Western Standard - June 14, 2025


Another one for the books： Global Energy Show Canada 2025 pumps up a big win!

Topics
Global Energy Show Canada success energy event preparations
Hosted by
Nigel Hannaford
Mentioned
Carney Jim Gray Churchill Hodgson ADIPEC Nick
Eby says 'yes' to pipeline Trump Fields Questions After Bilateral Meeting with Canada at G7 Leaders' Summit

Episode Stats


Length

10 minutes

Words per minute

162.98

Word count

1,771

Sentence count

113


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

In this episode, I sit down with the Global Energy Show Manager, Nigel Hannaford, to talk about how the show went and what the show s success might tell us about the future of the energy industry in Canada.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Topics generated with Qwen2.5-3B-Instruct.
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00.000 Good afternoon Western Standard Viewers, Nigel Hannaford here again from the floor of the Global Energy Show.
00:00:18.000 I'm very happy to have with me the manager of the Energy Show.
00:00:22.000 We're going to talk a little bit about how the show went and what the show's success because it is success,
00:00:28.000 big success, what the show's success might tell us about the future of the industry here.
00:00:34.000 Let me introduce to you Nick Semain who is the Senior Vice President for Energy.
00:00:40.000 You just do energy shows, Nick.
00:00:42.000 I just work on almost exclusively energy, Nigel. Thanks for having me here in the booth at the Western Standard.
00:00:48.000 It's a delight to have you here at the exhibition.
00:00:50.000 So we mainly focus on several energy shows here in Alberta.
00:00:56.000 We do this one, of course, which is our largest, the Global Energy Show Canada.
00:01:00.000 But we also focus on LNG.
00:01:02.000 We have a Canada Gas LNG.
00:01:04.000 The International Pipeline Expo returns every two years coming in September.
00:01:08.000 And then along with that, we do in Edmonton the Canadian Hydrogen Convention and Carbon Capture Canada.
00:01:15.000 Carbon Capture. We'll come back to that.
00:01:18.000 Nick, before we go there, how has this show gone for you?
00:01:22.000 This year has been, it's been quite a wild ride, Nigel.
00:01:26.000 So we, you know, we plan these shows almost a year out just as we're about to plan the 2026.
00:01:31.000 And so last summer, going back almost a year, we knew there was going to be obviously a US election working with our governing body.
00:01:40.000 We were somewhat aware that there's going to be a G7 meeting that we were going to be just before that.
00:01:45.000 And then also at some point, there's going to be a Canadian election.
00:01:48.000 Well, of course, fast forwarding now, we know those things are all clear and mostly in the rear view.
00:01:53.000 So we started to plan the event around two big themes.
00:01:56.000 One was we could foresee that the continuing need that we've been talking about here in Alberta to build energy infrastructure.
00:02:06.000 Whether we, you know, whether that's pipelines or other facilities like that, we were going to focus on that theme.
00:02:12.000 And then the other side was diversifying Canada's energy customers.
00:02:15.000 So we spent a lot of time traveling the world, meeting whether that was South America into North Africa, Europe and Asia,
00:02:25.000 where we have several other large energy events and advertising that in order to recruit and build up an exhibition show floor and a conference program focused on those two themes.
00:02:36.000 This spring, things happen very, very quickly because, of course, with those with those elections, a big portion of our conference program is elected officials.
00:02:45.000 And those moving pieces to see who can come where with all of this happening in the market.
00:02:50.000 And then ensuring that we got those themes just right.
00:02:55.000 We've only got three days here, Nigel, to really supercharge the national and international attention on what's happening in Canada.
00:03:04.000 We take the responsibility very seriously.
00:03:06.000 So it all came together like the shows do.
00:03:08.000 And we've seen a real upswing this year compared to the 2024 event.
00:03:14.000 Well, I mean, I've heard scuttlebutt on the floor that it may have been 30,000 people here, which is pretty large attendance for a show like this.
00:03:24.000 It's a large attendance. We're fortunate.
00:03:26.000 You know, this event has been here in Calgary.
00:03:29.000 It's really it's a treasured, not just a tradition, but almost an institution, I dare say, since it was founded more than 50 years ago.
00:03:37.000 And it's got a loyal following.
00:03:39.000 That was Jim Gray, wasn't it?
00:03:40.000 So, yes.
00:03:41.000 Tell us about that.
00:03:42.000 Yeah, sure.
00:03:43.000 I mean, we owe it.
00:03:44.000 I've had the been fortunate to sit down with Jim and talk to him a little bit about how the show was founded as an add on to the stampede and really a knowledge gap there between what the energy sector was doing at that time.
00:03:58.000 And really what the general public perception is.
00:04:01.000 And I won't go in to paraphrase that, but I'm sure many, many of the viewers and yourself, you can see that that knowledge gap is still that's really one of our foundational roots of the event this year is to tell that energy story to your average person.
00:04:18.000 Whether that's things like energy affordability, access, or even in today's headlines, things about what that means for national sovereignty or other issues surrounding ensuring that Canada remains a strong energy provider that's responsible, secure, and a big export to the world.
00:04:39.000 Well, one thing that took us by surprise when we heard that the Secretary General of OPEC was attending, when did you know that?
00:04:48.000 Well, I guess I could talk about that now.
00:04:50.000 So, it's something we've been working on for several months.
