| Date Published | June 30, 2016 |
| Company | Oilfield HUB |
| Article Author | Holly Nicholas |
| Article Type | June 2016 Issue |
| Category | Articles, Oil & Gas |
| Tags | Community Involvement In Oil & Gas, E&P, Oil & Gas Downturn, S&S, Support For The Canadian Oil & Gas Industry |
| HUB SEARCH | OilfieldHUB |
Canada’s energy has been the target of attacks from activists and naysayers for quite some time now. Usually, the attacks come from special interest groups like Tides, who provide grants to anti-oil schemes from third parties, the Rockafeller’s, and Greenpeace. Sometimes, the attacks come from within our own country. Such is the case with The Pembina Institute, who consult with the Alberta NDP and have penned oilsands moratoriums. The group has even lobbied
against Keystone XL in Washington and are backed by government officials, like the Prime Minister’s senior advisor, Gerald Butts. Whether it’s Leonardo DiCaprio mistaking an Alberta chinook for climate change, Greenpeace activists spreading unhelpful rhetoric, or organizations that generally give fossil fuels a bad name, it’s become apparent the oil and gas industry has to fight back. For so long, industry leaders have remained silent, but now, they’re starting to speak out
Until recently, Canada’s energy industry has been represented by a small, but loud, group that are spreading misinformation in an attempt to demonize oil and gas and pipeline infrastructure. And, as a result, initiatives like Oilsands Action, Oil Respect, Energy Citizens, and Oil People Helping Oil People have cropped up. Whether it’s simply standing up and correcting misinformation being spread by environmentalists, special interest groups, and activists or stepping up to give families a helping hand, there is a group out there doing just that throughout the province. When the going gets tough, Albertans get together to support each other, and when it comes to our oil and gas industry, we couldn’t be more proud. And, that’s why many groups have come together to support the patch, the workers, and the families affected by the downturn along with the everyday operations and benefits it brings to Canadians.
Oil Respect is a campaign initiated by the Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors, with President Mark Scholz at the helm. The project was put forth in order to give a voice to oilfield workers who have lost their jobs, and as Scholz puts it, “Oil Respect is about respect for the facts, respect for workers, respect for the environment, and respect for an industry that has done so much to provide Canadians with jobs, funding for government services, and a higher standard of living.” The campaign also includes speaking engagements across Canada, which calls for regular Canadians to speak up and request that provincial and federal governments get on board and back the oil and gas industry through new infrastructure like pipelines and oil and gas development. Scholz actually appeared in front of the House of Commons Finance Committee to appeal to Canada’s energy industry on February 19 of this year. More information can be found at the Oil Respect website oilrespect.ca. The site is a wealth of information packed with infographics, petitions that can be signed, and of course, merchandise.
Cody Battershill is a real estate agent and a long time supporter of the Alberta oilsands and Canadian oil and gas. His journey to forming Oilsands Action, a non-profit organization and community that campaigns for Canadian energy, started in 2010 when he was inspired to get informed about oil and gas after running into two women dressed as oil barrels standing outside of a Lush cosmetics store. Of course, Lush campaigns against the oil and gas industry. Now, you can see his popular oilsands t-shirts, hoodies, and stickers (which are free on his website) just about anywhere you go, even on Rachel Notley, our “reformed” Premier who actively protested against oil and pipelines. Cody has now become the go-to spokesman for Canadian oil and gas and offers a clear and concise message through his social media pages on Twitter and Facebook along with his website. And, although he focuses much of his time on Canadian energy initiatives, there are currently 11 campaigns on his website ranging from oilsands issues to pipeline projects to helping Fort McMurray fire victims, and there’s even a request to rollout Google Fibre, which is a technology used to improve internet connections. For more information, visit canadaaction.ca.
The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) started Energy Citizens, which is a community that endorses Canada’s energy and encourages people to join to show their pride and get the facts about the oil and gas industry. CAPP has long been promoting the oil and gas business in Canada, and they are essentially the voice for the upstream petroleum industry in the nation. What the Energy Citizens initiative aims to do is promote Canada’s energy by word of mouth through grassroots supporters. People are encouraged to sign up, stay updated, and spread the word. The four key initiatives of the group are to start conversations around safety, shared benefits, environment, and leadership. Of course, Canada is the most ethical source of hydrocarbons on the planet, but there is a lot of misinformation floating around about Canada’s energy. The aim of this campaign is to fight the untruths and unfair portrayals with facts. As of April 2016, the community is home to 100,000 supporters and growing. To join and for more information, visit capp.ca/initiatives.
Kelly Banush and her friends, Tracy Joy and Pamela Steele, set up this non-profit organization to help struggling oilfield workers through donations from the community. After the women saw the impacts the downturn was having on oil and gas industry workers and their families, they realized those who have lost their jobs were falling through the cracks. The organization aims to help those families with the basics like medical care, transportation, and groceries. Banush feels the need to give to oil workers and explains it is due to how much they’ve given back to the small town she lives in by contributing to the economy when times are good. She also says the community has reached out to her to help out, including an accountant, a politician, and a graphic artist. The group believes there is a stigma that comes along with oil workers, and they want people to realize industry workers are people too, and in these tough times, they need a hand up. To donate or for more information, you can find the group at helpingoilpeople.org.
Whether it’s a private citizen or industry representatives, Albertans are coming together to stand up for Canadian oil and gas projects, and it’s about time. Activists, the uninformed, and those out there solely for their own gain have controlled the narrative for far too long. Canada’s industry is the safest and most regulated in the world, and that’s something to be proud of. By the year 2040, energy demand will increase by 32%, and Canada is the most ethical source of hydrocarbons on the planet. We currently have approximately 172 billion barrels of oil to tap into and 1100 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves to exploit. If we want to get our resources to market, initiatives like Oilsands Action, Oil Respect, and Energy Citizens are a useful medium that can be utilized to change the conversation happening around our resource industry.
Holly Nicholas
M.SC. Candidate, GEO.I.T.
PETROLOGIST | CONSULTANT
Originally published in the
