Industry officials say the Alberta government is planning to move the oil and gas industry ahead of unveiling a comprehensive set of plans that could be used to challenge proposed federal greenhouse gas emissions caps. It is said that there was no consultation with
Businesses are still digesting Premier Daniel Smith’s move to introduce a motion under the Provincial Sovereignty Act, which Smith said Tuesday would allow Alberta to claim ownership of its own fossil fuel resources. He said it would be.
Tristan Goodman, president and CEO of the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada, said industry insiders expected the UCP government to use sovereign law to target emissions caps. He said the details revealed Tuesday were surprising.
“There was no extensive consultation,” he said.
A second industry source acknowledged there had been no consultation, adding that as of Wednesday, companies were still trying to absorb the implications of Mr. Smith’s proposal.
Goodman said companies need to take a closer look at Smith’s proposal that state governments could have exclusive control and ownership of emissions data collected at oil and gas companies’ sites, in particular. said.
“That’s where we want to collaborate. We’d like to have the conversation to find out exactly how that works,” he said.
Smith also said the provincial government would consider instructing provincial authorities, such as the Alberta Energy Regulator, not to enforce the cap. Alberta also said it would consider banning federal employees from physically setting foot on oil and gas facilities.
Goodman acknowledged that some of these proposals will require fine-tuning of the details.
“If the state wants to ban certain other types of government employees from the site, we (the industry) are not going to be involved in that,” he said.
“It’s up to the state to enforce it.”
But he stressed that the oil and gas sector as a whole remains strongly opposed to emissions caps and is pleased that the Alberta government is standing up for the province’s industry.
“I agree with Premier Smith that these are state resources and the federal government is overstepping its constitutional limits,” Goodman said.
“So we are actually very pleased to see the Prime Minister taking strong action to protect this sector.”
The federal government’s proposed emissions cap, still in draft form, would require oil and gas companies to reduce emissions by 35% from 2019 levels by 2030.
The oil and gas industry argues that the proposed cap is unconstitutional and amounts to a production cap that would seriously harm Alberta and the Canadian economy.
Adam Legge, president of the Business Council of Alberta, called the cap “the epitome of bad public policy” and said Wednesday it could face a constitutional challenge.
“We support and applaud the state government in exploring all possible avenues to resist this unfair and discriminatory policy, and we will provide support in any legal challenge. We have told the state that we intend to do so,” Legge said in an emailed statement.
But Richard Masson, an executive fellow at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy and former CEO of the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Board, says behind the scenes, all industry leaders are excited about Smith’s proposal. He said he was not excited.
He said Smith’s proposal would be seen as “unpopular” in Calgary’s corporate boardroom and “a new layer of complexity and uncertainty.”
“And we don’t even know if that will have the desired effect of encouraging the federal government to withdraw,” Masson said.
“This looks like it’s going to bring more battles and more risks, but it’s probably going to be more difficult for companies to get their act together to try to come up with some kind of attractive investment environment in our country. It will look like another example of government.”
Masson said neither Smith’s proposal to limit access to the site nor her suggestion that the state take ownership of each company’s own emissions data would be easy to implement. .
“It doesn’t seem fruitful at any level,” he said, adding that he believes the proposal that the Alberta government could boost the province’s asphalt sales by selling royalty-share barrels is not viable. He added that there is.
“It’s going to be very complicated. It’s not a good idea,” he said.
Pathways Alliance, a consortium of six of Canada’s largest oil sands companies, said Wednesday that the federal emissions cap will impose more complex regulations on companies and require companies to invest in emissions-reducing technologies. He said that he believed that this would actually hinder the
“We are grateful to the Government of Alberta for supporting and standing up for the economic interests of the province and Canada. We will continue to work with Alberta to oppose the proposed flawed emissions cap. “Pathways President Kendall Dilling said in an emailed statement.
Under Alberta’s Sovereignty Act, the government must first submit a motion to Parliament, identifying the federal issue at issue and outlining potential steps the government should take to overcome it.
If the motion is passed by parliament, the law provides that Smith’s cabinet will determine the legality of the selected measures before taking action.
Mr Smith did not say when the motion would be tabled in parliament.
The federal government’s final emissions cap regulations are expected to be announced in the spring.
The federal government maintains that the cap does not limit oil and gas production, but rather limits pollution.
But Alberta said the cap could reduce production by as much as 1 million barrels per day, resulting in large-scale job losses and a 5 per cent drop in royalty income for the provincial government.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 27, 2024.
