While the energy industry continues to show its volatility, the effects are being felt. Last week Canadian oil company Cenovus Energy announced it would be laying off 15 per cent of its staff and suspending pay hikes. According to a release the impact of Cenovus’ 2015 capital reductions include the suspension of the bulk of the company’s 2016 conventional drilling program in Southern Alberta. “In the coming weeks, Cenovus intends to realign its workforce based on its revised spending plans. Where work has been stopped or deferred, the company plans to reassign employees to core business areas and intends to begin reducing the size of its contract workforce,” states a release. So far The Mail has not learned the local impact of this reduction. The Mail also learned that MRC Global offices in Drumheller and Hanna would be closing down. Staff at the local office and the Edmonton office did not comment, and correspondence with its Texas offices were not returned. There is some stability locally it appears, as Encana welcomes some new faces to its office. In October of last year the company agreed to sell off the majority of its Clearwater assets to Ember Resources. Encana retained a portion of its holdings, which are part of a joint venture between Encana and Toyota Tsusho. This area is served by the Drumheller office. While Ember kept a number of Encana employees, the Drumheller office is welcoming some new faces. “We’ve added a few more staff from the Strathmore office,” said community relations advisor for Encana Luigi Vescarelli. He explains they have added the completions group from the Strathmore area, staff from the drilling and construction groups and a member of the safety group. He said the overall numbers in Drumheller after the sale have remained about the same. Ember Resources also took on a number of employees. “We filled a few offices, but we also lost a few offices,” said Vescarelli. He said with the Toyota Tsusho partnership, they are still active, drilling about 200 wells a year, and while there have been a few service companies close, Encana is still getting the work done. “It is pretty steady throughout the year, we’re going pretty strong right now,” said Vescarelli. He adds that while exploration has slowed down, Drumheller still has a strong service sector. “The pump jacks are still going up and down, the compressors are still rotating and reciprocating. It’s like driving a car, you're going to need a mechanic; when you are running a compressor 24/7 we still have all the contract mechanics,” he said. “At least we have all the existing infrastructure here that keeps our maintenance crews going.”
