There are challenges in the oil and gas industry that are not easily explained to those who don't watch industry events, but I've made it a habit of it to the point it is almost recreation for me. So, needless to say, I spent the last hour listening to the announcement this morning, so here's my take...
It's positive...
But there are considerations here that people have to remember. We essentially have an industry that others, like OPEC, are struggling with to see what the next day brings.
Literally...Keep reading...
Today, for example, I'm reading news that OPEC is struggling with a worldwide crude oil over-supply of 900 million barrels, and an over-supply of an estimated 540 million barrels of refined products out there...
So, everything you see out there these days has all been caused by either OPEC and their price wars or are related to a Covid-19 shutdown. Simple supply and demand issues have literally collapsed an industry worldwide, and not just here. The needs of a people in search for a "cleaner, low carbon producing oil" are real, so we have an advantage in keeping ours going to market, while other dirtier, heavier crudes are left in the ground.
We have something to sell, but...
Far be it for me to dictate the direction of an oil company. God knows they won't listen to me, but the province and the oil industry simply have no choice but to wait it out...
So, today's announcement brings with it some hope for the future as the project known as "West White Rose" has not been completely abandoned...but remains in mothballs...as companies, including Huskey, grapple with the uncertainties of an oil future that is no clearer the closer to the end of the pandemic that we get...
But, we need to grasp the realities too, that this is a changing world...rapidly changing...where our youth promote protection of the environment and look toward a future where alternative energies are used. All depends on a company's abilities to "respond" to the needs of the consumer out there, and we see changes with companies who are also changing their focus from oil and gas, to alternatives like solar and wind, hydrogen and the list goes on...If our youth are our future, and if we are to progress, then we and the oil industry itself have to conform to this change or we will be left behind....
That's why I place a lot of hope in the development of the technology industry/sector and projects like the Ocean supercluster...
This may very well be the last gravity-based structure that we will ever see in our lifetimes go into the deep, dark waters of the North Atlantic for the purpose of drilling for oil. There may be cheaper FPSO structures from now on before we see the change from using oil to something completely different.
We may have to change the way we think about work locations like Argentia or Bull Arm...We may have to switch from the gravity-based structure for hauling oil out of the ground to construction of gravity-based structures for offshore wind projects instead.
The world is changing, and it's all our responsibility to imagine it...to change with it...not against it...and welcome that change and the challenges that go along with it for all our collective futures.
Regards,
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