Welcome to our January issue of Oilfield PULSE! Sorry for being a little  late out of the gate. The collapse in commodity prices has every company connected to the oil and gas industry reeling from all the negative ramifications, and our business is certainly no different. We are still hanging in there with our brethren across the industry; although, it seems not a day goes by these days where we don’t hear about a casualty or two around the old water cooler. Oops, I forgot we cut the water cooler expense last month!

The theme for our January issue of Oilfield PULSE is… collaboration and cooperation. With the new reality of lower commodity prices, all sectors within the oil and gas industry are being forced to revisit current business practices, capital expenditures, and field costs for services, supplies, and rentals. Nothing is sacred!

Some are suggesting the relationships between producers, engineering firms, energy services companies, and manufacturers need to be more collaborative and cooperative for us to collectively weather this storm. True collaboration, based on honesty and trust. Not sure that is in great supply today! To survive, we all need to temper our profit expectations and be willing to share what once was thought as

private and confidential information to ensure we are cooperating and collectively asking for, or providing the best solution at a fair and realistic price. Yet, the quest for the best or lowest price doesn’t always reflect the true overall cost once all associated G&A and AFE costs are factored into the equation.

This has certainly been a common refrain with our Oilfield HUB customers, who are still slogging it out and talking about collaboration and cooperation with more and more companies who are participating in our online business community. We asked several regular contributors from our Oilfield HUB customer base to share their views and opinions on what still needs, and can be, done when previous competitive stakeholders have come together to deliver a product or service to increase their survival chances in this current market downturn. I think you’ll find several of the articles very enlightening and filled with tips for your own company to consider. Or, perhaps they might inspire you to reach out to someone new to establish a connection and relationship you likely had not considered previously.

I am going to take a bit of a different path on the collaboration and cooperation theme to round out my message for this issue of the PULSE. Here it goes…

This has certainly been a common refrain with our Oilfield HUB customers, who are still slogging it out and talking about collaboration and cooperation with more and more companies who are participating in our online business community. We asked several regular contributors from our Oilfield HUB customer base to share their views and opinions on what still needs, and can be, done when previous competitive stakeholders have come together to deliver a product or service to increase their survival chances in this current market downturn. I think you’ll find several of the articles very enlightening and filled with tips for your own company to consider. Or, perhaps they might inspire you to reach out to someone new to establish a connection and relationship you likely had not considered previously.

I am going to take a bit of a different path on the collaboration and cooperation theme to round out my message for this issue of the PULSE. Here it goes…

It seems collaboration and cooperation isn’t part of their playbook! How can it be? Opponents to these projects either have their hands held high to stop the projects entirely or hands held straight ahead looking for cash while muttering under their breath, “What’s in it for me?” Imagine an alternate reality, even at $28 oil. If the Keystone XL had been approved by Obama, the Northern Gateway was being supported to tidewater by Trudeau, the city of Burnaby was actively planning for the economic stimulus caused by the Trans Mountain expansion, and the mayors of Quebec welcoming the notion of cheaper and environmentally friendlier oil from Western Canada versus high cost conflict oil from overseas! Perhaps this can only happen in a galaxy far, far away! Certainly, not in Canada and not any time soon.

Billions of dollars of private investment in our country, trillions of dollars of economic benefits, and taxes for many years to come are at stake here. How would investors, who are taking their money out of Canada in droves right now, behave if all of these

projects were already underway? You don’t have to be an economist to cure out the vast boost these projects would be to investor confidence, not just within the oil and gas industry but in every other facet of our economy. Nor, do you have to be a rocket scientist to understand how much better off we would be today with a more positive current outlook and a long term view of a secure and prosperous future each of these pipeline projects mean to Canada and not just for us folks living in oil country.

Investors come in every shape and size. They’re just not looking for oil and gas deals. When our economy is on the skids, all business segments have a much more difficult time attracting investors for R&D, technological advances, and even alternate renewal energy opportunities. No one is immune from an unhealthy economy nor is our dollar. These pipeline opponents often forget, readily dismiss, or don’t even contemplate how small, private companies like ours rely heavily on private placement, mezzanine, or institutional investors to grow our businesses and create new jobs. Those investor dollars have dried up for us as well. The private sector is our pipeline to prosperity, not the unlimited and unchecked public sector borrowing to fund political agendas. I’m not advocating we abandon the environmental strides and values we uphold in Canada in favor of big business at any cost. Just a whole ton more common sense, collaboration, and cooperation to get all of the pipeline projects moving forward once again. We’re rolling over and playing dead while special interest groups tamper with the success of our country and future prosperity for our children! Money does make the work go round. And, for the foreseeable future and for many years to come, so does oil and gas!

Kevin Turko
CEO
Leadstone Group
403.537.6561

Originally  published in the 

January 2016 issue of Oilfield PULSE