Deepwell Energy: The ‘Safety Net’
By Alan Dorich   
Wednesday, 15 October 2008
Deepwell Energy’s waste management services not only support the Albertan oil and gas industry, but also promote a healthy environment. By Alan Dorich
smc Deepwell Energy Services Trust, Calgary, Alberta
Deepwell Energy Services operates a network of waste management facilities for oil and gas producers, providing “an environmental safety net” for its communities.
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As the environmental impacts of the oil and gas industry become a greater concern, Deepwell Energy Services Trust increasingly finds itself in a market with “lots of room to grow,” President and CEO Bob Ritchie says. Based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, the trust operates a network of waste management facilities for oil and gas producers.
   
Founded in 2006, the trust has four locations in Grande Cache, Mayerthorpe, Rycroft and Claresholm, Alberta.
   
By keeping its locations adjacent to producing areas, Deepwell says it forms part of “an environmental safety net” for its communities.
   
According to the trust, its facilities use heat, time and pressure to separate waste. “From produced water, emulsion, drilling fluids and frac fluids, to tank-bottom sludge and contaminated soil, Deepwell’s state-of-the-art facilities can handle approximately 25 types of oilfield waste in an efficient, convenient and environmentally sensible manner,” it says.
   
Within its process, Deepwell says waste streams are divided into three components: water, solids and oil.
   
While the water is clarified and filtered before being injected into a disposal well, the solids are analyzed before they are transported to a landfill.
   
“Any recovered oil is treated to meet standard crude specifications and then delivered to a pipeline,” the trust says.
   
Pursuing Growth
Ritchie joined Deepwell as its president and CEO this August. He notes that he carries more than 25 years in the energy industry, with extensive experience in mergers, acquisitions and business development.
   
The treatment and disposal of waste fluid is already a thriving business, but Ritchie says it will only grow stronger. “Wastewater treating is going to become more and more of an issue,” he predicts.
   
Ritchie says he believes more regulations will be imposed for the recycling and reusing of water, which will help Deepwell prosper further. “I think that will open up opportunities in new business lines that are ancillary to what we’re currently doing,” he explains. “Water is starting to be viewed as a scarce resource in many parts of our basin.
   
“And the oil and gas industry has really come under fire for some of its perceived environmental impacts,” he continues. “As a significant component of their supply chain and as a waste manager, I think we have not done enough to stand beside industry and help them deliver the message that we do and will provide sustainable solutions for the production and development of the country’s energy needs.
   
“Deepwell will continue to solidify that supply chain relationship as part of the solution,” Ritchie says. “The waste management industry needs to become a greater part of the solution and become more involved with the environmental discussions as the attention seems to be focused mostly on the oil and gas producer.”
   
However, Ritchie says, the trust has already taken steps this year to grow itself. This February, Deepwell opened its new, $9 million facility in Claresholm, which has enabled the trust to expand its capabilities.
   
In addition, “We’ve planned to grow through acquisition and by developing greenfield projects,” he says, noting that the trust also has set its sights beyond Alberta, and is now looking at expanding its reach to both British Columbia and Saskatchewan. “There’s an awful lot of activity that is happening in both of those provinces.”
   
For instance, “One of the hot new oil plays is in Saskatchewan’s Bakken formation, driven mostly by new horizontal well technology,” he says, adding that British Columbia has enjoyed major discoveries in non-conventional gas plays.
   
Growing Deepwell
In addition to acquisitions and organic growth, Deepwell also plans “to be responsive to customers’ needs in terms of adding ancillary products and service,” he says. “In the long-term, we’ll probably have to think about broadening [our] scope, but for now we see plenty of opportunities within our current scope of activities.”
   
Ritchie notes that this may include adding new technology, even though the trust has made some beneficial adjustments to its own processes in recent years. “The technology that we’re using, for the most part, is tried and true technology,” he states.
  
However, “There’s certainly an opportunity for there to be more technological advances over the next number of years,” he admits. “We’ll want to take advantage of advances where [feasible].”
 
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