Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach has the interests of his province’s oil and gas industry very much at heart. He’s right to do so, given Alberta’s parlous state of employment.
Alberta is experiencing enormous layoffs province-wide as the development of new supplies of oil and gas—conventional and oil sands—all but grinds to a halt, according to a recent report by the Calgary Herald.
“Thousands of oil field workers have lost their jobs and most of the survivors are taking pay cuts to sustain theirs,” the paper said, adding, “Many of the smaller drilling, service, and oil companies are experiencing severe financial difficulty.”
Not surprisingly, the Calgary newspaper asked a highly pertinent question: “What will Ed Stelmach’s response be to Alberta’s economic meltdown?”
Well, one of his responses—and he may well have others we don’t know about—has been to take a trip to Switzerland and Austria. It wasn’t a vacation or an opportunity to check a numbered bank account.
Advocating Alberta
To the contrary, Stelmach went to advocate on behalf of Alberta’s trade, investment, and energy interests with two of the world’s most powerful economic organizations: the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and the World Trade Organization.
“These two organizations represent the core businesses that are critical to our success—energy, investment, and trade,” said Stelmach, who, among other things, planned to reinforce Alberta’s commitment to responsible energy development.
“It’s always important that we build relationships and position our interests with our international partners—but during these challenging economic times it’s not only important, it’s vital,” the premier said.
On May 4, Stelmach delivered the keynote address at the Alberta Economic Forum in Geneva, telling his audience that his province “has the good fortune to be sitting on a tremendous energy treasure.”
Stelmach referred to the oil sands of Northeast Alberta, which “contain proven reserves of more than 173 billion bbl of oil” and could hold “as much as 334 billion bbl” of recoverable oil.
Commitment and expertise
Not least, Stelmach said, “We have the commitment and expertise to ensure that Alberta energy is clean energy, produced in a responsible manner and employing the best science and technology available.”
Stelmach also carried that message into a meeting with Bjorn Stigson, president of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, a forum for 200 companies—among them Suncor, Chevron, Total, and Shell—to explore sustainable development and best practices.
In Vienna, Stelmach met with OPEC Sec.-Gen. Abdalla Salem El-Badri, to focus on the challenges and opportunities facing oil-producing regions, such as environmental initiatives and the global impact of oil prices, production, and supply.
All in all, it was not a bad outing for the Alberta premier, and one that clearly had his constituents’ backs. With a price tag of just $52,000 (Can.) for Stelmach and two staffers, it also did not get their backs up.
