Herald photo by David Rossiter A pumping station, like this one off Highway 509 between Lethbridge and Standoff, could become a familiar sight on the local landscape.

Dave Mabell
LETHBRIDGE HERALD
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We're no Saudi Arabia. But southern Alberta has drawn plenty of oil exploration rigs in recent months, employing the latest in drilling technologies.
Alberta companies are also employing hundreds of oilfield personnel in the Lethbridge region, pumping cash into local gas stations, restaurants and hotels. They're also looking at building service facilities here, real estate people say.
Don't expect an oil boom to trigger high-rise construction. But insiders say if the Alberta Bakken deposits pan out as expected, the industry could become another "engine" in a region that already enjoys a well-diversified economy.
And while Lethbridge has become the focus of the province's "unconventional" oil exploration, other communities are seeing spin-offs as well. At a meeting Thursday in Cardston, local entrepreneurs learned how they might get a piece of the action.
Next week in Warner, southern Alberta landowners will be offered advice on how they might respond when oil companies' "landmen" come by, looking for a deal. Late last month, economic impacts from the surge in drilling were outlined during a meeting in Coaldale.
"There's been a lot of activity in the MDs and counties over the last year," says Linda Erickson, Lethbridge director for Alberta Treasury and Enterprise. There's also been a lot of discussion over its long-term impact.
For land owners, next Thursday's meeting in Warner will include speakers from industry and from the Farmers' Advocate office, along with advice from a southern Alberta businessman who spent many years in oilfield transportation. (It's set to run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Elks' Hall, with pre-registration available by phone from the Agricultural Service Board toll-free at 1-866-642-2221.)
For real estate personnel, the mini-boom has led to calls from companies that haven't previously considered a location in Lethbridge. Right now, says commercial real estate broker Doug Mereska, they're looking for industrial office space and service bays.
"Some want land to build their own offices and bays."
Although Taber is currently home base for many oilfield service providers, Mereska says exploration outfits coming into the region are now more interested in locating in the city. That makes it easier for them to attract and keep employees, he explains.
"They want to be in a larger centre."
And currently, Lethbridge is in the centre of exploration. Sites on the Blood Reserve were among the first to be drilled, after two oil companies signed a deal with band council.
But Mike Dawson, one of the province's experts in "unconventional resource" development, says the current area of interest extends from northern Montana to about Nanton.
"It's about 80 km wide and 300 km long," he said during an interview from Calgary.
Significant discoveries have been reported close to Lethbridge - natural gas as well as light crude. That's spurred further interest in industry boardrooms.
Within 100 km of the city, Alberta Energy reports, more than 580 mineral rights licences or leases were signed last year, valued at more than $150 million. Two years earlier, Lethbridge-area transactions totalled about $7.6 million.
And some companies are hitting paydirt. Calgary-based DeeThree Exploration Ltd. announced earlier this week an "unconventional" well drilled near the city was producing 550 barrels of oil daily, as well as 60,000 cubic feet of natural gas. Investors say they're "strongly encouraged" by preliminary results.
The Lethbridge-area well started producing after "fracture stimulation," the company says. And that's where some environmental groups raise warning flags.
That "fracking" operation can involve injection of a variety of fluids, and many southern Albertans have warned about their impact on groundwater - as well as on the Oldman River and the region's other surface water. After mounting their protest near a Blood Reserve drillsite, three women were arrested last summer.
Dawson says that kind of stimulation, along with horizontal drilling procedures, are keys to the "unconventional" exploration approaches needed to unlock previously untappable deposits.
"That's what makes the play successful," he says.
About 20 companies are actively exploring in the Lethbridge area, Dawson reports. They range from global giant Shell, to the Alberta "juniors" who've played a big role in recent years.
"There's a lot of buzz out there," he says. "But it's not going crazy."
Just the same, Alberta Energy reported it's best-ever "sale" last year, with more than $841 million spent on leases or licences last June 1. Province-wide, companies invested a record $3.5 billion acquiring mineral rights last year - up from the previous high, $2.4 billion a year earlier.
Exploration crews can be as large as 135, officials say, creating plenty of activity for restaurants, hotels and bars. For every $1 invested in exploration, they say Albertans see another $9 in economic stimulus.