Crestwynd Exploration Limited is hoping to jump-start its company by drilling for oil within the Athabasca region.
The company, which production vice-president Jeff Rutherford said first opened its doors in October 2017, has already installed its first oil well about 32 kilometres south of Athabasca.
Rutherford added the company also plans to build a couple of more wells in the near future.
"At this moment, we are evaluating to see how things go with this well before we build any more," Rutherford said. "The Athabasca region was part of a zone area we were potentially interested in, and so we went from there."
Rutherford, along with Allan Carter, the executive vice-president for engineering, both paid a visit to Athabasca County February 20, when they addressed councillors at their public works meeting.
According to the minutes from that meeting, the two men discussed their Crestwynd 2018 Activity Review, which included an overview of the neophyte company's development plans. The minutes also stated that councillors also expressed concerns regarding road use within the county.
At the meeting, both men noted that their proposed locations have good access to area highways to minimize traffic, will use existing traffic whenever possible, and will use high-grade roads whenever possible to minimize traffic on low-grade roads. They also added that they would use multi well pads for long-term development to minimize surface impact, and they also pledged to work with the county to ensure the communication of future development pads.
Since the meeting, Rutherford has said the company uses two trucks a week to ship the oil out.
"It is trucked, so of course everybody has some concerns," he said. "Because we do just two trucks a week, I would suspect that the vast majority of area residents do not even know it even exists."
According to Rutherford, how long they stay within the Athabasca area depends on how successful they are with drilling their wells.
"We would prefer not to go somewhere else," he said. "If it does not work out in the area, we will take our money elsewhere. But if it works, we will stay."
He added that the oil they drill out is delivered within the province.
"We deliver it to other local companies within the province," Rutherford said. "They would then take the oil and send it out to wherever they wish to send it, whether it is overseas or inter-provincial."
All in all, he said things have been going well for the company, with how much they make depending on how oil prices fluctuate on the markets.
"People argue and complain when oil prices go down again," he continued. "Prices have been steady so far since we have opened, but there is always room for improvement."
Rutherford said as an infant company taking their first steps, they are facing a lot of unknowns as to where they go as a company.
"We will just have to see how we do over the next year, and then just go from there," he said.
