44 LEXPERT MAGAZINE
|
MARCH 2016
FEATURE
THERE ARE GOOD OPPORTUNITIES IN A CRISIS.
So don't waste them."
ose may be the most optimistic words about the current state of the Canadian oil and gas industry to
seep out of the gloom of 2015.
ey come from Chip Johnston, a partner in Stikeman Elliott LLP's Corporate Group in Calgary. A
blunt vet of the Canadian oil patch, Johnston laments the fretful drop in oil and gas prices and the result-
ing bashing of profits and massive lay-offs in his home province. According to widely reported figures out
by Stats Can's national Labour Force Study Survey on Jan. 29, Alberta's net job losses (not specified by
job sector) in 2015 were 19,600.
"I think the opportunity for innovation is pretty big right now for everybody" in the industry, says
Johnston. "I think that thinking has been disrupted and that causes peoople to look at things in a differ-
ent way. And that leads to innovation, which results in greater productivity down the road."
At the beginning of 2015, West Texas Intermediate Crude fetched US$52.72 a barrel. By Febru-
ary 2016 it traded in the US$33 range. Oil hasn't been that low since June 2002 and only bottomed to
$43.90 in February 2009 during the depths of the global financial crisis, according to the U.S. Energy
Information Administration.
Who would dare predict where it will go in 2016? Grab one expert and he or she will suggest we may
hit $20 oil as over-production and slowing demand continue. Grab another and you'll hear hopeful talk
there might be a recovery towards the $60s or even $70s towards the end of 2016.
SHOCK
Seismic
With the price of oil sinking to lows not seen in years,
the oil & gas industry continues to play defence.
But in crisis, opportunity knocks for clients
BY ANTHONY DAVIS
"
PHOTO:
SHUTTERSTOCK
