ENSERVCO Corporation, a provider of well-site services to the domestic onshore oil and gas industry, has purchased several acres in Killdeer, North Dakota, and has entered into a construction contract on a new operations center. The facility is expected to be operational in September and will be located in the heart of the Williston Basin's Bakken Shale formation, one of the largest and most active oil fields in the continental United States.

ENSERVCO expects to break ground on the site later this week. At full operation, the facility will support 30 to 35 employees and a comparable number of service and construction vehicles. The facility will feature a maintenance shop and equipment yard, multiple offices and living quarters for up to 16 employees.

"Many of our current customers have established large acreage positions and extensive drilling programs in the Bakken," said Mike Herman, chairman and CEO. "ENSERVCO is an approved service provider to these companies in other major fields, and they have encouraged us to expand our operations into North Dakota."

Initial customers in the Bakken are expected to include EOG Resources and Hess Corporation (two of the largest oil producers in the Basin), Whiting Petroleum, Brigham Exploration and Chesapeake Energy.

Low average annual temperatures in North Dakota result in frac-fluid heating requirements that can extend eight to 10 months out of the year, according to ENSERVCO's customers. Many of these companies also have expressed a need for year-round well maintenance services such as hot oiling and acidizing, as well as well-site construction services.

"We believe our move into the Bakken could be as strategically significant as our successful expansion last year into the Marcellus Shale," Herman said.

ENSERVCO's North Dakota location will commence operations less than a month after the scheduled opening of its Niobrara Shale facility in Cheyenne, WY.

Tags: ENSERVCO Corp.