MARK SCHOLZ

As I look back on 2022, I am positive that many of us feel an overall sense of renewal in Canada’s energy services sector. Despite the challenges and growing pains due to an influx of work after years of stagnation, we are fortunate to have come up with innovative solutions to deal with the challenges head-on and come out on top.

Unfortunately, other countries haven’t had such a successful year. Geopolitical conflict and instability began in February, leading to the disastrous Russian invasion of Ukraine and eventual energy crisis in Europe and shortages in other regions. Countries including Germany and Japan visited Canada asking for our partnership on providing secure and reliable energy. Canada is known around the world as a trusted partner, centred on sustainable development with a laser focus on the highest environmental, social, and governance standards. Canada’s energy services sector is on the frontlines of championing energy security and transition.

Canada’s energy industry made exciting advancements with the near completion of the Trans Mountain Expansion Project and Coastal GasLink, which will add considerable export capacity in the coming years. Additionally, the recent approval of Woodfibre LNG marks Canada’s second LNG export facility project in the works. BC signed a historic deal with Blueberry River First Nations, providing a framework to move forward and signalling progress in Indigenous economic reconciliation. Still, our nation falls behind on LNG projects. The global marketplace needs LNG, and approving more infrastructure projects would reduce global emissions by displacing coal-fired power in countries such as China and India.

One of the highlights of the year was creating our industry white paper, Leading Collaboration Through the Energy Transition, which expands on our vision to create the world’s most carbon-efficient and productive drilling and service rig sector.

We spent time in Ottawa and continue to meet with government leaders to share how the services sector is ready to introduce innovative solutions that will reduce emissions while spurring jobs and opportunities across the country. The white paper builds on government priorities to support Indigenous businesses and com- munities, incentivize Canadian innovation, retain and create sustainable jobs, and establish our leadership on the world stage.

Throughout the year, we continued to see progress on new energy initiatives across the country. From geothermal to lithium extraction from brines, the future depends on the expertise of the energy services sector. Canada’s energy sector provides 845,500 direct and indirect jobs to people from coast to coast to coast. Our workforce is proud to be on the frontlines of the transition, focused on drilling projects for geothermal, helium, potash, lithium, natural gas which can be made into hydrogen, and carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) projects.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that oil demand could rise 1.9 mb/d, up to 101.7 mb/d in 2023, the highest ever before. Industry experts forecast $83 (USD) per barrel oil in 2023, a number which looks steady throughout this decade. We have seen more rigs working and anticipate a modest increase in wells drilled and operating days this year. I look forward to continuing our advocacy efforts with the provincial and federal governments and working with the Board of Directors and our members to see our vision through to the finish line.

In closing, I would like to thank our dedicated Board of Directors who lead us, and our dedicated staff and volunteers who carry out our mission. I am proud to serve our membership and will continue to drive our mission forward to advocate on behalf of the hard-working Canadians who provide energy security for those around the world. v