Watching the World Markets
Grisdale says while activity in the United States and Mexico is increasing, “Russia will probably remain flat in terms of activity.” He explains that this is because Russia is constrained by the lack of infrastructure in place. “There are not enough drilling rigs and other services required across the industry for them to expand substantially,” he notes. “So, they are going to be industry-constrained for all of the services required.”

In Canada, Grisdale predicts a “slight reduction in activity because of what Canada has been getting for the revenue for their gas.

“There have also been some changes in government policies – the change in tax structure announced for royalty trust just over a year ago, [for example] – so there is a forecast of a downturn for Canada for 2008. The first quarter looks pretty good in my view, but it could fall off considerably.”

Grisdale says there were some industry concerns with the western portion of Colorado in 2007 because of the lack of pipeline capacity, but the situation was alleviated in January 2008 with the development of the Rockies Express Pipeline. “So, we’re expecting activity in western Colorado to increase,” he adds.

Busy Times at the Shales
Grisdale is also predicting heavy activity in the U.S. shale areas. “Barnette shale in Texas, Woodford Shale in Oklahoma and the Fayetteville Shale in Arkansas – there is an expected increase in activity based on the success of our customers so far in those areas,” he comments.

“All of those shales require large fracture stimulation operations, which has certainly led to an increased number of fracture treatments being done in North America as a whole.

“For a fracture service company, that’s an exciting opportunity, and it has led to a lot of growth in the market,” he adds. “I’m aware of other basins within North America that have yet to be developed, so there is potential to grow further.”

Optimistic Outlook
Grisdale says Calfrac is excited about its opportunities in Mexico and expects to explore more opportunities as it settles into that market. “[Clients] are looking to develop cleaner power generation, and they’re focusing on gas as the fuel of choice for that,” he says.

Overall, Calfrac has enjoyed successful, controlled growth in all of the markets it has entered into to date, Grisdale notes. “We plan to continue to evaluate opportunities around the world and to act on the ones we consider to fit our strategy of diversification,” he states. “Calfrac will stay focused on developing innovative technology and our ‘Service First’ philosophy to serve all of the markets that we participate in.”