Construction of a new facility for the drilling tools division of Hunting Energy Services in Casper is expected to begin later this year.

General Manager Mike Hooper said the new site will have a footprint of about 60,000 square feet and will be located in the Bypass Industrial Park. It will replace two sites that comprise an existing operation.

"We're doing it more for efficiency of the operation and to better comply with regulations," Hooper said.

It will also position the company to take advantage for a turnaround in the oil and gas industry, which Hooper said could begin in late 2010.

Hunting Energy Services in Casper is a rental tool company. Drilling motors are its primary products, but such things as stabilizers and nonmagnetic drill-collars also are available.

If all goes according to plan, Hooper said the new facility should take about a year to complete and will be about 50 percent larger than the existing one.

Hooper said the expansion also could accommodate a larger staff. "We have to wait for a business upturn," he said. "But we're preparing for the future."

The U.S. headquarters of Hunting Energy are in Houston. Its core business units are well construction, well completion, and exploration and production.

Business Editor Tom Mast can be reached at tom.mast@trib.com, or call 307-266-0574. Or check out his "Two Bits Worth" blog at tribtown.trib.com/TomMast/blog.