Quinn Holtby of Katch Kan Ltd. was into proactive solutions to oilpatch environmental issues long before most of the world could spell Kyoto. And the good news is that they not only work, they also save money – big time!

This could account for the fact that Katch Kan components are on 85 per cent of the approximately 680 registered drilling rigs in Canada and are marketed around the world, from the Americas to Europe, from the Middle East to Australia, from Brazil to the Baltic. Wherever oil is produced, Katch Kan is there.

A world leader in the field, Katch Kan’s systems can contain a well “from cradle to grave,” says Holtby, Katch Kan’s president and CEO.

He cites a recent five-month study of a 25,000-ft. well in Latin America that showed Katch Kan’s Zero Spill System (ZSS) combined with its Secondary Blow Out Prevention System produced a return on investment exceeding 400% for a state-owned oil company.

In fact, we will never know the exact figures, because you can’t measure an accident that didn’t happen. The well took a “kick,” but with Katch Kan’s Blow Out Prevention System in place, it was controlled and the incident went no further.

Katch Kan president and CEO Quinn Holtby, above, offers solutions for drilling companies including the Blow Out Prevention System and the Zero Spill System, pictured below.

“It’s a lot easier when the drilling fluid is in the mud tank versus being all over the location,” says Holtby. “Now is the time to implement Zero Spill Systems over the entire life of the well.”

The customer is so happy with the results, it is retrofitting its entire fleet of drilling and service rigs. This is no big deal because the components are designed so it can be done without halting operations. Components clamp together without tools and are roughneck proof, says operations manager Greg Meimar, who notes the Katch Kan team is proud of its ISO 9001 rating.

Katch Kan uses specially engineered polymers; the exact formula is a trade secret. Suffice it to say they are light, yet tough enough to “hold up indefinitely” without developing cracks, and they meet the static dissipation test, crucial on a rig.



“Using ZSS is so easy, it’s like peeling an orange,” exclaimed one happy Venezuelan oil executive. Easy and safe. Accident reports consistently go down once it has been installed.

Katch Kan can live up to the oil industry’s break-neck speed with a realistic turn-around of only two to three days from an order being placed to having equipment, like the ZSS, ready to go.

Developed by Holtby, the ZSS minimizes waste and maximizes containment. In a world now learning the 4Rs instead of the 3Rs, it is way up there in terms of Reduce, Re-Use, Recycle and Recover.

Plus, the 850 Kelly/Katch Kan Systems now in the field have posted daily savings of between $150 and $1,000 on each operation. It should be noted that the junk basket permits running a stripper at all times, preventing tools from failing down the hole, thus eliminating costly fishing expeditions.

Whatever environmental challenges Prime Minister Jean Chretien throws out to the oil industry, Holtby figures Katch Kan is more than able to pick up the gauntlet and run with it.

In turn, he issues his own challenge to companies to join forces with the likes of BP Energy, Husky Energy and other prominent players to become proactive instead of reactive.

In many cases, says Holtby, spills are not handled with the immediate care required to prevent long-term environmental problems.

Water-based drilling isn’t off the hook, either, because “we don’t have any fresh water left, and it’s totally irresponsible to keep on spilling it,” says Holtby, likening it to a child pouring milk over the table when it would be a whole lot less messy, and less wasteful, to pour it onto the cornflakes in the first place.

Using Katch Kan products to reduce environmental impact is a financial no-brainer.

“It’s a good return on investment. Everybody wins – the public, the oil companies and the enforcement agencies,” says Holtby, a father as well as a hardheaded entrepreneur.

“I think about everybody’s children. Canada is a beautiful country. If we think about what we are doing, we can come up with a solution.”

Perhaps it’s already in the Kan.