Our Speaker Chris Bloomer

 

 

 

Steve Austin introduced our speaker Chris Bloomer, President and CEO of the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association (CEPA). Mr. Bloomer's presentation, entitled Getting to Zero Incidents, focused on the efforts of Canadian pipeline operators to achieve the highest levels of excellence. This is why the industry established the CEPA - Integrity First program to share and implement leading practices to keep pipelines safe, so that communities are always protected against the effects of pipeline spills.

 

Mr. Bloomer stressed that the industry and society are at a fundamental turning point, and that the next six months will be pivotal in determining whether the Canadian energy industry will achieve the social license required to grow and thrive. Until recently, Canada's energy industry has relied on guaranteed access to the U.S. energy market, and all of our export pipelines send our energy products south. Things have now changed as our only customer has now become a formidable competitor, and it is imperative that the Canadian energy industry is able to access the global energy market. Unfortunately, our current export options are limited to the current Trans Mountain Pipeline, which began operations in 1953 and was last upgraded in 2007. In addition to this, one small LNG terminal is under development in Nova Scotia, one small LNG terminal (Woodfibre) has been approved for construction in British Columbia, and one proposed development for Kitimat B.C. is still in the planning stages.

 

CEPA, an industry association of mainline operators, has developed a number of strategic priorities for the industry in two key areas.

 

 

 

 

 

There is much work to do as the current federal government is pursuing a progressive agenda that is producing great uncertainty in Canadian industry. There are two bills currently before the Senate of Canada, which, if passed into law, will discourage further investment in the Canadian energy industry. The stated objective of bill C-69 is to provide a faster "national interest" determination for project proponents; however, CEPA feels that the Impact Assessment Act will actually drive energy investment away from Canada. The primary concern is that the act will produce unacceptably high financial risks through lengthy reviews that trigger polarization within the process itself, which will lead inevitably to political decisions at its end.

 

 

 

Additionally, the passage of Bill C-48, the Oil Tanker Moratorium act will likely further deter any additional export pipelines on the west coast.

 

CEPA is also working to address a profound lack of knowledge of the energy industry amongst the general population. For example, nobody in attendance seemed to be aware that the most significant industry meeting is coming to Calgary. The 2018 International Pipeline Conference (IPC) will be held at the Telus Convention Centre from September 25 to 27.

 

With these challenges in front of the pipeline industry, CEPA members have come together to chart a path forward. All of its members have bound themselves to the CEPA - Integrity First policy statement, and will deliver energy products to market in accordance with the highest standards of stewardship, transparency and accountablity.

 

After an engaging question and answer session, Roy Boettger thanked our speaker for his timely presentation.