Venture Publishing purchases Alberta Oil

Venture Publishing of Edmonton has purchased a quarterly Calgary-based oil and gas publication Alberta Oil. The magazine was launched by Skinnyfish Media in December 2004 and covers the issues of the energy industry for an international audience. The magazine has a circulation of 20,000 and claims a readership of 60,000.

Venture publishes consumer business magazines Alberta Venture and unlimited as well as doing contract publishing.

"Alberta Oil is a great fit for Venture," says Venture president and publisher Ruth Kelly. "It complements our existing roster of business publications and will allow us to drill deeper on this vital sector of Alberta's economy. We look forward to bringing our expertise to this already strong magazine and to increasing its value to its 60,000 influential business readers."

Energy writer and editor Gordon Jaremko, formerly editor of Oilweek magazine, has been appointed editor.The purchase means the magazine will increase in frequency to six issues per year and it will be redesigned by Venture's creative director, Malcolm Brown. The redesigned first issue of Alberta Oil will be released at the 2008 Oil Sands Conference in Edmonton in late September.