Energy show highlights evolving sector
The Global Energy Show is back and operating in an environment completely different from the last time the three-day industry conference ran in 2019.
Conversations have shifted from what could be done to what is being done to achieve cleaner energy, while oil and gas have gone from recession and recovery to booming.
The show kicked off Tuesday at the BMO Centre on the Calgary Stampede grounds with a keynote address from former justice minister and attorney general of Canada Jody Wilson-raybould on the role industry can play in reconciliation.
She noted the relationship between oil companies and First Nations has come a long way, but there is work to be done.
“The energy sector, I think, can lead the charge in being inbetweeners,” said Wilson-raybould. “You are on the ground, in community, touching directly what is vitally important to Indigenous People — their land and resources, the environment.”
She said the energy sector is already proving to be an instrument of reconciliation, by helping bring communities out of poverty.
Green energy is a major theme at this year's conference. Even with the return of high oil prices and increasing demand, Alex Pourbaix, chief executive of Cenovus, said progress must continue in the transition to net-zero emissions. He said Canada can play a role in meeting global energy demands while also being at the forefront of clean oil and gas.
He said Cenovus's goal is to reduce emissions by 35 per cent by 2030 and to reach net-zero by 2050 through a number of initiatives, including Pathway to Net Zero, which involves continuously evolving technology, carbon capture utilization and storage, and the potential to shift to small nuclear reactors to power major projects.
“We are at the centre of ethical production of oil, I would argue in the world, and you now have all of the main players in this industry, committing to decarbonize that source oil,” Pourbaix said. “I have no idea how much oil is going to be needed 50 years from now ... but I can tell you if we're able to crack this nut on decarbonization, I think we have an incredibly strong claim that the last barrel of oil pumped in the world should be Canadian oil.”
Riley Found, senior adviser of strategic initiatives for the Canadian Nuclear Association (CNA), said meeting Canada's growing energy demands is going to require contributions from wind and solar, hydro, natural gas and even investment in nuclear power.
He said one of the big challenges is educating the public, which is a challenge for nuclear as it works to dispel long-held concerns with the energy source.
“Nuclear is the only energy type that can tell you where the waste is. It's in the ground, it's controlled, it's monitored. We know where every ounce of our waste has gone, and no other energy type can say that,” said Found from the CNA'S booth in the sprawling trade show. “It's clean, it's safe and we've got a great track record.”
Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said the conversations that are going to take place at the show through Thursday will be critical to the future of Calgary.
She said the city has taken the idea of energy transformation to heart, as evidenced by how quickly the shift has taken place and the commitment from all corporate actors to work collectively to find solutions.