The timing comes as oil prices continue to set new records on an almost daily basis. Benchmark American crude came within a penny of $143 on Friday and some observers are expecting the price to hit $150 before the week is through.
The fervour gained momentum after OPEC chief Chakib Khelil, predicted that the price of oil will climb to $170 a barrel by the end of the year due to a falling U.S. dollar and geopolitical conflicts.
Although the WPC is not specifically a forum for prices, World Petroleum Council president Randy Gossen said the implications of the “tremendous price flux” is sure to be on the agenda.
Gossen is a vice-president with Calgary-based Nexen Inc. and has been with the petroleum council for more than two decades. He was instrumental in helping to bring the WPC to Canada in 2000 when it hosted the triennial gathering in Calgary.
The oil industry looked a lot different back then, he concedes. Oil prices had just begun to recover from generational lows of $10 a barrel.
Oilsands production, while growing, hadn’t broached the million barrel a day mark and the massive reserves were not yet recognized by the world at large.
Now approaching 1.5 million barrels a day, the enormous potential — and environmental challenges — of the oilsands are firmly fixed on the global radar.
Although Canada accounts for less than three per cent of the planet’s petroleum production, it sits on the world’s second-largest reserves, second only to Saudi Arabia’s.
He points to EnCana’s carbon dioxide sequestration project at Weyburn, the subject of a special presentation in Madrid, as but one example of how Canadians are working to reduce the environmental footprint of oilsands development.
