Lexpert Special Editions

Special Edition on Energy 2017

The Lexpert Special Editions profiles selected Lexpert-ranked lawyers whose focus is in Corporate, Infrastructure, Energy and Litigation law and relevant practices. It also includes feature articles on legal aspects of Canadian business issues.

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WWW.LEXPERT.CA | 2017 | LEXPERT 25 Krawchuk, Leanne C. Dentons Canada LLP (780) 423-7198 leanne.krawchuk@dentons.com Ms. Krawchuk advises mining producers in Canada on corporate/commercial, construction and procurement, corporate finance and securities, mergers and acquisitions and other mining legal matters including the negotiation of supply agreements with electricity producers. She advises on royalties, price reviews, dedication and unitization agreements and assignments and transfers of mining interests. Kott, Olivier F. Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP (514) 847-4445 olivier.kott@nortonrosefulbright.com Mr. Kott has over 39 years' experience in the prevention, management and resolution of complex business disputes with a particular focus on construction law, product liability and insurance in the energy and infrastructure sector. He has extensive civil trial and appellate experience, including successfully pleading two landmark cases before the Supreme Court of Canada. King, Richard J. Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP (416) 862-6626 rking@osler.com Mr. King advises clients on commercial and regulatory matters related to power project development, power trading and utility regulation, as well as the duty to consult Aboriginal groups regarding large natural resource projects. Killoran, QC, Maureen E. Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP (403) 260-7003 mkilloran@osler.com Ms. Killoran, Managing Partner of Osler Calgary, maintains a full litigation practice, representing clients on business critical, commercial and resource industry disputes. She is lead counsel on complex commercial disputes and in the defence of challenges to major resource projects. She is a seasoned trial and appeal lawyer with extensive commercial arbitration experience. Kierans, David B. Gowling WLG (514) 392-9551 david.kierans@gowlingwlg.com Mr. Kierans practises in corporate and commercial law with particular emphasis on secured lending, real estate acquisition and finance, asset-backed and project financing. His experience includes energy-generation projects and P3 project finance. Keen, Matthew Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP (604) 641-4913 matthew.keen@nortonrosefulbright.com Mr. Keen is an energy regulatory lawyer whose practice spans the interrelated areas of energy law, utility and economic regulation, environmental assessment, environmental permitting and compliance, and Aboriginal law. He advises clients on these matters, and regularly appears before a variety of administrative tribunals such as the British Columbia Utilities Commission. LEXPERT-RANKED LAWYERS ciation of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) estimates that, together, provincial and federal government policies and rules were costing our oil and gas industry between $450 million and $760 million annually. And there are more coming. CAPP forecasts that capital spending in Canada in 2017 will have dropped by $44 billion from $81 billion in 2014. Meanwhile, spending in the US will have risen by 38 per cent to $120 billion. e question is, are federal and provincial policies pushing companies and investments out of the Cana- dian energy patch, or are President Trump's policies reeling them in? In Warrier's view, it may be neither. "It is a mischaracterization to suggest that capital is fleeing Canada," he suggests. "At the end of the day there are a lot of people trying to score political points by sug- gesting that the reason this capital is departing because, from a political perspective, things like carbon taxes and more rigorous environmental ap- proval standards have been introduced. I don't think that's it at all. ese are global companies who have the ability to deploy their capital where it makes the most sense at any given time. And the incremental production costs in Canada are higher," he stresses, "inde- pendent of the regulatory regime, sim- ply because of our very difficult topo- graphical, geological situation." In the United States, says Warrier, with production costs under pressure from low commodity prices, it's easier, for instance, to produce oil and gas from the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico than it is from the more remote reserves in Canada. In the US, he says, you get "much more bang for your buck at this time." So has anything changed with US energy politics under President Trump's administration? "Initially at least," says Jenkins, who has been an advisor to En- bridge Inc., the election of Donald Trump "was a bit of a psychic boost." For decades, he explains, the North American energy industry has faced stiff opposition from different segments of society as it developed infrastructure. But when President Trump quickly signed an executive order approving Keystone XL aer his November election, and appointed former Exxon Corp. CEO Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State, "it felt like it would be more socially acceptable to support the oil and gas business now." In the months aer Trump was inaugurated on Jan- uary 20th, says Jenkins, foreign companies operating in Canada did seem inclined to head for the US. "I think while that was the case when he first came into power, but now there is a mixed message. Business is certainty and clarity. And so far that hasn't been the cases in the US. Trump's policies haven't resulted in legislation yet."

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