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Business
Bonnyville Gas Company Limited
Drilling
for natural gas in the Bonnyville district
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The initial discussions
on the formation of this company took place in early 1948.
It was decided to organize as a syndicate in the first instance.
The first project would be to drill for natural gas. The
purpose was to provide the Bonnyville area with cheap natural
gas. If none was found there would not be any point in forming
a company.
A Syndicate agreement, as drawn by A.M. Déchêne,
now Justice Déchêne, was signed at a meeting
held June 7th, 1948. The subscribers to this agreement were
as follows:
Mr. René Tercier (President) Mr. J.M. Hamel
Mr. M.A. Biron (Secretary) Mr. Donat Dumont
Mr. Lucien Hétu Mr. Albert Richard
Mr. Elie Caouette Mr. J.A. Dubuc
Rev. R. LeRouge Mr. J.N. Vallée
Mr. J. W. Beaudry Dr. L. G. Ayotte
A drilling reservation was obtained from the Province of
Alberta comprising 20,000 acres with the Town of Bonnyville
in the centre. Mr. J.A. Dubuc commenced drilling with an
old cable drill he had purchased at the west coast. This
well was to be known as "Bonnyville Gas Well No. 1."
Mr. Dubuc drilled on this well for nearly one year without
reaching the bottom of the hole. At 950 feet this cable
rig would not go any further. The well was completed by
Anderson Drilling Company who had a small rotary rig in
the area. Gas was found at 1015 feet. This well was completed
for gas production.
It was then decided to form a "Private Company".
Under the laws of the Province of Alberta, a private company
is one in which shares cannot be transferred unless approved
by the Board of Directors.
Mr. A.M. Déchêne drew the Memorandum and articles
of Association. The authorized capital stock was set at
30,000 preferred shares and 45,000 common shares. The holders
of investments in the new syndicate was to be transfered
to the preferred stock of the new company. Those that signed
memorandum are :
Mr. R.J. Tercier
Mr. J.M. Hamel
Mr. Lucien Hétu
Mr. Alfred Muller
Mr. Jos Dubuc
Monies were raised to drill a second well north of the Town
and then a third well on the North West shore of Jessie
Lake. The second well proved to be very poor and was subsequently
abondoned. The third well was very good and it is still
a big producer after 31 years of production. A fourth well
was drilled on the South West shore of Jessie, this well
was very good. From thereon the gas company drilled 12 more
wells. All but 2 were placed into production.
The first Board of Directors were: R.J. Tercier, J.M. Hamel,
J.N. Vallée, J.W. Beaudry, Lucien Hétu, Alfred
Muller, and Dr. L. G. Ayotte. Mr. Muller resigned and was
replaced by Elie Caouette.
Mr. R.J. Tercier is the only remaining member of the original
Board of Directors. Subsequently the replacements were;
Donat Dumont, Roméo Gaucher, André Vallée,
Léo Caouette, Phil Caouette, Jules Vallée,
Emile Dumont, Edward Vallée, L. Hamel..
The present Board consists of Léo Caouette, R.J.
Tercier, André Vallée, Phil Caouette, Edward
Vallée, Emile Dumont, and Laurier Hamel.
Mr. R.J. Tercier was the charter president and remained
president of the Board until the end of 1976. Mr. Tercier
is now vice president of the Board.
Mr. Andre Vallée has been president in 1977. He was
replaced by Léo Caouette in 1978. And has been president
to 1982.
M.A. Biron was the original Secretary of the company and
has remained secretary until 1982. In addition, in 1953,
Mr. M.A. Biron was the general Manager, a position he has
held until 1982.
The initial distribution system was done by the St. Paul
Foundry under the supervision of E.A. Mailloux in late summer
of 1950. The first gas connection was made in October 1950.
Some of the first clients were J.N. Vallée, R.J.
Tercier, Bonnyville Hotel, Alphonse Baril.
The financing of the initial distribution system was difficult.
The Toronto Dominion Bank would lend $60,000.00 only upon
the personal guarantee of large shareholders. This was done
and the monies made available to pay the St. Paul Foundry.
This loan was repaid in good time and from that point on
financing capital projects were not difficult.
As of December 31, 1950 there were 225 clients; Dec. 31,
1960, 555 clients; as of Dec. 31, 1970, 1057 clients; as
of Dec. 31, 1980, 2169 clients. This includes some 500 clients
at the beaches, Fort Kent and rural areas. There is now
38 kilometers of pipeline in the Town; 30.59 kilometers
of gas gathering lines and 340 kilometers of gas distribution
lines in the rural areas.
The price of natural gas was set initially at $2.00 for
two thousand cubic feet, plus 45¢ for each additional
one thousand cubic feet. This price remained in effect till
1975. There has been many price changes since 1975. The
main objective of this company has always been to supply
the Bonnyville area with gas at the lowest possible price.
This objective has always been carried out, i.e. if you
compare prices with all other areas.
The first employee was Maurice A. Biron, the Secretary and
then the General Manager who is still with this company.
The first service man was Thomas Dubuc. He was followed
by Guy Marcotte who was with this company for 17 years.
One long time employee, Mrs. Pauline Chartrand has been
with the firm for 12 years. The present staff consists of
M.A. Biron, Marvin Tiedemann (accountant & office manager),
Mrs. Pauline Chartrand, Miss Lise Croteau, Miss Céline
Mercier, Mr. Charles Biron, Mr. Roland Masse, Mr. Rob Galloway,
Mr. Marc Théroux.
At the annual meeting held in April 1953, there were 39
shareholders listed in the Share Register. These were all
those who invested monies in the first two years of the
organization of the company, it represented 60,868 shares.
Since that time shares transmission has been done through
settlement of estates and through outright sales as approved
by the Board of Directors.
In April 1981 Bonnyville Gas Company Limited changed its
legal status from a private company to that of a publicly
owned company with authorized capital, set at 2,000,000
common shares. 200,000 shares are offered to the public
at $1.50 per share. Any shareholder can sell his shares
to any purchaser he can find.
The financial report of July 31, 1981 shows that the company
has total assets of $2,446.993.00.
It is proposed to drill 2 more gas wells in 1982. The location
of the wells are excellent and it is anticipated that it
will go a long way toward providing Bonnyville Gas with
gas supplies for a long time.
The future prospects of the company are excellent. It will
grow with the development of the Town of Bonnyville &
surrounding area. The 1981-82 slowdown in development has
given the company a good chance to consolidate its finance.
The highlights in the history of the company must be the
discovery of natural gas. It has certainly been very exciting,
not only for the shareholders but for the entire population
as well. This was seen on discovery day when nearly everyone
was present to see the "Blow Down" of the first
gas well. The next highlight was the "Turn On"
of gas in the distribution system.
Shareholders meet annually. It is a get together which,
it is felt, all enjoy. This company was formed with local
initiative, with local monies, with local help for a purpose
very much in need. Shareholders and local people appear
to enjoy the success it has had.
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