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2017 Program

Conference chair Caroline Saunders, British Consult General, Calgary
 

8:00 am

   

Welcome by Monica Rovers, Head of Business Development, Global Energy, TMX Group

8:15 am   Panel 1: The future for Canadian oil 

A recovery in energy prices and drop in costs are offering relief to Canadian producers who have struggled over the past few years. During this time, a wave of M&A activity was predicted, but failed to materialize and some major players departed the oil sands. Companies retrenched and aggressively cut costs. Yet OPEC’s price war to drive out North American producers has in fact made many far tougher competitors through efficiency gains and a transition to long life, low decline assets. M&A activity picked up and the oil sands have ‘Canadianized’, as several of the majors decide they no longer wish to be owner / operators of these assets. Market access has seen mixed results, with approvals for the Trans Mountain and Keystone XL pipelines and the recent cancellation of the Energy East project. Canadian shale basins are drawing in significant investment – to the extent that some have dubbed them the new oil sands. Large operators and Nimble upstarts alike are actively advancing new technologies. Coming out of one of the worst slumps in modern history, what lessons can we draw from the past two years? The panel will examine the future for Canadian oil and offer perspectives on how companies can best position themselves.

   
  • Adam Waterous, Founder, Waterous Energy Fund LP
  • Steve Reynish, Executive Vice President, Strategy and Corporate Development, Suncor
  • Neil Camarta, President, Western Hydrogen; Director, Field Upgrading

Chair: Mungo Hardwicke-Brown, Partner, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

9:00 am   Discussion: The Canadian versus US strategic approach to developing energy resources.
 
  • Bill Marko, Managing Director, Jefferies LLP (Houston)
  • David Hill, Executive Vice President, Exploration & Business Development, Encana
9:45 am   Networking break
     
10:15 am   Panel 2: The outlook for Canadian natural gas

Canadian gas producers require new sources of demand for its 300-500 years worth of product. Exports to the US continue to drop, and while Canadian natural gas can serve major markets in the east of the country, it is competing against supplies from the eastern US. Significant LNG opportunities exist, including on both coasts of Canada. However, US LNG is dramatically outpacing Canada, including in the battle for market share in East Asia where the Canadian advantage is a potentially lower cost of delivery and a ‘greener’ product. Panelists will discuss how Canada can realize its potential by developing a robust ecosystem for producing, using and exporting natural gas.

   

Chair: Mary Hemmingsen, KPMG Alumni and Previous KPMG Global Head of LNG

11:15 am   Discussion: An innovative approach to First Nations participation in resource projects
   
  • Chief Elsie Jack, Carry the Kettle Nakoda Nation
  • David Fabbro, President, Nakoda Industrial Ltd.
  • Tom Maclean, Vice President, Business Development, Canadian Union of Skilled Workers

Led by: Jason Langrish, President, The Energy Roundtable

12:00 pm   Luncheon with address by Dawn Farrell, President & CEO, TransAlta
 

1:30 pm

 

Panel 3: Are project outcomes and technology adoption where they should be?

Energy producers have contained costs and focused on the most profitable ventures. In order to remain reliable suppliers of energy, Canadian oil and gas companies need to be at the forefront of change with progressive thinking and the integration of serial innovation and sustainability at the core of their strategies. Canada’s oil and gas industry must navigate this transition by leveraging its expertise and highly skilled workforce, accelerating technological innovation, speeding up commercialization, restructuring systems and operations for sustained productivity, and innovating pro-actively across the board. The panel will discuss how the industry can reinvent itself and emerge as a global energy leader in the new low-carbon economy.

 
  • Chris Vertanness, Vice President, Project Director, Fluor
  • James Ross, Chief Executive Officer, Expander Energy Inc.
  • Elizabeth Sanborn, Chief Operating Officer, Independant Project Analysis (IPA)
  • Audrey Mascarenhas, President & CEO, Questor Technologies

Chair: Dr. Tim Workman, Program Director, Watson, IBM Natural Resources Solution Centre, Calgary

 
2:30 pm   Panel 4: What do federal and provincial climate change plans mean for the energy sector?

The Canadian federal government’s Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change will establish a baseline carbon price of $50 a tonne by 2022. A phase-out of coal by 2030 is a key component of the Alberta government’s ambitious climate change plan, which also includes a broad based carbon levy and an emissions cap on oil sands production. Alberta and Saskatchewan are the Canadian frontier for the renewable energy industry – up to 7000 MW of new supply over the next 15 years. Carbon pricing is set to become a potentially divisive election issue in Alberta. As Donald Trump intends to reverse Obama’s climate change legacy, will the Canadian oil and gas sector be at a competitive disadvantage or will Canada’s carbon regime instill confidence in investors that are sceptical about companies with a large carbon footprint? The session will explore the impact of a lower carbon environment on both traditional and clean tech energy and the strategies that can be deployed, including the latest innovations in energy management processes and technologies.

 

Chair: Caroline Saunders, British Consul General, Calgary

 3:30 pm   Close
 

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