Estevan 鈥� Prairie Hot Shot Ltd. started operations in Estevan on Sept. 1.
The outfit is a three-way partnership of Alyshia Rae, Todd Adams and Dustin Mack. They have four trucks and five trailers.
Rae said she handles the office, but also drives hotshot and pulls trailers when she has to.
Hotshot services are 鈥渟o competitive,鈥� she noted on Oct. 31.
When the downturn really took hold in December 2014, hotshots some of the hardest hits to the rates oil companies were willing to pay.
There鈥檚 been a slight recovery in rates in the last year in the hotshot business, according to Rae. If oil hits US$60 per barrel, she鈥檚 hoping those rates will recover some more.
Asked if the time is right to launch a new business, she said, 鈥淚 can鈥檛 say this is necessarily the right time to make money in the oilfield, but there鈥檚 still work out there. It鈥檚 a good time to get our name out.鈥�
There are four main hotshot operations in town, Rae explained, and a number of one-man, one-truck outfits.
She鈥檚 worked several years with another hotshot company, managing it since 2014. This fall she decided to go on her own. She鈥檚 known Adams for many years. Adams once had his own trucking outfit, and he knew Mack, Rae explained. Adams and Rae are with it full-time, while Mack helps out when he鈥檚 not working with another oilfield company.
The work includes running items out to drilling rigs and service rigs, but they鈥檝e also found work outside the oilpatch. That includes moving tractors for farmers or equipment for farm implement dealers. They have even picked up campers. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to Manitoba tomorrow,鈥� she said in that regard.
鈥淚n this economy, you can鈥檛 just be for the oilfield. You have to open all doors, and do what you can to get the work.鈥�
They started out with the trucks they had. 鈥淲e all brought personal vehicles in,鈥� she said. They added one used truck and picked up two new pintle-hitch trailers, necessary for service rig work.
Insurance, she said, is considerable, adding it was 鈥渕ore than I thought it would be.鈥�
For 2018, she said, 鈥淚鈥檓 forecasting drilling will go up in January. We will hopefully be flat out with that.鈥�
Rae said, 鈥淲e will be hiring before January. We鈥檙e hoping we鈥檙e going to be busy.鈥�
They store drilling tools for customers at their shop, just east of Estevan.
There鈥檚 always service rig work going on, as well.聽聽
