CI Energy Group's 12th Annual Oil Sands Symposium

Registration Opens and Coffee is Served

Opening Remarks from Conference Chair

Transportation InfrastructureExamining the Status of Key Projects and their Direct Impacts on Oil Sands Market Diversification and Industry Proliferation

• Looking at the current status of new and proposed pipeline and rail projects to transport oil sands crude to:
  • The Canadian west coast
  • Eastern Canada
  • The U.S. Gulf Coast
  • Alaska
• Assessing the viability of these projects
  • What impediments stand in their way and how can they be overcome?
• Examining the impact these projects will have on access to profitable markets
  • What is the forecasted transport capacity for each pipeline / rail line?
  • What are the estimated timelines for completion and operation?
  • How would the operation of these projects impact North American and international oil pricing and market dynamics

Networking Coffee Break

Critically Examining Global Oil Markets to Bullet-Proof Your Business Plan – Making Sense of Supply and Demand, Pricing Projections and Global Market Trends

• Understanding the production potential of the oil sands and associated risks and opportunities
• Which oil-producing regions are greatest source of competition for the oil sands?
  • How do they compare in terms of:
    • Production potential
    • Production costs
    • Market access
• Examining global demand forecasts and importing trends
  • Where is the most significant demand growth expected to take place?
  • Which are the hottest regions that oil sands producers should be aware of?
  • How are importing tends expected to evolve over the next 5, 8 and 10 years?
• Explore how global markets are affecting project development in the oil sands

Using Commodity Market Insights for Oil Sands Project Planning: Making Sense of the Forecasts and Putting Strategic Knowledge to Work for You

The price and availability of key commodities has a direct and profound impact on construction and operating costs for oil sands projects. This session will examine trends and forecasts in key commodities to help you adapt to market volatility.

• Examining current and forecasted market values of important materials, including steel, copper, fuels, diluent, etc.
  • How does this compare to historic trends?
• Understanding factors that drive price shifts and how to anticipate them and build them into your budgets and procurement plans
  • What are the differences between regulated and non-regulated commodities?
• Assessing the relationship between resource availability and purchase price
  • In what situation would it be beneficial to stockpile or overestimate material requirements?
  • What are the risks involved and when would they outweigh the benefits?
• What oil sands operators can do to best adapt to market changes, both expected and unexpected

Networking Luncheon for Delegates and Speakers

Sponsored by:

Increasing the Efficiency of your Oil Sands Operations: Examining the Latest Developments in Enhanced Oil Recovery Boiler Technology

• Understand the current performance of existing technology. What are the current challenges?
• Explore the latest development in innovative steam technology; What are the next generation of advancements?
• What are the benefits for oil sands producers using the latest technology?
  • Reduced water usage
  • Lower operating costs and higher fuel efficiency
  • Smaller carbon footprint

Round Table DiscussionInternational Trade Relationships: Forging Strategic Alliances Between Oil Sands Producers and International Markets to Ensure Success

• Understanding what trading partners in the United States and Asia are looking to get out of relationships with oil sands producers in order to position yourself favourably
• Looking at the status of existing export relationships between the oil sands and international markets
  • How much oil is Alberta currently exporting and to where?
  • How is this expected to change during the next 5 – 10 years?
  • How will the realization of key transportation projects affect trade?
• Examining existing and potential partners’ trade relationships beyond the oil sands
• Actions being taken to further develop strategic relationships and impacts this will have on the industry

Networking Coffee Break

Access to Capital and Foreign Direct Investment: What You Need to Know to Secure Funding While Ensuring Operational Integrity and Regulatory Compliance

• Looking at the current trend in investment in Canada’s oil sands; Foreign capital to develop new projects
  • Differences between domestic and foreign investment
  • Recent transactions and their effects on industry
  • Are there other options to get your project financed?
• Examining the Investment Canada Act and concerns about State Owned Enterprises (SOEs)
• Understanding what drives foreign SOEs to invest
  • Will interest in investment wane if not permitted to take majority controlling rights?
• Considering factors that will affect appetites for investment
  • The realization or failure of export infrastructure projects
  • Shortages in skilled labour
• What oil sands companies can do to best position themselves to secure access to capital

