Calgary’s energy producers are taking a cautious approach to the federal government’s proposed ‘Just Transition’ legislation, even as politicians and pundits are warning of major job losses and production cuts in Alberta’s oil and gas sector..The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), the country’s largest industry lobby group on Tuesday issued a statement calling on the feds to “ensure that energy and environmental policies attract investment to our industry and remain a source of opportunity and prosperity for the decades to come.”.In a prepared statement, Lisa Baiton, the group’s president and CEO, said the group is prepared to work with Ottawa to help meet the country’s — admittedly — ambitious climate change goals..“It is important the federal government recognizes Canada’s energy workers and Canada’s oil and natural gas resources will be needed for the foreseeable future to provide a source of safe, secure, affordable and reliable energy.”.The statements come after Alberta Premier Danielle Smith warned on her weekend radio program that the Liberal government’s plans to reduce oil sector emissions some 42% by 2030 amounts to a de facto production cut of up to two million barrels per day (bpd), or more than half of Alberta’s current output of roughly 3.7 million bpd..While CAPP admits net zero policies could have an impact on oil production, in written submissions it has pegged the number closer to 600,000 bpd of oil and two billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas per day in the same time period — which is still significant..That, however, didn’t prevent alarm bells from sounding and sparking a rhetorical firestorm in both Alberta and Saskatchewan, which stand to lose the most under any conceivable net zero scenario. .A briefing note prepared for Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson in June of last year implied that the transition to net zero could affect 2.7 million jobs across a range of sectors in the economy, including more than 200,000 in the energy sector alone, along with another 200,000 agricultural jobs. Natural Resources Canada has since walked back those numbers — suggesting they refer to the overall workforce size of various industries rather than absolute job losses..According to the Canadian Energy Centre there were a total of 611,362 jobs associated with the Canadian oil and gas sector in 2017 — 216,285 direct and 395,077 indirect — representing about 3.2 per cent of all jobs across Canada.Despite minimizing the impact of the Liberal’s climate change policies, even Wilkinson admitted the energy transition would “have an uneven impact across sectors, occupations, and regions, and create significant labour market disruptions” in testimony to the Standing Committee on Natural Resources last summer. The Trudeau government plans on introducing legislation later this year as part of its so-called ‘supply and confidence’ agreement with the NDP..In contrast to the political classes, Alberta’s oil sands captains have thus far struck a more conciliatory note. In a Canadian Press interview Cenovus CEO Alex Pourbaix said efforts by the Pathways Alliance — consortium of Canada’s largest oil sands producers — to decarbonize their combined oil operations would instead create 35,000 jobs. In the same interview Derek Evans, CEO of MEG Energy, reportedly said he is actually worried that Canada doesn't have enough workers to meet the country’s climate change targets..Likewise, The Canadian Association of Energy Contractors (CAOEC) said in October — when the federal cabinet was sworn in — that Canada’s energy services sector is a “willing partner” in the global energy transition and described it as an “economic opportunity” as opposed to an exercise in punitive policy making..“The energy transition will undoubtedly be a technical challenge, but is a great economic opportunity for those who want to contribute in Canada’s role as a global energy leader,” said CAOEC CEO Mark Scholz..It’s not clear if such optimism is well placed in light of recent developments and Premier Smith’s concerns. The Western Standard has reached out to the CAOEC and Cenovus but had not heard back at press time. This story will be updated as warranted.
Calgary’s energy producers are taking a cautious approach to the federal government’s proposed ‘Just Transition’ legislation, even as politicians and pundits are warning of major job losses and production cuts in Alberta’s oil and gas sector..The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), the country’s largest industry lobby group on Tuesday issued a statement calling on the feds to “ensure that energy and environmental policies attract investment to our industry and remain a source of opportunity and prosperity for the decades to come.”.In a prepared statement, Lisa Baiton, the group’s president and CEO, said the group is prepared to work with Ottawa to help meet the country’s — admittedly — ambitious climate change goals..“It is important the federal government recognizes Canada’s energy workers and Canada’s oil and natural gas resources will be needed for the foreseeable future to provide a source of safe, secure, affordable and reliable energy.”.The statements come after Alberta Premier Danielle Smith warned on her weekend radio program that the Liberal government’s plans to reduce oil sector emissions some 42% by 2030 amounts to a de facto production cut of up to two million barrels per day (bpd), or more than half of Alberta’s current output of roughly 3.7 million bpd..While CAPP admits net zero policies could have an impact on oil production, in written submissions it has pegged the number closer to 600,000 bpd of oil and two billion cubic feet (bcf) of gas per day in the same time period — which is still significant..That, however, didn’t prevent alarm bells from sounding and sparking a rhetorical firestorm in both Alberta and Saskatchewan, which stand to lose the most under any conceivable net zero scenario. .A briefing note prepared for Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson in June of last year implied that the transition to net zero could affect 2.7 million jobs across a range of sectors in the economy, including more than 200,000 in the energy sector alone, along with another 200,000 agricultural jobs. Natural Resources Canada has since walked back those numbers — suggesting they refer to the overall workforce size of various industries rather than absolute job losses..According to the Canadian Energy Centre there were a total of 611,362 jobs associated with the Canadian oil and gas sector in 2017 — 216,285 direct and 395,077 indirect — representing about 3.2 per cent of all jobs across Canada.Despite minimizing the impact of the Liberal’s climate change policies, even Wilkinson admitted the energy transition would “have an uneven impact across sectors, occupations, and regions, and create significant labour market disruptions” in testimony to the Standing Committee on Natural Resources last summer. The Trudeau government plans on introducing legislation later this year as part of its so-called ‘supply and confidence’ agreement with the NDP..In contrast to the political classes, Alberta’s oil sands captains have thus far struck a more conciliatory note. In a Canadian Press interview Cenovus CEO Alex Pourbaix said efforts by the Pathways Alliance — consortium of Canada’s largest oil sands producers — to decarbonize their combined oil operations would instead create 35,000 jobs. In the same interview Derek Evans, CEO of MEG Energy, reportedly said he is actually worried that Canada doesn't have enough workers to meet the country’s climate change targets..Likewise, The Canadian Association of Energy Contractors (CAOEC) said in October — when the federal cabinet was sworn in — that Canada’s energy services sector is a “willing partner” in the global energy transition and described it as an “economic opportunity” as opposed to an exercise in punitive policy making..“The energy transition will undoubtedly be a technical challenge, but is a great economic opportunity for those who want to contribute in Canada’s role as a global energy leader,” said CAOEC CEO Mark Scholz..It’s not clear if such optimism is well placed in light of recent developments and Premier Smith’s concerns. The Western Standard has reached out to the CAOEC and Cenovus but had not heard back at press time. This story will be updated as warranted.
