In 1983, The National Energy Program (NEP) was in full force. One of the impacts of the NEP was a Canadian Ownership Levy with the goal of 50% Canadian Ownership in oil and gas projects. Wanting to bid on the largest mega project of that era—The Hibernia oilfield, off the coast of Newfoundland—Bechtel started considering Canadian partnerships. Four Canadian companies joined with Bechtel Canada for the project: Bannister Pipelines, Trimac, Bond Architecture & Engineering (BAE) Group, and Scotia Energy. On November 1, 1983, Bantrel Group Engineers & Constructors was incorporated and opened its doors in downtown Calgary—they had fewer than 10 employees that first year.
During its first two years Bantrel was served by a management committee. The committee vice chairman, A.R. Campbell, would later be appointed the first Bantrel president in 1985. This was a significant time for the company because it marked the year Bechtel officially transitioned its oilsands portfolio to Bantrel.
A contract in the Hibernia project never did materialize for Bantrel, but that did not prevent company growth; it would go on to win the Syncrude Expansion Study in 1987, marking another pivotal milestone.