PanelDissecting the Politics, Economics and Viability of Refining Options: What You Need to Know to Best Inform Your Short and Long-Term Decisions

• Examining the dynamics around upgrading in Alberta
  • The status of projects that are proposed, under construction or on hold in the province
  • Evaluating the cost of refining in Alberta in comparison to Eastern Canada, the U.S. Gulf Coast and China
  • Looking at incentives for refining in Alberta – the Bitumen Royalty in Kind (BRIK) program
  • How would increased refining capacity in Alberta impact the oil sands industry
• How well equipped are refineries elsewhere in Canada and in the US Gulf coast to handle increased supply from the oil sands?
  • Examining factors affecting preparedness
    • Crude transportation options
    • The status and capacity of existing and proposed refineries
• Comparing and contrasting the cost and practicality of various refining options
• Determining the role of diluent supply in determining where best to refine Alberta’s oil

Co-Chair’s Closing Remarks and Conference Adjourns

5:30 pm to 7:30 pm - Cocktail Reception

Sponsored by:

Coffee is Served

Opening Remarks from Conference Co-Chairs

Keynote AddressOil Sands Technology: Making Our World a Better Place to Live

A thought provoking perspective on the critical role of energy in our lives and the importance of being able to choose the best forms of energy available at a point in time.

Keynote SessionThe New Alberta Energy Regulator: What Oil Sands Producers Need to Know to Get Projects Approved without Timely and Costly Delays

• Examining the structure of the new Alberta Energy Regulator
  • What does it look like and how has it evolved since its inception?
• How have project approvals for the oil sands industry changed?
• Differentiating between the roles of the new provincial regulator and the federal and provincial joint oil sands monitoring program

Networking Coffee Break

Case StudiesExcellence in Environmental Performance: Actions Being Taken by Industry to Improve Performance

First-hand accounts from your peers on environmental programs/projects they have implemented and the results they have generated.

Achieving Excellence in Oil Sands Communications

Examining Proposed Standardization Solutions Supporting Oil and Gas Sector Priorities

Standardization strengthens Canada’s competitiveness and safeguards the health and safety of its citizens. This presentation focuses on three standardization solutions highlighted in the Standards Council of Canada’s recent report, Proposed Standardization Solutions Supporting Oil and Gas Sector Priorities. These solutions aim to address:

• Labour mobility barriers 
• Disparities among national occupational health and safety standards
• Pipeline-importing trade flows

Networking Luncheon for Delegates and Speakers

Case StudiesDriving Efficiencies, Mitigating Risks and Lowering Production Costs

Networking Coffee Break

PanelCritical Community Infrastructure: Identifying Key Components Necessary to Avoid Delays for Future Expansion of the Oil Sands

• Examining the role of community infrastructure critical to the successful development of the oil sands
  • Housing, roads, airport, schools, hospitals
• Assessing the scope of infrastructure development that is necessary in order to sustain current and forecasted activity
• How insufficient development of this infrastructure is hindering industry growth
  • Determining what has prevented the timely development of infrastructure projects and what must be done going forward to ensure realization
• Understanding how industry and municipal, provincial and federal governments must collaborate for necessary development to take place
• The role of infrastructure development in the quest to attract and retain skilled labour

Round Table DiscussionViable Solutions for Skilled Labour Shortages – Why a Shift in Thinking and Increased Collaboration Are Necessary for Success

• Projected shortages in skilled workers in the oil sands and other resource industries in western Canada
  • Understanding the projected scope of these shortages
  • Which areas will be the hardest hit?
• How labour and service shortages in supporting industries will impact oil sands development
• Examining the roles that federal and provincial governments and industry must play in devising and implementing solutions
  • Who is currently responsible for what?
    • What programs are currently in place?
    • What types of programs are being planned for the future
  • How organized collaboration could expedite the realization of these programs and what must be done in order to make this happen
• Determine how the available labour resources in Canada that are underemployed and under deployed be translated into productivity for the oil sands over the next 5-8 years
• How the implementation and realization of mandatory apprenticeship programs could alleviate knowledge gaps caused by retirement
• What role should temporary foreign workers play in the short and long-term strategies to alleviate skilled labour shortages?
  • What is the current level/percentage of foreign workers being used in the oil sands?

Co-Chair’s Closing Remarks and Conference Concludes