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Making Strides Toward Alberta’s Value Added Vision Neil Shelly The past year has been dominated by announcements of cancelled projects within Alberta’s Industrial Heartland, and the outlook for sustainable economic development was starting to look pretty gloomy. Run-away construction costs, shortage of skilled labor, uncertainty regarding environmental regulations, and growing competition from US refineries are just some of the causes of project cancellations. As we begin 2009, things are starting to look up and prospects for continued development are brightening. The taming of inflationary pressure and the loosing of the labor market are just two of the factors that will help tilt the tables back in the favor of investment in the Heartland, the Capital Region, Alberta and Canada. One of the most promising developments has been a series of announcements by the Government of Alberta regarding their overall vision for the future of the oil sands and its value added potential. In December of 2008, the province released its Provincial Energy Strategy that outlines the goals of extracting the highest possible economic benefits by advancing the processing of our oil sands resources up the value chain. While short on details, this strategy sets the tone and overall course for future development and government actions. The next step in this process came on February 12, 2009 with the Government of Alberta’s release of its 20 year plan for the development of the oil sands entitled “Responsible Actions”. This plans outlines a number of specific recommendations on issues such as the environment, community support and economic development. A copy of this report is posted on our web site, accessed via the homepage or News & Reports. This report recognizes that Alberta’s Industrial Heartland is an integral part of the value added chain associated with the development of the oil sands. Some specific recommendations that will move us towards our economic and value added vision include: ·“Leverage Bitumen Royalty in Kind volumes to develop value added oil sands products” ·“Use regulatory and fiscal approaches to foster and encourage value added development to achieve the value chain’s potential” ·“Promote heavy oil tolls that accurately reflect the cost of shipment” ·“Encourage the creation of new products through integration and cluster development approaches” ·“Expedite development of integrated transportation and utility corridor plans for the oil sands regions and Alberta’s Industrial Heartland to appropriately facilitate growth and minimize the environmental impact” In addition to these specific recommendations, the report goes on to list as one of its top priorities: “Leverage bitumen royalties in kind to develop value-added oil sands products, and establish a government-led organization to promote integrated chemical cluster development in the Industrial Heartland” These are pretty encouraging words with a clear indication that the Heartland and its value added potential are at the top of the list of the government’s priorities. And now is the time for everyone from all levels of government to roll up their sleeves and get down to work on planning and implementing the strategies and actions that will turn visions into realities. Sincerely, |
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