Oil industry groups scrambling for support

GARY PARK

For Petroleum News

There’s a faint whiff of panic in campaigns by two of Canada’s leading petroleum industry organizations to turn the tide of political and public opposition to new pipelines.

The Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors wants the 500,000 people - down from 600,000 a year ago - who are still directly or indirectly employed in the industry to make their case to federal and provincial governments.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association has held a series of meetings with firefighters and other first responders to build grassroots support for TransCanada’s Energy East pipeline.

CAODC President Mark Scholz told reporters his association is “not asking for a government handout, but we are asking for an honest discussion and we are asking for respect for an industry that has done so much to make Canada the best country in the world.”

Bumper stickers carrying the words “Oil Respect” are being distributed across Canada as CAODC tries to rally support for new pipelines, while a website has been launched carrying stories of people who have lost oil and gas jobs and are now struggling to pay their living costs.

Scholz noted that annual revenues from the petroleum industry were C$150 billion in 2014, falling to C$90 billion last year, which he said would be equivalent to Canada losing its entire auto sector in one year.

CEPA Chief Operating Officer Jim Donihee told the Financial Post said his association has held safety presentations in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec - the hotbeds of opposition to pipelines - to explain to firefighters and other first responders what emergency systems are in place to deal with rupture, explosions or other incidents.

In the event of an emergency, the National Energy Board would immediately send teams to the site to coordinate with fire departments, paramedics, police and local government officials.

“We are working to make sure first responders’ interests are well-served in terms of what they need to know in case of pipeline emergencies and to establish relationships, built trust and strengthen confidence,” he said.

Donihee said member companies of CEPA have a mutual emergency assistance agreement that would see the deployment of personnel and equipment from competing companies to deal with an incident.

“There is an absolute commitment on the part of our members that when it comes to safety there is no competition,” he said. “We share everything openly and aggressively.”

CEPA’s 12 member companies include Kinder Morgan, TransCanada and Enbridge, Canada’s three largest pipelines.

But one fire director in a Montreal-area municipality said he is not yet convinced by the measures CEPA outlined, suggesting that the level of concern in Quebec “is far from being understood by members of CEPA.”

The meetings occurred a week after Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said Energy East presents too many environmental and public safety risks and offers too little financial benefit, accusing TransCanada of treating its consultation meetings “snobbishly.”