Resource World Magazine

68 www.resourceworld.com D E C E M B E R / J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 Association of Canada predicts a 10% drop in oilfield wells drilled in 2020, to 4,500 from 5,000 in 2019, as producers reduce investment due to pipeline constraints and uncertainty about government policy, the group said in an October statement. But the Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors (CAODC) says in its forecast released in November that 4,905 wells will be drilled, up nine from 2019, while the rig fleet will decrease to 497 from 545. A total of 22,313 jobs are forecast, which is flat year-over-year but down 13,731 from 2018. The CAODC report says that since the Canadian federal election in October the sentiment toward the nation's oil and gas industry is "nearing all-time lows" and the industry has lost $30 billion in foreign capital while companies continue layoffs and relocation, mostly to the US to find work and generate cash flow. "It has been another extremely diffi- cult year for our members," said CAODC President and CEO Mark Scholz. "The attacks from foreign-funded, radical envi- ronmental groups and punitive policy measures from our own federal govern- ment have caused Canadian oil and gas families to suffer unnecessarily." The CAODC wants the federal govern- ment to take measures to help restore the industry, including prioritizing "the responsible development and export of Canadian oil and gas as an effective and timely means of reducing global green- house gas emissions". "It's time for the federal government to recognize what the rest of the world already knows: The Canadian oil and gas industry is a supplier of choice, good for the environment and the economy, and should be given every opportunity to compete internationally," said Scholz. Those sentiments are echoed by CAPP's Averill, who said Canada could be a world leader in supplying responsible energy to global markets, and he noted that the nation's oil sands-per-barrel greenhouse gas emissions have fallen 32% since 1990. And Canada can also capitalize on the coming growth of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and reduce global GHG emissions by displacing coal-fired electricity genera- tion in China, India and Southeast Asia, as Canadian LNG is 65% less carbon-intense than coal when used to generate electricity. "For every LNG facility built in Canada, global emissions could be reduced by 100 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) per year," he said. "(But) by the mid-2020s, growing global markets for LNG are expected to require additional liquefaction capacity beyond that which is currently in place or under construction." With these concerns in place, Canadian industry eyes were focused on the recent federal election and subsequent threats by Alberta to secede from the nation. But Alberta is getting credit in the interim for measures designed to foster industry recovery, such as the immediate removal of production limits on new conventional oil wells plus curtailment relief for production shipped by new rail capacity. "Canada's reputation as a good place to do business…has been seriously damaged in recent years," said CAODC's Scholz in a statement. "Announcements such as this… that incentivize investment and encour- age production are needed if Alberta and Western Canada are going to compete with other oil and gas-producing jurisdictions." That meshes with CAPP's world view. "Global demand for energy is increasing," said Averill."We need all forms of energy and the world needs more Canadian energy." n

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