Article taken from "The Roughneck" Magazine Volume 52, No. 1. Nov. 2003:
According to Ray Frehlick, who has close to 50 years experience in the oilpatch, the last 27 of them at the helm of Prairie Mud Service Ltd., there are four main benefits of employing his Estevan, Saskatchewan headquartered company.
One, there is well over a century of collective experience in technical service and sales of drilling fluids all over Western Canada at Prairie Mud.
Two, the company's ability to manufacture numerous drilling mud additives makes pricing competitive.
Three, owning and operating a fleet of delivery and highway trucks allows Prairie Mud to provide more attractive pricing for its customers.
Four, having an in-house research and development lab, and if needed the technical support of suppliers gives Prairie Mud the backup needed to thrive in the ever-changing drilling industry.
Incorporated in 1976 by Ray Frehlick, who had been a drilling fluids engineer and area manager in Saskatchewan and northern United States since the mid-1950's, Prairie Mud, which first specialized in salt systems, opened warehouses in Swift Current and Kindersley, Saskatchewan in 1986. Four years later, the company moved stateside to Williston , North Dakota. In 1996, Prairie Mud established a warehouse in Lloydminster, Alberta.
While the company, which employs 38 people full-time, has various stocking points throughout Alberta and northeastern British Colombia, its fleet of trucks is formidable. "We own rental vans, highboys,B-Train trailers, and a variety of highway tractors, as well as three-ton and one-ton trucks" Frehlick explains. "Running our own trucks and trailers allows us to supply and service our customers' drilling fluid transportation needs with very competitive rates."
Also impressive is the team of full-time drilling fluid technicians, ensuring Prairie Mud has technical services at all its warehouse locations. "We have to provide products and service to private, junior, and major oil and gas companies. Our workers have extensive experience with various mud systems - from salt- and freshwater-based to polymer- and oil-based systems," he says. "We have also worked with numerous completion and work over fluids.
In order to meet the growing demand of industry, Prairie Mud, which custom blends hydrocarbon based fluids that are environmentally friendly, established an environmental division, based in Estevan, in 1999. "It deals with the disposal of drilling fluids and associated wastes in a safe and responsible manor, adhering to the rules and regulations of governing bodies.... Specifically, we prove such things as land spreading while drilling [LWD] and lease disposal testing," says Frehlick. "We also test new products before using them, and we can attack any well problems with more in-depth analysis."
R&D Expertise
Prairie Mud is on the cutting edge of technology with invert-based mud systems. With its own R&D lab and a chemical engineer on staff, the company is capable of building environmentally safe systems that are safe for all personnel on location. "We also customize emulsifiers and emulsion stabilizers to meet the needs of specific problems and areas. After completion of these wells, the inventory of hydrocarbon-based systems are safely stored for reuse in the future," explains Wayne Hein, area manager based in Estevan.
"Manufacturing our own wetting agents, defoamers, corrosion inhibitors, liquid H2S scavengers, surfactants, and detergents allows us to complete competitively, and build products specifically for our customers at a fair price, and providing the necessary knowledge to meet their challenging demands," he continues.
"Having out own lab enables us to provide 24-hour analysis on corrosion rings and cupons," Hein adds. "This allows contractors and operators to be on top of equipment and drill string conditions."
Poly-Drill Agent
Prairie Mud, which recently introduced inhibited polymer mud to help minimize formation damage, has had a sales office in Calgary for years, but lately that presence has been bolstered by Chuck Haines, who is in charge of technical sales and operations, and Lorne Larsen, technical sales.
Both Haines and Larsen have many years of drilling mud experience. This past November, Larsen was at Pink Mountain, halfway between Fort St. John and Fort Nelson , B.C., on a deep well doe Canadian Natural Resources Limited. More technical sales representatives have been added to other jobs to spread the Prairie Mud expertiese.
Along with CNRL other clients include EnCana Corp., Nexen Inc., Upton Rescources, Petrovera Resources, NAL Resources, Enerplus Resources, ARC Resources, Ganza-Reese, Aldon Oils and APF Energy just to name a few.
Both Chuck Haines and Wayne Hein became Prairie Mud shareholders earlier this year.
As an agent for Poly-Drill Drilling Systems, Prairie Mud is even more effective. After spending $10,000 on core studies to prove to potential customers that Poly-Drill is a superior product, Prairie Mud is demonstrating again that it serves Western Canada with 24 hour drilling mud service.
"Poly-Drill systems enable drilling without the use of numerous conventional drilling fluid products, such as fluid loss control additives and gels. The polymers utilize inhibited formations by ionic charges absorbing to shales and clays, preventing water damage [that is, hole instability, sloughing and hydration of the formation]. These polymer blends differ from other polymers because of the balance of ionic changes. The specific balance of charges was developed after studying core samples throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and South America," Haines explains.
"Removing drill solid waste has the potential of reducing drill costs, removing and efficiently disposing of potential pollutants, conserving water resources, and recycling chemicals and water," he adds.
Overall for 2004, Chuck Haines wants to see Prairie Mud establish good working relationships with at least ten more clients. His company has the history and necessary know-how.
"Here at Prairie Mud," says Ray Frehlick, "we believe out company's reputation has been built on competitive pricing, hard work, and going the extra mile to take care of out customers."
