According to information culled from the Canadian Imperial Oil website,
“In this time of global market uncertainty one thing we do know is that the world needs energy — and in increasing quantities — to support economic and social progress and build a better quality of life, in particular in developing countries. But providing this energy around the globe comes with a responsibility and commitment to developing and using our resources responsibly” And now a responsibility the Canadians have woken up to.
Peter Tertzakian, the executive director of ARC Energy Research believes a lot is required now that the global landscape of the energy industry is undergoing transformation, and a tense political climate continually threatening to disrupt confidence and prices, from the Middle East to China. But he maintained that with Canadian interests in mind, some sort of closer inspection perhaps with both U.S. and interprovincial relations acting as potential kingmakers when it comes to the future success of Canadian companies was expedient.
The Global Petroleum Show is committed to initiating these difficult, but necessary, conversations – something that Peter believed was essential if Canada would achieve its energy potential.
Peter who spoke more regarding the “elephants in the room” was insisting that Canada must wake up from slumber especially now that the United States is aggressively pursuing and increasing its profile for oil and gas production, having “effectively transitioned from Canada’s most important customer, to their leading competitor.” With this in mind, Peter said it was arguably more important than ever for Canada to identify their unique strengths and work collaboratively to best position themselves in the global marketplace. He stated though: “By virtue of our Constitution, our provinces often act like separate countries.” The unsteady dynamic between Alberta and British Columbia acting as the quintessential example is becoming increasingly possible to observe the Canadian market as a direct microcosm of the geopolitics evident in the global energy industry.
Peter Tertzakian cited a “lack of human communication between silos of opinion” as a major cause for interprovincial turbulence, with the Trans Mountain pipeline at the heart of this debate. Adding however that the pipeline itself was by no means an instant solution to the underlying interprovincial tensions, or more widely, Canada’s energy problems; indeed, if built, it may only provide a temporary solution until the next problem arises. In peroration Peter had made a plea for future discussions: “Let’s just pull in people to discuss the real, root issues of all this stuff and go beyond the narrow perspective of the pipeline.”
Of course that which the Global Petroleum Show seeks to address – to see just where these conversations might go, so be sure to register for the conference, which runs June 12-14. Of particular interest would be the North American Outlook panel which promised to interact with these interprovincial questions, alongside other “elephants in the room”, such as indigenous issues and how the energy industry can be part of the carbon reduction solution.