00:04:53.000 You know, DMG events, we're involved with shows that some viewers may be familiar with, like ADIPEC, the world's largest energy event, or GASTECH, and others.
00:05:04.000 And that, alongside with our great partnership with the government of Alberta, hand in hand, we had an inkling of that probably about six weeks out.
00:05:17.000 We started working on those preparations and being prepared to announce that, which we did, which caused quite a stir, as it was His Excellency's first visit to Canada.
00:05:30.000 And we were aware he was going to come in and deliver an important message, which he did.
00:05:36.000 And what was that message in two sentences?
00:05:39.000 I'd say, one, that oil and gas isn't going anywhere.
00:05:43.000 In fact, peak oil is not, as some may say, around the corner, or it could very well not be anytime soon.
00:05:52.000 And number two, which I thought was very classy and needed, was a big thank you to people that are in the energy sector, the men and women that do that every day.
00:06:02.000 I don't know if we do that enough, because there's lots of headwinds, of course, as we know recently, and the job they do for all of us every day is irreplaceable and essential.
00:06:16.000 And we should be very thankful.
00:06:19.000 Well, it's great to have the representation from OPEC.
00:06:23.000 Will you be reaching out to the Prime Minister of Canada to attend next year's show?
00:06:29.000 We indeed will.
00:06:30.000 We think that Prime Minister Carney, Minister Hodgson, and the new government in place has been making lots of statements,
00:06:42.000 which I think are bringing some cautious optimism, is what we're hearing, to talk about infrastructure projects and pipelines and that sort of thing.
00:06:55.000 And I believe there's a great interest in Mr. Carney attending and the invitation.
00:07:01.000 I'll make that first year for the 2026 show is where the tail end is there.
00:07:06.000 Breaking news.
00:07:07.000 Breaking news.
00:07:08.000 We certainly welcome.
00:07:10.000 And as we do here at the exhibition and the conference, you know, I think, Nigel, the worst conferences are where you get a bunch of panelists
00:07:19.000 and everyone turns to each other left to right and says we all agree with each other.
00:07:23.000 Conferences are about a diversity of views.
00:07:26.000 We believe in that.
00:07:27.000 You've got to get a bit of debate.
00:07:28.000 You've got to give people their money's worth for their tickets.
00:07:32.000 And so we would welcome Prime Minister Carney to come and give his views on the future of Canadian and international energy policy.
00:07:40.000 Well, you used two words a moment ago that we often use together.
00:07:44.000 Cautious optimism.
00:07:45.000 But if you had to place the emphasis on cautious or on optimism, what does the success of this show tell you about the way that the industry is going in Western Canada?
00:07:57.000 I think it's really a testament to not just the entrepreneurship and perhaps it's an industry that is rightly so opportunistic,
00:08:08.000 is looking towards signals and signs.
00:08:11.000 The fundamentals that we have fourth largest oil, fifth largest gas, sixth hydro, you know, hydroelectricity, nuclear, top 10 hydrogen producer.
00:08:20.000 We've got it here.
00:08:21.000 We are abundance of wealth and natural resources.
00:08:24.000 And we have a industry and workforce that is ready to get busy and get the job done of growing our energy sector.
00:08:32.000 So that optimism is there.
00:08:33.000 I don't think that even despite some of the big headwinds, whether that's policy or big project cancellations, delays or otherwise that we've seen in the last 10 years,
00:08:45.000 the resiliency of the energy sector here as an Albertan myself, it's what gets me up in the morning.
00:08:53.000 So I think that some of those signals that we are going to be launching our first shipments of LNG to Asia coming up just soon.
00:09:02.000 And the talk of a potential revival of perhaps the Northern Gateway pipeline, other pipelines up to Churchill is getting people excited.
00:09:12.000 And rightly so, because I don't know if we've had too much to celebrate in that regard lately.
00:09:17.000 Well, I don't think we have, but what it sounds to me is your job is safe.
00:09:22.000 Well, I, I don't think I'm going to say that, you know, say that, but, but certainly what I will say is thank you.
00:09:31.000 The, the exhibition here has been through thick and thin.
00:09:35.000 You know, we go back through those 50 years.
00:09:38.000 It's seen as it's ups and downs in the eighties, ups and downs.
00:09:41.000 We know through the crash through 2014, I've been here for 10 years.
00:09:46.000 And, uh, I come from, uh, my dad, uh, was in, has been in the, has been in the energy sector, uh, bless him.
00:09:53.000 He's 91 and still going.
00:09:55.000 He did 25 years with shell.
00:09:56.000 He started in 1954.
00:09:58.000 So the energy sector and the oil and gas is, is in our family and in my blood.
00:10:03.000 And, uh, those ups and downs, I couldn't be more committed to ensuring that when, um, when my time here,
00:10:10.000 I want to continue on the amazing legacy of Jim and this incredible treasure that we have the global energy show for another 50 years and leave it in great shape.
00:10:21.000 Well, let's get the invitation out to the prime minister because we really need to see him create that sense of confidence in the industry and in its future.
00:10:30.000 So, Nick, thank you so much for coming on the show.
00:10:34.000 Really appreciate it.
00:10:35.000 I think I can speak for everybody at the Western Standard.
00:10:38.000 We've had a wonderful time down here.
00:10:40.000 It's been a very, very positive experience and, uh, we'll certainly be glad to see you next year.
00:10:46.000 We look forward to that, Nigel.
00:10:47.000 Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.
00:10:49.000 For the Western Standard, I'm Nigel Hannaford.