By Charles Lefebvre

CAPP says UCP government could have positive benefits for oil and gas industry

Apr 17, 2019 | 3:27 PM

TORONTO, ONT. — The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) is welcoming the news of a United Conservative Party government in Alberta, and is hopeful their election will have a positive impact on the oil and gas industry.

“We think there is great opportunity to drive further investment in Alberta, and to become the global supplier of choice,” said CAPP President and CEO Tim McMillan during a press conference in Toronto Wednesday morning. “Last night’s election in Alberta elected the United Conservative Party, and certainly in the campaign, the people of Alberta were very clear that this election was about the economy, about energy, and about investment and jobs. We think the energy sector can play a unique role in enabling Alberta to regain, and to reset it’s position as an investment jurisdiction.

Leading up to the election, CAPP released a platform emphasizing the issues it wanted from a provincial government, including increased market access and regulatory changes.

McMillan says Premier-Designate Jason Kenney sent a strong message during his victory speech Tuesday evening, telling investors that the focus for the province going forward is creating jobs and attracting investment.

CAPP also praised the United Conservative Party’s pledge to spend $30 million to create a “war-room” to counter critics of Alberta’s oil and gas industry.

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McMillan was asked about the proposed “turn off the taps” legislation. During the campaign, Kenney promised if elected, his party would proclaim the legislation, passed in 2018, as law. The legislation would give Alberta the power to restrict its oil and gas exports, and was created following disputes with British Columbia over the expansion to the Trans Mountain Pipeline.

“How that power would be executed, I think is yet to be determined, or whether it would need to be,” he said. “I think that Canadians’ continued support support for pipelines and market access should drive us all to a solution that is mutually beneficial for Canada. That certainly would be our desire to see that support from British Columbia to get that pipeline built as quickly as possible.”

McMillan says he remains confident the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion will be built, even before Tuesday’s election, but wants to see more commitment from the federal government to get the project moving.

“I think the results last night strengthen the hand of those that want a strong economy,” said McMillan. “Clearly, Albertans were calling for it, we see increasingly that Canadians are putting the economy first as we’re coming into an election in the fall. That momentum across Canada for major projects, not just energy, but all major projects, I think is important.”