BONNYVILLE – The Bonnyville and District Chamber of Commerce hosted the 2023 Bonnyville Oil and Gas Show (BOAGS) at the Bonnyville and District Centennial Centre (C2) on June 20 and June 22, providing a platform for industry businesses and professionals to connect with one another.
The three-day event gave industry producers and service providers a chance to network and sell their respective products and services. The show was open to the public, allowing them the opportunity to know what’s happening in the community and the industry.
“We are all about making connections,” said Serina Parsons, executive director for the Bonnyville and District Chamber of Commerce, during the show’s opening ceremony on June 20. She added the Chamber is also focused on promoting the region and the nation.
“Canada is the most underrated, yet [has the] most environmentally sourced oil in the world,” she said.
So, “Why are we not the leader?” she questioned. “We need to start spreading that message,” especially with large carbon capture projects starting up, noting Pathways Alliance’s Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project, for example.
Pathways Alliance is a group made up of some of the most prominent companies working in the region, including Canadian Natural, Cenovus Energy, ConocoPhillips Canada, Imperial Oil, MEG Energy, and Suncor. Together, the group makes up 95 per cent of Canada’s oil sands production.
Its primary objective is the decarbonization of the oil and gas industry and reaching net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050, said Kendall Dilling, president of Pathways Alliance, during a presentation at the BOAGS opening ceremonies on June 20.
The group plans to construct a major carbon capture and storage system line connecting a carbon storage hub in Cold Lake to oil sands facilities in the Fort McMurray, Christina Lake and Cold Lake regions.
According to Dilling, Canada always tops the chart when it comes to sustainability and environmental performance among oil producing nations in the world, except for its high greenhouse gas emissions per barrell of oil. “That’s because our oil is a heavy oil, it’s underground, and we have to pump generally steam,” to bring the oil into the surface, which creates emissions.
The high GHG emissions have been one of the areas of criticism faced by the industry, acknowledged Dilling, and the Pathways Alliance was created to tackle the problem. “If we can do that, then by any measure, we are the most responsible oil producer on the planet, and we think that will serve our purposes really well in the long-term.”
Delegates from local municipalities were also present on Tuesday evening, including Mayor Craig Copeland from the City of Cold Lake. “We’re so lucky not only in our area here, but Canada, to have such an abundance of resources... where I think a lot of people take that for granted,” he said.
Copeland explained that Alberta is among the “most strongly regulated places in the world in terms of environment,” making it difficult for the oil and gas industry to do business. He added that he is hopeful that Pathways Alliance’s initiative will create a better political attitude toward the oil and gas industry.
During the June 21 show where industry showcased their businesses to the public, Andrew Bibo a surface land man with Canadian Natural, who also works on the project on behalf of Pathways Alliance, told Lakeland This Week that the project will require “massive procurement needs.”
At the moment, Bibo said there is a lot of work underway, like environmental and survey work, and when the project reaches the construction phase, “it’s going to require a massive amount of labour and materials."
Bibo added, “We want to support local, and we’re encouraging local businesses that have existing relationships with the partners,” which should help with the procurement needs required to support the project, even though there is still plenty of work to do before shovels physically hit the ground.
Dell Martens, with Swagelok Edmonton Valve and Fitting, a company that provides services such as leak detections in addition to being a supplier of valve and fitting, also spoke positively of the carbon capture project.
“I think it’s going to really benefit the environment,” said Martens.
