Powering the Future - The Future of Alberta Energy
On September 19th, our firm was honoured to host an important discussion in Calgary as the world descended on our province to share their perspectives on the future of the oil and gas industry. The event was filled with energy industry leaders from around the planet hoping to learn more about how Alberta is approaching the sustainability of the sector and the opportunities that exist in our back yard.
The panel discussion lasted for over an hour and featured a number of honoured guests, including:
· Hon. Minister Brian Jean (Energy and Minerals), Alberta
· Hon. Minister Jim Reiter (Energy and Resources), Saskatchewan
· Chief Raymond Powder, Fort McKay First Nation
· Brad Herald (Senior Special Advisor to the CEO), CAPP
· Adam Waterous (Managing Partner & CEO), Waterous Energy Fund
· Adam Sweet, Clean Prosperity
Throughout the evening, the panelists touched on a number of critical themes related to the oil and gas sector, but (as the name suggests), the discussed was mostly centred on what comes next for the industry.
In his opening comments, Minister Jean gave an impassioned speech on the importance of the energy sector to our province and what success here means for the rest of the world. “We are on the cusp of creating an incredible destination for the people of the world to come to – to see what you get if you do it right. I mean human rights, democracy, rule of law, wealth, quality of life that lifts the entire planet. It’s called Alberta.”
For Minister Reiter, he felt that international instability has actually reinforced the need for Canada’s oil abroad.
“I think a lot of people because of geopolitical reasons (for example, Ukraine), has made people pause to take a look at world stability. And I think people are very much coming around to the idea this industry is here to stay.”
With the provincial government recently indicating it intends to have a carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) policy ready to go for November, Adam Waterous outlined what that means to organizations like his.
“We’re in a very fortunate situation because we are in the Cold Lake area which allows us to sequester directly underneath… There’s some chance that we may be North America’s first scaled carbon capture and storage facility.” Additionally, he emphasized the potential for CCUS to reduce the overall carbon intensity of oil coming from Albert by as much as 80 per cent.
“The Canadian oil industry, with carbon capture and storage, might be half as carbon intensive as the United States oil industry.”
Adam Sweet spoke of the importance of finding a balance between environmental protection and energy production.
“I would like to see a situation in which a federal government takes a look at western Canada as that place that can be that diversified energy powerhouse that drives us into the next generation.”
Brad Herald from CAPP hand an opportunity to speak a little to Article 6 of the Paris Agreement with respect to sustainable practices and growth for the sector. Highlighting the interests of regional jurisdictions to unlock the subnational piece, he indicated that “there’s a lot of desire to unlock that mechanism. There has been almost universal lack of success to do so.”
In his closing remarks, Chief Powder told the crowded room that “I, as a First Nations individual from Fort McKay, do not want to be an impediment between industry and the public when it comes to resource development.” He stressed the importance of taking advantage of opportunities to collaborate and build partnerships in fostering economic reconciliation.
“We take pride in our independence of who we are and our revenue.”
From all of us at Alberta Counsel, we would like to thank all of our panelists for their participation as well as our guests from around the world. We would especially like to thank our event sponsors, including the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, Alberta’s Industrial Heartland Association, Environmental Metal Works, and the Waterous Energy Fund.