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Licence to Drill on ice
Fort Simpson resident featured on drilling reality showRoxanna Thompson Northern News Services Published Thursday, January 19, 2012 Mickey Hempler is featured in the first two episodes of season two of the TV show Licence to Drill.
The show, which airs on the Discovery Channel, follows the fortunes and misfortunes of two companies as they drill oil and gas wells.
Hempler, a highway maintenance supervisor for the Department of Transportation, became part of the show after the show's producers contacted the department to see if anyone would be in the Tulita area while they were filming last January. The producers were looking for someone to interview about the ice crossings that MGM Energy Corp. had to bring equipment across to reach their drill site outside of Tulita.
Hempler was volunteered because he was already going to the community. A film crew followed Hempler as he demonstrated how he drills holes in the seven-kilometer ice crossing over the Mackenzie River and uses a pole with a hook on the end to measure the ice depth.
The day they filmed on the ice it was a "balmy –45C," said Hempler.
He watched as the cameraman's nose started to turn white and warned him they had better take a break and warm up.
Hempler was also filmed meeting John Williams, MGM's field supervisor, who is a main character on the show. Hempler had already met him in a shop, but the film crew put a mike on him and had him leave and come back in so they could film the ensuing conversation about the procedure that would be followed to make sure the ice crossing was up to the weight needed to bring the company's equipment across.
Being filmed is different, said Hempler, who had never been on television before.
A few days after Tulita the film crew caught up with Hempler in Fort Simpson where they filmed him checking the depth of the ice and flooding the N'Dulee crossing along with a crew from Rowe's Construction. Both Rufus and Ernest Deneyoua make brief appearances on camera.
"They wanted the drama," said Hempler.
Among other things, the film crew asked Hempler what's the worst that can happen on a crossing.
On the second day of filming MGM's trucks arrived and the process of getting them across the crossing was caught on film. Because the trucks were just on the cusp of the weight limit for the crossing Hempler made sure they drove slowly and didn't stop on the ice.
"We got them across safely," he said.
The first episode of season two of Licence to Drill aired on Jan. 10. Hempler was at the Department of Transportation's camp in Wrigley at the time and watched the episode alone.
"It's not too bad," he said about the final product.
Hempler wasn't the only one to see the episode.
"I've been getting nothing but phone calls and e-mails," he said from both family and friends who saw him on TV.
Hempler is also part of the second episode, which aired on Jan. 17 and will run again on Saturday evening.
"I'm just waiting for Spielberg to call," said Hempler with a laugh.
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