the five stages of oil and gas grief

The Five Stages Of Oil And Gas Grief

Date PublishedJanuary 28, 2017
CompanyOilfield HUB
Article AuthorKevin Turko
Article TypeJanuary 2017 Issue
CategoryArticles, CEO Message
Tags, , , ,
HUB SEARCHOilfieldHUB
PULSE Interactive

The Five Stages Of Oil And Gas Grief

ceo-message-2017-v4

Just a mere 4 years ago I was sitting in a downtown boardroom in Calgary across from a leading player in the oil and gas industry. They were interested in making a huge investment in technology due to the exorbitant prices being charged for 3rd party alternatives they had been using over many, many years. At the heart of the issue in their mind, and in that of their clients, was the corresponding high cost of doing business and pervasive reluctance of the industry at large to do anything about it. Oil prices were riding high, and the outlook for the next 5 to 7 years looked rosy indeed. They had the money to do something about it! They decided to buck the industry trend against unrealistic prices being charged in order to be a leader in reducing the cost of doing business in the oil and gas industry.
Notley Trudeau Wall. The 3 Legged Carbon Tax Stool
Fast forward to 2017, and the playing field has changed immensely! Unfortunately the client I am alluding to is just one of the many causalities the industry has experienced since plummeting oil and gas prices hit our shores starting in 2014. While the circumstances behind their demise, many of which were totally out of their control, were not that much different from other struggling companies who were and are continuing to stave off the bankruptcy trustee. To our client’s unsung praise and credit, they did recognize well before the bubble burst that the oil and gas industry needed to change its high cost ways with a more cost effective means of doing business on multiple fronts. Sadly they did not survive, but their spirit lives on in each of us. So much so that they are our inspiration for the theme of this issue of Oilfield PULSE. Price vs. Cost – Is It a Race to the Bottom?

Have you ever heard the old adage, “Beware the cost of the lowest price”? It rings true now more than ever in the oil and gas industry. People often use cost and price interchangeably, but they are two distinctly different things. Simply put:

Price

– The purchase price of the products and services you are buying.

 

Cost

– The cost your business has to incur to adopt the products or services you are buying.

The lowest priced vendor for a particular product or service doesn’t necessarily mean your business will always save money and be cost effective in the long run. Without

proper due diligence, often this ‘beat up the vendor on price’ strategy, eventually bites you in the ass! You end up spending more time and money due to unforeseen issues like poor quality, loss of time, and efficiency because of a subpar product or lack of vendor performance. Ouch! So much for the cost savings you thought would be realized during the vendor vetting and bidding processes.

Who can blame a producer for demanding the best possible price, but if there are no Energy Services Companies left in line to accept and do the work what difference does it make? There are a lot of angry individuals in the industry these days, many of which feel they have been dealt, not just a lousy hand, but that the cards are stacked unfairly against them. They have experienced a myriad of personal feelings and business setbacks during these troubling times. They have witnessed the utter destruction of many long standing and successful companies, both beloved industry buyers and crucial sellers of much needed and competitively priced services, supplies and rentals. It’s been eerily similar to losing several close relatives and/or friends due to an untimely and unforeseen death or tragic accident. The industry has gone through its own form of grieving which is resetting and bringing a new meaning to the Price vs. Cost debate!

1 - DENIAL

After riding so high in the saddle, and even for many who had experienced one or more downturns before, the industry by and large still couldn’t believe oil prices would drop as drastically and so quickly. A small percentage of companies had the foresight to embrace a credit risk management program to stave off their bankers and investment groups, while others were still clinging to notions of short term price decreases in the hope of longer term and continued price escalations. The strong and credit wise survived for the most part, and the weak suffered alone or disappeared in their denial.

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2 – ANGER

While declining and lower prices were the enemy, along came a change of government and a massive move to the left by the NDP in Alberta. Anger was rampant in the industry over higher corporate taxes, the prolonged royalty review, climate leadership plan, stalled federal pipeline approvals, lackluster provincial pipeline support, and the investment-killing carbon tax. Other jurisdictions around the world were coping with the price issue, sometimes life and timing sucks, but the uncertainty created as a result of these ideological positions quickly transformed the enemy and anger from low prices toward the NDP government. The cost of doing business increased while the prospect of attracting new investment all but dried up. More companies fell by the wayside!

3 – BARGAINING

The normal reaction to feelings of helplessness and vulnerability is often a need to regain control. If only we had sold, if only we had hedged, if only we had negotiated a better price, and if only we had a lower cost structure. In order to survive, or postpone the inevitable, many companies were forced to cut staff, reduce salaries, abandon contractors and renegotiate service agreements. The burden was being shared by all, but depending on your perspective, no one could really agree on who was taking the greatest hit! Forced lower prices ensued, at the cost of more fallen companies.

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4 – DEPRESSION

When are prices going to turn around? When will the governments come to their senses? Depression set in with all of the displaced workers and previous owners of now defunct companies. Plenty of sadness and even more regret. Those who are left attempting to still make a go of it in the new world of $50 oil are fortunate, but by no means clamoring for joy. They are expected to do way more, with way less. In order to do so, the industry has to reinvent itself from the top down, not only to just survive, but instead to thrive in this price environment. The cost of failure is all too close for comfort.

Companies are now willing to find
better ways of doing business.

5 – ACCEPTANCE

Here’s where the oil and gas is sitting today. Resigned that government policies are not going to change, at least for a few more years. Prices are likely to stay at or near current levels. Lower priced services, supplies and rentals are the new reality but likely can’t go any lower. Companies are now willing to find better ways of doing business. They are seeking out productivity improvements in all aspects of their business processes and procedures. Cost efficiencies result and profitability will be restored. The new business norm for the foreseeable future in the oil and gas industry.

We have all paid the price, but at what cost? The oil and gas industry is not a race to the bottom. It’s a race to uncover even more ingenuity and determination to rise above this adversity and uncertainty. It fuels our companies, feeds our families and powers the Canadian economy!

Kevin Turko
CEO
Oilfield HUB Inc.
kevin.turko@oilfieldhub.com
403.537.6561

The Five Stages Of Oil And Gas Grief

 

 

 

 

 

Originally  published in the 

January 2017 Issue of Oilfield PULSE