2017 Update
Dennis Chorney (PET '75), Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors, Teine Energy
"In 2011, I had just started my third company, Marble Point, which has evolved into Teine Energy. It's a private company that's grown substantially since then. Our main shareholder is the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board. We've become one of the largest, if not the largest, operator in southwestern Saskatchewan around the Kindersley area and the Viking play. We acquired PennWest's asset in there, so we're now the largest landowner and operator in the play. We have close to 30,000 barrels a day of light crude with close to one million acres of land and inventory exceeding 5,000 wells, so it's a substantial enterprise.
We've continued to grow, even with oil as low as it has been. We've still drilled down between 200 and 300 wells. This is the third company I've had since my 25-year career with PanCanadian, now EnCana. The other two companies I started were also during the very tough times of downturn in the market. If you are fortunate enough to have people willing to invest in you, that's the best time in a cyclical market to be reinvesting.
Both of my sons are SAIT grads and Montana Tech grads. They both work for the company, so it's been fun watching them take on larger and larger roles. And I just got word from Montana Tech that they have awarded me their Distinguished Alumni Award for 2017."
Dennis Chorney continues to start and grow companies. His latest, Teine Energy, is centred on the Viking play in Saskatchewan with more than 5,000 wells. His two sons, both SAIT graduates, also work for the company. Dennis is also a long-time champion of SAIT. In the 1980s, he worked as a part-time instructor in SAIT's Petroleum Engineering Technology (PT) program. He participated on SAIT's advisory board, volunteered at the Rance Fisher Wellsite Production Education Centre, and helped secure an articulation agreement that gave SAIT energy students credit towards engineering degrees at Montana Tech. Dennis was key supporter and member of the Promising FuturesTM Campaign Cabinet.