Resource World Magazine

70 www.resourceworld.com D E C E M B E R / J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 Texan courts oilfield Albertans by Ellsworth Dickson A t first, it may seem like a strange idea for a Texas realtor to mail out thousands of brochures with the goal of enticing Alberta oil field workers to relocate to the Lone Star State; however, there are solid reasons to consider the invitation. Robert Graham, the owner of Arrowstar Realty north of Houston, says he has already convinced some 114 western Canadian compa- nies to relocate to Texas, 40 of them in the past year and a half. Jason Kenney, Premier of Alberta, is not pleased with this develop- ment and has said that there has been a huge flight of money from Alberta's energy sector to Texas in recent years. It's not hard to understand why. By March 2016, Alberta had lost over 100,000 jobs in the oil patch and the situation has not improved with challenges building pipelines and a negative investor sentiment. Basically, Alberta oil patch workers are of the view that Ottawa has not only abandoned them but has become hostile. They also feel unwanted by those Canadians who think the country can just shut down the oil and gas industry. Of course, that's a misguided fantasy. Aside from the fact that the Canadian petroleum industry accounts for almost 10% of the country's GNP, Canada consumes about 2.9 million barrels of oil per day. While the electric vehicle revolution is gaining traction, oil is still needed for cars, trucks, planes, trains, ships, the heating of houses and businesses, and the manufacturing of some 6,000 products. There may be tens of thousands of Canadians who would like to buy an electric vehicle but can't because they live in apartments with no plug-in chargers – never mind that there is only one electric pick-up trucks and only a smattering of SUVs. Alberta oil patch workers understand all this, so how can you blame them for relocating to Texas where they are welcomed with good paying jobs, tax incentives and beautiful ranch-style houses that can be bought for $300,000. Most of the new Texans are Canadian oil and gas drillers. While Texas realtor Graham is playing up the "booming" econ- omy of Montgomery County helping Canadians set up a new life north of Houston, Premier Kenney says that Alberta is willing to compete with Texas by "offering a better environment for invest- ment than Texas," he told a recent news conference in Calgary. He plans to lower taxes, provide tax holidays and ease regulations and red tape. His message for Texans trying to convince Canadian companies to move south is, "it's on." Meanwhile, Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage and Associate Natural Gas Minister Dale Nalkly said that the pro- vincial government would discontinue the Partial Upgrading Program and the Petrochemical Feedstock Infrastructure Program but will continue to use $1.1 billion in natural gas royalty credits to encourage new petrochemical projects. However, it's got to be hard for Alberta to compete with the west Texas City of Lubbock which has been holding one-on-one meetings with Canadian companies and offering them free land and other perks, according to the Canadian Press. Precision Drilling, a company with 240 rigs, has offices in both Calgary and Houston. Despite the $1 million cost to move a drill- ing rig from Alberta to Texas, Citadel Drilling has been moving its rigs down south for the past two years. EnCana Corp. [ECA-TSX] is planning to relocate to the United States and change its name to Ovintiv Inc. Expected to proceed in early 2020, the move will require shareholder, stock exchange and court approval. "We are excited about our strategic trans- formation. Our company is positioned to compete in the broader markets and lead the E&P industry on the road ahead," said Chief Executive Officer Doug Suttles. Referring to EnCana and other companies moving south, in a conference call, Alex Pourbaix, CEO of Cenovus Energy Inc. [CVE-TSX, NYSE], an oilsands producer, said, "I think this is a tragedy for Canada." Victor Dodig, CEO of CIBC, told the Economic Club of Canada in Calgary that the government must take steps to address climate change and suggested a tailored tax credit that would encourage both carbon capture and sequestration, similar to a measure that already exists in the United States. n 103-4401 Bristol Rd., Terrace BC | (250) 635-2659 | www.yxt.ca C A P A C I T Y • C O N N E C T I O N S • R E L I A B I L I T Y • S A F E T Y Capacity Executive board room,full service restaurant and vehicle rentals (National, Hertz, Budget & Driving Force) Connections Connections to Vancouver, Calgary, Prince George, Bob Quinn and Dease Lake with unrestricted aircraft accommodation including 757, 737 and 767 Reliability A state of the art instrument landing system upgraded in 2015 allowing for 99.7% reliability of scheduled fl ight completion Safety Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting Meziadin Junction 2 hrs 30 mins Port Edward 1 hr 30 mins Kitimat 35 mins Terrace 15 mins JUST A SHORT DRIVE AWAY GET CONNECTED THROUGH THE NORTHWEST REGIONAL AIRPORT 604.581.2827 www.thornleycreative.com 170057_Ad-Minerals Exp. 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