Thorunn Howatt
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Jan 09/02) - The share price of Yellowknife's Braden-Burry Expediting Ltd. took a giant leap after announcing plans to get into the gas exploration servicing market located in Inuvik and the Mackenzie Delta.

BBE's vice-president of business development, Bruce Counts, shows off the pool table in the newly finished lounge after the completion of renovations. - Thorunn Howatt/NNSL photo

Braden-Burry's news that it was forming a joint venture with the Inuvialuit Development Corp. (IDC) coincided with Monday's announcement that a consortium of oil and gas companies plans to apply for approvals linked to a Mackenzie Valley pipeline. Braden-Burry's share price leapt to 40 cents from 30 cents overnight and has doubled in price during the past month.

The proposed joint venture could see the partnership involved in aircraft ground and cargo handling, expediting as well as associated air transportation functions.

The company will be based out of Inuvik.

The move was made by both companies to take advantage of escalating oil and gas exploration in the Mackenzie Delta and activity associated with the proposed pipeline.

IDC is the development arm of the Inuvialuit Regional Corp.

Braden-Burry (BBP) is a Yellowknife-based publicly-traded company listed on the Canadian Venture Exchange. Its shares have traded between 21 cents and 30 cents in the last month.

The company recently finished renovations to its Old Airport Road location and is busy with its Edmonton cargo business as well.

"We definitely need to attract a little bit more business. We are not at capacity yet," said BBE vice-president of business development, Bruce Counts, referring to a cargo warehouse near the Edmonton International Airport.

"But I think we'll get it," he said.

The cargo business is quite different from the expediting BBE does in Yellowknife, he said.

The company's biggest customer is BHP Billiton's Ekati diamond mine.

"Here we are focused on the one client where we receive all their shipments and forward it North to them but there we are receiving shipments from all kinds of different clients."

The move to Inuvik should change that, he said.