Bonavista Energy Corporation

It's difficult to understand where to begin for this organization. Over the past 6 years there has been an extreme degradation in its core principles that has contributed to Bonavisa as being a terrible place to work. 

Starting with the management, they are to put it bluntly, useless. Constantly floundering between leadership fads that never do anything but confuse and anger their subordinates. Further to that, they are then likely to throw out big declarations of them understanding the culture of the organization better than the employees, thus justifying their ineffective and very short-sighted ideas. You're also just a number in most cases, despite them talking a lot about the family perspective. Beware the always present bus, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

Following up with the culture. It's a sweat shop, and if you don't like long hours then this is not for you. Years ago the saying "Work hard, play hard" made it worth it, but in recent years the play hard part has been dismantled slowly until there is literally no incentive beyond bringing home the pay check. Oh, and you might be wondering if there is an innovative mindset here? Absolutely not, as it is lead by the very dinosaurs who's blood we're pulling from the ground.

Total comp is a joke. Benefit's package is passable, but honestly nothing to write home to mom about. Salary is set in stone once you join,unless you're a favorite. It could take years to get any forward momentum. RRSP contributions? yeah they took those away at the drop of a hat. Bonuses? Maybe but it's always something on the chopping block. Stock options? Nope, went private and they sold out the employees for pennies on the dollar with little notice. And for any other more progressive HR polices? Remember my dinosaur comment? But hey you get to wear jeans to the office.

The work is a constant slog against external headwinds, and unless you have a passion for energy, it is a cause for work place stress. Add on my previous points, you have yourself a nice recipe for early grey hair. 

Unless anything I've said really riled your jimmy's, I'd suggest anyone looking at getting a job here to think really hard if they want to deal with what this organization has become. It might just be worth your time to investigate other options. 



I have worked here for well over 5 years.  The first 2 years were enjoyable, as times were good in the Oil & Gas industry.  When the first bust hit in 2014, the entire culture changed.
Bonavista has always been known for paying low salaries.  Those of us who stayed long term did so for reasons other than just salary.  People were friendly, there was flexibility with time off and the work itself was challenging in a good way.
Once the O&G economy went south, upper management began sending out letters to staff breaking down our net worth by including what our benefits were worth, etc., trying to prove that they weren’t a cheap company.  If you weren’t cheap, you wouldn’t have to prove it.  It looked desperate and showed that the company was not interested in taking responsibility for the low wages they paid and the demanding hours they expected.
People in this company began getting laid off in what staff called ‘drive by dismissals’.  They would be at work one day and just gone the next.  The President even went so far as to try to tarnish the reputation of an employee that left by contacting their new employer and trash talking them. Immature and on the verge of mentally unwell.
If you weren’t one of your managers favorites, you were at risk of being laid off, even if your work was good.
This company employs gossiping managers who do not discuss issues directly, but rather slander the person to the rest of the department.  
The company has created a dog eat dog environment, with staff turning on each other in order to try to keep their jobs.  Employees are also told to prove their worth to management in reviews.  Employees are desperate to make themselves look better than their coworkers in hopes of maintaining work.
It’s a shame, because during the past few years, all of the good management left (mostly fired for speaking out).  What remains are the toxic managers that ruin employee moral.

Where to begin… I started at this company many years ago (pre-2011), yes the company has evolved and changed with the times. We were once strong and vibrant and full of driven members who worked hard to build a competitive O&G company. In 2020, the veil was lifted and we all quickly realized we were going under. Bonavista was bankrupt and the options were limited. All of our hard work, a result in hindsight of beyond poor management, culminated into a pile of worthless paper… actually paper would have been worth more than what the employees were left with. This set the tone for what was to come.

Our new management group (US influenced) changed the team-centric environment into appalling working conditions. The environment we created as a working “family” was gone. As expected many high quality people left, taking early retirement or other opportunities. My team fell apart and I was left with the dregs of what was left. Today, there is zero leadership, horrible management, insane workload, and non-existent direction from any level of  
management. The new current team leaders are neither leaders nor “team” anything. They are ego driven, being promoted out of necessity and not merit. It has become obvious that the new management does not care about the employees, they only care about paying off the debt load they acquired from a failed gem. 

To summarize, I do not recommend working here under any circumstances other than utter desperation.


Management is terrible . Very toxic . I think they need to change their company slogan “All together Better” . The management doesn’t manage , never take responsibility for anything , don’t manage nor train people properly . Saftey is laughable … don’t take saftey seriously at all . If you report an incident , they down play it to it was nothing or told to shut up if you want to keep working for BP . Absolute joke . A lot of talented experienced people let go by waaaaay less experienced people that are just protecting their own job . And god forbid you try to do good for the company , you’ll be fired . Not sure why when they went private and took everyone’s bonus shares to 5 cents why you would keep the management in place that you just took their bonuses over the years …. I guess this is the result . Toxic 

Bonavista Energy is an extremely fun and friendly environment. The focus of the company is not only to do their best in the oil and gas sector while maintaining an intelligent marketing outlook, but to do so in a working environment where employees feel comfortable in managing their work and personal lives without sacrificing one for the other. Management is flexible to their employees needs, and take a day now and then for team building. From the CEO down Bonavista Energy feels like a company that encourages laughter and enjoyment along with hard work. The company has a professional carefree environment and I feel that is why Bonavist Energy is successful. I truly enjoyed working there.

Loved working there.  Culture was great.  Balance between work and home life recommended highly.

Typical day would be dealing with partners who had jiblink disputes and analysis of jibs.  Attaching backup and or explanations for charges or corrections being made if charges were incorrect.
Due to property being sold, WI incorrect, etc.  

Challenges there on a daily basis but enjoyed working through these as you get the satisfaction once resolved.

Monies collected from partners.

Group target to bring down AR and that was done from 11,000 jibs to 3000 jibs for the group.

During orientation , my career path was discussed. Response from area superintendent was that i had my work cut out for me describing initial assignment as not motivated/ country club atmosphere. Staff cut corners, neglected safety and didn't respond to requested change. Both superintendent and foreman failed to support my efforts in change which they requested. Instead promoting poor performance, lack of integrity  and appreciation. Answered there calls 24/7 and was portrayed as the difficult one. 

The work and safety culture is good.  Not micromanaged currently which is great.  The people are easy to get along with and egos are in check lol.  
  A lot is expected out of you and the pay could be higher because of that.  It’s worth applying to find out for yourself

Excellent salary, benefits, work/life balance, education and training opportunities, I had no idea that wonderful employment opportunities of this caliber even existed. A very respectful environment with co-workers and management who are supportive and truly work as a team.

Terrible culture where backstabbing and management lying to staff are the norm. Great place to work campaign was not used to find and correct negatives, management uses the program to pump themselves up and refuse to acknowledge or respond to shortcomings.

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