ASET Technology Alberta Winter 2020 - 17

spotlight

Building bonds
at Birchcliff
A N A LB E R TA N O I L A ND G A S T I TA N W I T H
E MPLOY E E C ONNEC T I ON S AT I T S C OR E

In the Summer of 2004, Birchcliff Energy
Ltd. was incorporated, officially donning the
name in the fall of that year. Since that point
the Calgary-based company has rapidly
expanded into an oil and gas powerhouse,
with operating territory spanning across a
sizable chunk of northwestern Alberta, in
the Peace River Arch.
This area " is one of the most prolific natural gas and light oil
producing areas of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, " according to the company's website. A large part of the
area's plentiful output stems from the natural conditions that
allow the company to continually keep up production through
snow, sleet, rain or shine.
The ability to keep up their operations the entire year translates to the company being able to produce around 80,000
barrels of oil a day, according to Dave Humphreys, Birchcliff's
vice president of operations.
" We're a low cost finder and a low cost producer that has over
200 very loyal and dedicated employees, several of which, by
the way, are members of ASET, " Humphreys explains.
Humphreys is himself an ASET R.E.T., as well as a P.L. (Eng.)
with APEGA. He has a career spanning decades in the oil and
gas industry, with more than a few executive notches on his
belt. With a grab bag of career experiences to choose from,
the top job and company would need to have something fairly
special. Birchcliff takes that top spot.
On what exactly prompted him to see Birchcliff as the jewel
in his crown, Humphreys points to a number of factors that
provide an edge over the competition.

" The first thing that comes to mind is our people, " he says.
" We have an excellent, amazing family of employees here at
Birchcliff. "
What that translates to in Humphrey's eyes is a perception of
employees as more than just a workforce.

" Our people are our number one asset.
Full stop. We've taken great pride in
treating our people like they are not just
a number on a pay stub, but that they are
part of our Birchcliff family, " he says.
As a result, Humphreys says that " layoffs have not been
something that we have done outside of performance-related
issues. We have said to our people: 'You go home and sleep
at night, and you tell your families that you still have a job.'
And we've kept that commitment with our employees. "
After the human component, Birchcliff's next strongest tool
is its facilities and infrastructure. Due to the company's ownership of the Pouce Coupe gas plant, built smack dab in the
middle of their production region, it's able to process its own
natural gas, cutting third party costs out of the equation.
" Next would be our proven track record, " Humphreys says.
" We have always delivered on what we said we would do, year
over year, and as a result we have a very solid balance sheet. "
Capping off the company's advantages is their " transparent
go forward game plan, which focuses on cash flow and debt
reduction. I think all of these qualities set us apart from many
of our peers in the industry. "

TECHNOLOGY ALBERTA | WINTER 2020 | 17

ASET Technology Alberta Winter 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASET Technology Alberta Winter 2020