ESTEVAN — Doug Martens says he is “very honoured and very humbled” to be named the Southeast Saskatchewan Oil Person of the Year.
The prestigious recognition was presented in front of a large crowd during the biennial Saskatchewan Oil and Gas Show June 3 in Weyburn. Martens, who is the president and CEO of Primec Controls Canada, was recognized for a 36-year career in the patch.
In a bio posted on the Saskatchewan Oil and Gas Show website, Martens said he started his career after graduating from the SIAST (now Saskatchewan Polytechnic) Moose Jaw campus with a diploma in instrumentation engineering technology.
In 1990, Martens joined Estevan Meter – a company that he would be part of in some fashion for the majority of his oilfield career.
He co-founded 3D Maintenance in 1993, which he described as an "important experience" early in his career, and remained with them until 1998.
Then in 2000, he had the opportunity to become a partner in Estevan Meter Services, and later took on the role of president in 2008.
“When I became a partner, we were a small team of fewer than 10 people," recalled Martens. "Over time, that’s grown to more than 120 people today, and that growth really speaks to the people who have been part of the journey along the way.”
In 2011, the company established Virden Meter Services to expand into Manitoba, and in 2015, they acquired AccuTech Systems, which strengthened their technical capabilities. That same year, he joined the board of directors at FireSky Energy.
“This was a very challenging period in the industry, through the 2015 and 2016 downturn, and later on through COVID. It gave me a much broader understanding of the realities and cycles within the exploration and production side of the business.”
Apollo Electric and Controls joined the group in 2017, expanding their electrical and automation services even further. In 2021, Primec Controls LLC opened in Williston, N.D., extending their services into the U.S.
The Canadian operations were brought together under one common brand, Primec Controls Canada, in 2023. Martens said it had "the goal of building a stronger, more unified organization while keeping the people and the culture that made each company successful.”
Martens grew up on a farm in the Alameda area. His father worked in both agriculture and the oilfield over the years.
“The timing of my entry into the oilfield or maybe exit from farming, farming wasn’t that lucrative in the years that I was going into the workforce, and so part of it was an attraction to the opportunity of the money,” he said.
Martens believes his farming background taught him the value of hard work, accountability and helping people around him from an early age.
“Those lessons have stayed with me and still shape how I try to live today," he said.
Martens told SaskToday he was drawn to the oilfield, in part, because it’s an important local industry, but also because he gets to work in business and he gets to encounter good people.
“Every day there’s a new challenge, and it’s an infinite game where you can really work to improve upon yourself,” said Martens.
Most of the people that he has worked alongside as partners or employees have been a lot of fun.
“The customers are absolutely wonderful and I enjoy working with them. The people that are our supply partners, our vendor partners, have always been great to work with, very enjoyable.”
He also praised Primec’s internal service providers.
Martens said he doesn’t intend on retiring soon. He’d like to trim his schedule down to 40 hours a week, but he still enjoys the work.
He knows a number of people who have received the award previously, leading to humility to be in their company.
“Although I am the recipient of this award, it really is about the various team members that have supported me on this journey," he said.
Community has also been important to Martens. He spent many years coaching children’s sports, which he said has been one of the most rewarding experiences of his life. Martens was also involved from the outset with the Moose Creek Golf Course in the Alameda-Oxbow area, helping with the fundraising, design construction and operations over nearly two decades.
“The golf course became an integral part of the Moose Creek Regional Park, which I was also very proud to be part of for a number of years.”
He is also the committee chairman for the Saskatchewan chapter of the Canadian School of Hydrocarbon Measurement, which is held biennially at the Southeast College’s Estevan campus. He described the event as a collaboration between industry partners of producers and service companies, along with members of the ministry of Energy and Resources to bring awareness to measurement application in oil and gas.
