| Dear Pierre Alvarez, President, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers:
Once again you oil boys have rekindled the who-is-more-stubborn-to-the-point-of-stupidity debate, bull riders or oil company executives. The corpses in Iraq aren’t even cold and Canadian oil companies are talking about taking advantage of the situation – getting in and starting up some oil properties.
Haven’t you guys learned anything from your experiences in Somalia, Colombia, Ecuador and all those other rough neighbourhoods you hang out in to make a living? As every two-bit expert who comes into my farm implement dealership to grab a free coffee and enlighten me on world events already knows, the self-proclaimed do-gooders of the country will roast you for exploiting the people of Iraq to make a quick buck.
You know and I know that nothing could be further from the truth. Quick bucks are not the reason that Canadian oil companies go to some of the most dangerous places on earth to find and extract oil. Bucks might be involved, but they are not quick. Besides, the average oilman is too ethical and morally upstanding to work in such places only for profit. Oil companies are out there because they are risk-takers who want to bring the blessings of capitalism and big oil to the poor of our world.
Every Albertan knows the blessings big oil can bring when a wise and benevolent government makes it cheap and easy for companies to exploit natural resources. Of course, exploitation is such a dirty sounding word – I prefer to call it taking advantage of a favourable business environment.
For starters, big oil blesses Alberta with great jobs for both the educated and uneducated. Oil company roads give nature lovers and outdoor enthusiasts incredible access to Alberta’s wilderness. Farmers lucky enough to have oil or gas wells on their land gain extra income from land access fees. Finally, there’s the oilman’s infamous spirit of charity and giving that has touched the lives of every Albertan.
The blessings big oil bestow on developing countries are even greater, and it’s high time Canadian oil companies went on the offensive to explain all the good deeds they are doing around the world.
Let’s start with the most important: cheap oil and gas. Big oil’s relentless search for new oilfields means we have lots of cheap energy. Sure, we Canadians depend on gas to keep the trucks and factories running, but poor countries desperately need cheap energy if they ever hope to catch up with us rich countries. The developing world will never be able to build up its industries if oil costs $50 a barrel.
When big oil goes into violent or war-torn countries, they bring even greater benefits. The protection money and ransoms governments or insurgents extort from oil companies do not prolong the violence. The money might pay for more guns and ammo, but it also buys a little island of peace in these violent countries, and that helps end these terrible wars. Everyone knows you can’t have peace without guns! Being one of the few industries brave enough to go into such places, big oil is showing how a little peace and stability, even if you have to pay for it, is good for the economy.
We both know you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. Big oil can show folks stuck in the middle of a civil war that there’s a better life in the oil industry. After all, jobs in the oilpatch are better paying and slightly safer than life in a guerrilla or regular army. Big oil is not to blame if governments and insurgents refuse to put down the guns and start earning an honest wage. Buying a little peace and delivering jobs – what else can a company do?
Oil industry critics have all sorts of answers to that question. They expect companies to solve the problems of the developing world. Some want companies to spend more money to develop local services. Others want companies to pull out of poor countries altogether.
Oil companies are experts in developing oil and gas fields, not countries. That’s someone else’s job, and I doubt the United Nations and the other development agencies want the competition. If it were big oil’s job, it could show those bureaucrats how to get it done. I mean, helping a country develop honest government and good services can’t be any more difficult than drilling for oil in the Arctic Ocean or the North Sea. I think we both agree, however, that everyone is better off when oil companies stick to their knitting – creating jobs and an economy is the best kind of development there is. Now let’s get the word out, shall we?
Yours in saving the world through ethical extraction,
Buzz Angus
|
Copyright ©2003 FFWD. All rights reserved.