Oculus Gets Capital Infusion To Grow Oilfield Transport Business

Oculus Transport, a western Canadian oilfield transport and logistics firm, is getting a C$45 million capital boost to fuel its growth. 

Great Rock Capital, a commercial finance company based in Connecticut, said on August 21 that it had closed a senior secured term loan with Oculus. 

"This capital will allow us to grow our infrastructure to position the company for sustained success and continue to provide best-in-class equipment and service to our customers," Alberta-based Oculus said in a statement. 

Oculus is a relatively young carrier, founded in 2011, focusing on the hauling and storage of liquid and pipe for the oil industry. It had a fleet of 90 trucks as of late 2018.

CEO Ric Peterson ran several Canadian oil and gas services businesses before founding Oculus. It included a stint leading Oilfield Producers, which appointed him as CEO after buying his company Formula. He left Oilfield Producers after Mullen Group MTL acquired it. 

Peterson also co-owns an Indy racing team, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.

Oilfield services have struggled in recent years in western Canada along with the industry as a whole. The decline of global petroleum prices and the low energy density of the region's product have weighed heavily on the oil sands in Alberta and British Columbia.

But the resumption of the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline is an important boost for the industry, both with the construction and and tripling of pipeline capacity. 

Oculus could not be reached for comment.

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