Clint Buchinski

Drilling Supervisor

A tenacious 29-year-old, this is Clint's first tour as a company man - a chance he got when MGM's John Williams was looking for someone young and cocky to co-pilot this drilling project. He may not have decades of experience, but he has a proven ability to adapt, having worked every job on rigs in Canada, the US and Mexico.

Hometown: Yorkton, SK
Experience: 11 years

Everything I do is calculated and thought about before I do it.

Tyson Pages

Driller

Seventeen years ago driller Tyson Pages chose the oil patch over the office because he was looking for excitement. Today, Tyson is working a dream job; drilling a well in unknown territory with a brand new crew just below the Arctic Circle. And the night shift is bound to be full of surprises...

Hometown: Red Deer, AB
Experience: 17 years

The thing I like about working on a drilling rig is every day when you come on shift, you have no idea what you're doing. Anything could happen.

Kelly Pelsma

Driller

Kelly started in the oil patch as a leasehand 7 years ago and never looked back. He worked his way up to driller in four years and sees himself climbing the ranks for years to come. He’s so happy to work the rigs, he’ll trade in a driller’s week off for a leasehand’s paycheck. He’s what they call a “lifer.” He loves the work, he loves the money, and he loves his truck.

Hometown: Edmonton, AB
Experience: 7 years

I'm not afraid to work, and I'm young. So why not work hard and make as much money as you can?

Jerry Dusdal

Truck Supervisor

Jerry is the Truck Supervisor, orchestrating rig moves throughout the infamous network of ice roads in the north. And guiding 30 massive trucks holding tons of steel across skimpy bridges and over treacherous patches of ice is no simple feat. It takes a respect for mother nature, a pinch of physics, and whole lot of people skills.

Hometown: Sherwood Park, AB
Experience: 30 years

I don't have kids, but when I go to work, I've got about 38 of 'em.

Mickey Hempler

Highway Maintenance Supervisor

Mickey rules with a big stick. A measuring stick that dictates who and what can cross the ice bridges where the Mackenzie River and winter road intersect. From commanding barges and tugboats to building ice roads, Mickey's got over 30 years of experience working with rivers. He knows that to guarantee a safe passage over the mighty Mackenzie, there’s no room for error.

Hometown: Fort Simpson, NT
Experience: 30 years

There's lots of jobs you can shortcut your way through, but not when you're building ice.

Logan Wild

Drilling Supervisor

Logan may have an office trailer, but he can be seen everywhere, above and below the rig floor. As Penn West’s company man on-site, his job is to strike a balance between the challenges in the field and Calgary’s bottom line, safely. Logan’s style is calm and focused; he’s more likely to hand you a wrench than blow a gasket.

Hometown: Pierceland, SK
Experience: 19 years

There's no such thing as "I can't"...come up with a solution.

Cody Wilson

Driller

Cody is a driller who knows what he wants. In high school, he wanted the opportunities that working in the oil patch could offer. Now in the doghouse, he wants a crew that loves coming to work, does the job right, and gets home safe. He's a leader with a paternal touch, whether he's encouraging the green roughneck, or shooting his jokester motorhand "the look."

Hometown: Edmonton, AB
Experience: 12 years

I'll probably be here for a while yet, because it gets in your blood, you know?

Jesse Halikas

Roughneck

Alberta is a long way from Jesse’s home, and the rig floor is a long way from the hockey rink, where he practically lived until a few weeks ago. But Jesse’s learning that the same skills apply. Work hard, and just when you think you can’t take any more, work harder. He may be green, but he’s a team player through and through.

Hometown: --
Experience: 0 years

I want to do this, and I don’t see why I won’t be able to.

Mike Bencz

Motorhand

Mike is the Motorhand. When he's not on the rig floor spinning chain, he's busy keeping the rig’s machinery up and running. He's new to this job, so his mind is always on task, thinking five steps ahead. And as the self-appointed rig comedian, he also thinks five jokes ahead, keeping rig morale high.

Hometown: Edmonton, AB
Experience: 6 years

It’s a long 12 hours, so as long as you’re having fun and smiling, it makes the day fly by.

Colten Bosch

Derrickhand

Colten is the derrickhand, the lone wolf of the crew. His duties keep him on the monkeyboard, watching the action from 60 feet above, or tending to the mud tanks, pumps and centrifuges that keep fluid circulating in the hole. It’s solitary work, but Colten is happy to do it.

Hometown: Medicine Hat, AB
Experience: 6 years

Colten’s favourite part of the job? "working upstick…you can see for miles on a clear day. It’s peaceful."

John Williams

Field Supervisor

John Williams is MGM’s Field Supervisor, and on this wildcat wellsite near the Arctic, he’s the first to arrive and the last to pack up and leave. He oversees everything from ice road construction, to rigging up, to drilling. With three decades of experience under his belt, John knows that no matter how many details he takes into account, something always goes wrong.

Hometown: Cold Lake, AB
Experience: 28 years

The further north you come, the less help you have. So you better be organized.