it's-just-too-hard-to-do-business-in-canada

It’s Just Too Hard To Do Business In Canada

Date PublishedNovember 24, 2016
CompanyOilfield HUB
Article AuthorKevin Turko
Article TypeNovember 2016 Issue
CategoryArticles, CEO Message
Tags, , , ,
HUB SEARCHOilfieldHUB
PULSE Interactive

It’s Just Too Hard To Do Business In Canada

Oh what a difference a day makes! President-Elect Trump. Who would have thought! The United States, and the rest of the world for that matter, is certainly going to be a different place over the next four years. Regardless of what any of us think of him, as a man, politician, or diplomat, over 60 million of our neighbours to the South have given him the mandate to become the next leader of the free world. Speculation is running rampant across the United States and in many nations around the globe, as to what we all can expect on a myriad of social, economic, foreign policy, immigration, and energy issues. Throughout the election cycle, there were all kinds of conspiracy theories and leaked emails swirling around focused on how the mainstream media and a host of special interest groups were doing everything in their power to keep Trump out of office. And all for nothing, it didn’t work!
It's Just Too Hard To Do Business In Canada

There is an interesting parallel between what just happened in the US presidential election when compared to similar government, media, and environmental groups oil and gas industry insiders believe are plaguing the long term viability of the energy business here in Canada.

Which leads us to our theme for this issue of Oilfield PULSE: Conspiracy Theories!

Let’s cut to the chase. We wanted to know who’s really keen on killing the oil and gas industry in Canada. Beyond the obvious decrease in the price of oil and gas, we solicited our contributors and readers alike for their opinions on what external factors are negatively impacting and decimating several aspects of the Canadian oil and gas industry.

There are so many peripheral forces at play that affect the energy business in Canada. Everything from special interest groups, environmental activists, carbon tax advocates, middle eastern influence, landlocked oil, and that’s just to name a few. These coupled with conspiracy theories involving potential payoffs, hidden agendas, under the table deals, online virtue signaling, media propaganda, and, of course, the all too recent pipeline approval ‘social license’ favourite. We thought it would be both entertaining and informative to present some of the ‘conspiracy theories’ beleaguering the industry today and into the future. Is there more to this downturn then just the low price of oil and gas? What mitigating factors and external

influencers are causing our industry to suffer? The truth is out there in the articles and stories in this edition of the PULSE!

From my own perspective, it all boils down to one thing. For investors, it’s just too damn hard to do business in Canada!

We regularly interact with producers of all sizes, who, as you would anticipate, are attempting to raise new capital whichever way they can get their hands on it. In days gone by, deals that would normally take 90 days to source and fund are now taking well over a year to close or are not closing at all. One of the major factors and concusses amongst the investors is the total lack of certainty they have in the Canadian economy and government policies, primarily as a result of the green and social license direction our federal and several of our provincial governments are ideologically and fervently committed to adopting. We haven’t met a domestic or foreign investor, in all of our travels, who has included any due diligence, weighting, or any notional consideration on how clean our economies are in Canada before making their investment decisions. Instead, they are taking their investment dollars offshore where successful projects can be measured from conception, to approval, to shovel, and, finally, to completion in two to three years versus in decades. And, now these investors are also looking at our largest trading partner, the United States, under a Donald Trump Presidency in a much more favourable light than the social license quagmire known as Canada.

It's Just Too Hard To Do Business In Canada

IT STACKS UP LIKE THIS...

Excessive Regulations ……. it’s just too hard
Environmental Impact Studies ……. it’s just too hard
Eco-Activists ……. it’s just too hard
Special Interest Groups ……. it’s just too hard
Environmentalists ……. it’s just too hard
Aboriginal Buy-in ……. it’s just too hard
NEB Hearings and Approvals ……. it’s just too hard
Pipeline Approvals ……. it’s just too hard
Cap and Trade ……. it’s just too hard
Carbon Taxes ……. it’s just too hard

Carbon Corner: The Carbon Pollution Shell Game

Royalty Structures ……. it’s just too hard
Corporate Income Taxes ……. it’s just too hard
Clean Economy ……. it’s just too hard
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ……. it’s just too hard
Global Warming ……. it’s just too hard
Social License ……. it’s just too hard
Sustainable Energy ……. it’s just too hard
Renewable Energy……. it’s just too hard
Political Party Ideologies ……. it’s just too hard
Federal and Provincial Government Policies ……. it’s just too hard

Electronic Bids And Orders

It seems our new oil and gas capital expenditure currency in Canada is now being impacted much more by protecting and saving political capital than attracting investment capital. We have to make it easier for energy and manufacturing businesses to succeed in Canada. When these industries succeed, Canada succeeds! Jobs are created and investment capital will flow once again.

Provided the Good Trump vs. Bad Trump businessman shows up for work in January, that is exactly what he intends to do in the United States. If we don’t follow suit, first it was Brexit, and then it was Trumexit! I wonder how far behind is Wynexit, Notexit, and Trudexit will be!

Notley Trudeau Wall. The 3 Legged Carbon Tax Stool

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

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Originally  published in the 

November 2016 Issue of Oilfield PULSE