By Scott Jeffrey, Publisher
It’s easy to preach to the converted. With an industry association like CAPP, the converted are obviously their member companies, both producer and supplier alike. CAPP members don’t need to be reminded of the benefits that accrue to their companies and the entire nation through the responsible development and disposition for sale of the country’s oil and gas resources.
Another group that could be counted as the converted are the politicians that rule our provinces and the country. Certain pronouncements to the contrary, and despite some setbacks to the industry in terms of cancelled or delayed projects. governments are generally on side. Even the densest elected official gets the connection between revenue, taxation, and re-election. Sometimes they have to be led to water, and CAPP does good work in summarizing the benefits of the industry to the country. Witness their recent policy paper of July 5, 2017. In this common sense document of around 50 pages, CAPP outlines the role government can play in increasing the competitiveness of the industry in a global market. It is also very clear about the additional monies that can flow into government coffers, making the task of governing, and the chances of re-election, that much easier.
Recently, CAPP has seen a number of producers resign their memberships in CAPP. Companies ranging in size from 170,000 to around 20,000 boe have decided not to renew. With a membership fee of $4.64/boe/day, this represents a loss to CAPP of around $1.8 million annually. I couldn’t find any figures on how much the association garners in dues, but almost $2 million off any association’s bottom line is something to be taken seriously. More importantly though, is the reason seven or eight producers decided that they no longer derive value from their membership in an association that claims to represent 80 per cent of the nation’s production of crude and natural gas. If the association is seen, even by members, as just talking to itself, then its value to the industry has to be questioned.
If CAPP’s effectiveness is being questioned even by the converted, imagine how it fares when it comes to winning the hearts and minds of the general public. Ask nine out of 10 people outside the industry what CAPP stands for, and you’ll draw a blank stare. Even that is not so bad, as long as the industry CAPP represents is presented loud, proud, and in the best possible light to the general public. This is a job that is immeasurably harder than talking to members and government, and it’s not happening.
The whole issue of resource development and utilization has been hi-jacked by special interest groups of all shapes and sizes. The only thing that hits the news these days are the rabid opponents of a project, indeed any project. If it’s a pipeline, it’s bad; if it’s a gas plant, it’s bad; if it’s an oilsands expansion or an LNG terminal, it’s bad. There is no balance to their argument, and there is no attempt at rational debate. The hypocrisy of these stances is enormous, but all the general public sees is the negative, and without a group to organize the producer and present the facts, the politicians will follow the winds that drive the electorate.
Despite the burn rate of maintaining four offices, the cost of executive salaries, and the production of position papers, CAPP should have some dues money left over to mount a sustained campaign in the media, countering falsehoods and half-truths, and extolling the virtues of responsible development and the use of our hydrocarbon molecule. Even in these straitened times, it is possible that a special levy for a sustained media campaign, with established measurable parameters, would be greeted with some enthusiasm by members.
All sorts of special interest groups will cry foul, insisting the industry has an agenda. Absolutely, we should say, and it’s a far less sneaky agenda that the pernicious propaganda promulgated by the rabid dogs who oppose the industry, to the detriment of all common sense.
This is not to say that individual companies shouldn’t also put a paddle in. All producers must take an active role in promoting understanding and common ground in the pursuit of their individual projects. As Pat Carlson, former CEO of Seven Generations Energy Ltd. said in a recent article, satisfying the public and other special interest groups shouldn’t be left to the government. By extension that applies to associations like CAPP.
Every energy company today looks at the value of a dollar spent. CAPP might be able to mend some fences in its own camp by presenting better value, and by making a sustained attempt to present energy’s story to the general public. Most are generally onside, but when you have the media dominated by possible horror story scenarios, people can be swayed. And when the public are swayed, they will sway the politicians. Let’s make it easier for our elected officials to make the right decision, and to make the popular decision as well.
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