mark Scholz at CAODC is using.

Given the insane (and stuipid) frenzy of oil patch activity (aka squandering of the resource) recently, I expect the biggest plunge ever in employment in Alberta. Combined with the cancellation of every new project in the McMurray Tar Pits I suppose there will be 100,000 newly-unemployed people in Alberta 3 months from now. Nothing new in poorly-managed boom and bust Alberta but I think the numbers will be much larger this time. Time for everybody to meditate on the wisdom of a petro-state.

I'll bet $100 the handmaidens of the (foreign-owned) oil companies sitting in the Alberta legislature will be giving themselves handsome raises this year. Business as usual in Alberta. Sending oil profits abroad and leaving a mess behind. Albertans fall for it every time. Hopefully this latest oily rout will burst the idiotic housing bubble in Edmonton.

Fracking? I don't know. There are supply contracts to fulfill. I would love to get some of the frackers off the highway (and out of the Husky parking lot in Clairmont).

 

Yea were slow and also in the Grand Prairie area. I haul mostly frac oil and water for fracs and were feeling the pinch now. And anything we are currently doing there's company's banging on the door saying they'll do it for cheaper. 6 or 7 dollars a cube cheaper and dumping rates to as low as 160 an hour I've heard. They don't even care about a profit at this point.

 

Not good. Dropping rates is like cutting your own throat hoping your competition will die.

 

What Cenovus site?

 

I was fired from a job after two months hauling fluids. I thought it'd be easier this time around because I now had off-road, chain up, fluids, and oilfield experience, plus all my tickets, and I was able to find someone to give me a reference from that last job. Plus I am actually here in GP this time around, not applying from BC like before. I've now applied to about 45 jobs, mostly in Grande Prairie, and have received interest from maybe 3 companies. Had two interviews so far. Seems like there's just so many people looking for work that even though a few jobs a day are posted on GP Kijiji, companies are being swamped with resumes. I'm gonna give it another week tops, then I'm heading home. I hear Seven Gen has a lot of leases still going, but with the temps and a few road bans, I'm not sure how that's panning out.

 

I know the slave lake division of my company is basically shutting down since cenovus shut down all the activities in the area.