The OPI is building on the various opportunities it has to generate support for the organization’s activities. The recently released OPI Website Advertising Program was designed to take advantage of the website – www.ontariopetroleuminstitute.com – which has become a very successful communication tool for the OPI to promote and advocate on behalf of the oil and natural gas, hydrocarbon storage, and solution mining industries of Ontario.

The Program offers members, service providers, partners, stakeholders, and any interested parties the opportunity to advertise and promote their services on the website. The revenue earned from the Program will be used solely to support the operations of the OPI to promote and advocate on behalf of the Ontario industry.

The information details on the OPI Website Advertising Program can be viewed at: Website Advertising Program

Ontario’s historic oil industry is vying to have Oil Springs’ Fairbank Oil Properties and the Oil Museum of Canada recognized by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a World Heritage site designation.

The decades-long effort has crossed another hurdle with an application in late January to have a site considered by Parks Canada for the country’s list of candidates the designation. If successful Oil Springs, the birthplace of North America’s commercial oil business, would join the pyramids of Egypt and Australia’s Great Barrier Reef on the list of World Heritage sites.

For the full story please go to:

www.theobserver.ca/2017/02/07/oil-springs-site-submitted-for-unesco-designation

One of the unfortunate legacies of 2016 is the frequency of so-called “post-truth” communications. This term has emerged to describe communications in which objective facts are replaced by erroneous assertions aimed at creating emotion-based beliefs. Post-truth communications reached a peak during the U.S. presidential election campaign.  Canadians have also seen an escalation of post-truth communications, particularly in relation to energy.  The following article contrasts some assertions on energy with real-world facts:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/economic-insight/three-post-truths-about-global-energy-and-climate-change/article33465520/

As you will see from the attached ‘Newsrelease’, failure to report on time can have significant consequences. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) is taking failure to report on time seriously. This is a legislated requirement and compliance rates have been decreasing over the last few years.  The Compliance team has various options that can be considered in cases of non-compliance.

 So, please ensure that all Form 3’s and Form 8’s, as well as your annual licence fees made payable to the Oil, Gas and Salt Resources Trust, are submitted to the MNRF by

FEBRUARY 15, 2017.

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The OPI has responded to an invitation from the Hon. Glenn Thibeault, Ontario Minister of Energy to participate in the review of the 2017 Ontario Long-Term Energy Plan (LTEP).  On Friday, December 16, 2016 the OPI filed its formal submission OPI SUBMISSION – ONTARIO LTEP to the Government of Ontario Environmental Registry.

opi-submission-ontario-ltep-2

Quebec’s legislature passed a bill that will pave the way for more oil and natural gas exploration, providing a boost to drillers such as Junex Inc.  The legislation is meant to implement Quebec’s clean energy plan but also contains provisions allowing for energy exploration, potentially including fracking.  The complete story can be read at:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/quebec-paves-way-for-oil-gas-exploration-with-new-energy-plan/article33293910/

The OPI is participating in the review of the Ontario Long-Term Energy Plan (LTEP) expected to be released in mid-2017.  The OPI’s involvement in the development of the LTEP provides the industry with the opportunity to consult with the Government of Ontario on the continuing contribution of the province’s historic oil and natural gas industry to the energy needs and economy of Ontario.

The OPI joined a group of stakeholders at a meeting in London on November 29^th hosted by the Ontario Ministry of Energy.  A number of reports were presented for discussion including the ministry’s Planning Ontario’s Energy Future, the Independent Electricity System Operator Ontario Planning Outlook and a Fuels Technical Report.  Additional submissions on the 2017 Ontario Long-Term Energy Plan can be sent to the Government of Ontario on or before December 16, 2016.

The newly elected OPI Board of Directors held its first meeting on November 25, 2016 in London. As set out in the OPI By-laws the president and the vice-presidents shall be elected by the Board from among their number at the first meeting of the Board after the Annual General Meeting.  Dale Holland of Holland Testers a director since 2011 was elected President.  Rounding out the Executive for 2017 is First Vice-President, Jim McIntosh – Jim McIntosh Petroleum Engineering Ltd., Second Vice-President, Denis Marcus – Harold Marcus Limited, Treasurer, Charlie Fairbank – Fairbank Oil Properties Ltd., and Secretary, Frank Kuri – Dundee Energy LP.

Ontario’s largest farm organization and county leaders are urging the Ontario government to help the rural economy and residents by looking back 100 years. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture, representing more than 36,000 farmers in the province, wants the Liberal government to embrace an approach similar to the provincial programs a century ago that first brought electricity to the province’s backroads and transformed its rural economy. The complete story can be read at: www.lfpress.com/2016/11/13/farm-group-wardens-push-for-natural-gas

 

 

Queens Park Briefing the news service monitoring political activity at the Ontario Legislature has commented on the OPI Brief to the Ontario Energy Board Hearing EB-2016-0004 on extending access to natural gas to rural Ontario. In its Brief the OPI pointed out that provincially produced natural gas supports the stewardship of the environment by reducing Ontario’s carbon footprint by the amount of imported natural gas transported from Western Canada and the Northeastern United States. The full story can be read at: Ontario production can cut GHG emissions