Merrick & Co., Aurora, and North Dakota-based Ulteig Engineers have formed a strategic alliance to provide engineering services to oil and gas companies working in the Williston Basin. The teams kicked off their partnership at the North Dakota Petroleum Council annual meeting recently held in Medora, N.D.

The Williston Basin covers 142,500 sq miles in eastern Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and into Saskatchewan. Oil was first discovered in the basin in the 1920s, and with current drilling technology, it is being actively explored once again.

“We are delighted to combine our capabilities with Ulteig to serve this growth region of our economy,” said Ralph Christie, Jr., president, chairman and CEO of Merrick. “Our aerial geospatial mapping capabilities and data interpretation dovetail well with Ulteig’s land services capabilities. We’ve been in the oil and gas business, with significant work in process plants and piping in the Rocky Mountain region since 1985 and will bring those engineering skills to North Dakota.”

“Ulteig is proud to have Merrick as a business partner in our region,” said Eric Michel, CEO of Ulteig. “They are a company with a solid and respected national reputation and renown expertise that complements Ulteig’s long-standing service offerings to our North Dakota clients. The world-class capabilities we can offer together through this alliance will have a positive and significant impact on our clients.”

Merrick is an employee-owned engineering, architecture, design-build, surveying and geospatial solutions firm with a key focus on the energy industry. The firm maintains 10 offices in the U.S., one in Canada and two in Mexico.

Ulteig Engineers is an employee-owned engineering, surveying and consulting firm that has served clients in the energy industry for more than 65 years. The firm maintains eight offices in the U.S.