In this week's business segment, we talk with Jeff Calloway about shallow rights reversion. It's a concept that's been around for a while, but it's been in the news lately because of the Alberta government's new position paper on it, and we talk about why it's a good idea. We also talk with Nick Semaine and Sean Polzer about the upcoming Energy Show at the Western Standard in June.
00:00:00.000Hello Western Standard viewers my name is Sean Polzer and I'm the business and energy reporter
00:00:18.420for here at the Western Standard and you're with us on our weekly business standard business
00:00:25.680segment. So which is kind of how it got its name. So today, we've got a pretty good show
00:00:32.680for you. We're talking with Jeff Calloway about shallow rights reversion. So shallow rights
00:00:39.880reversion is one of those things that everybody has an interest in, especially here in Alberta,
00:00:46.040but nobody's really interested in because it plays into the orphan wells and some of this
00:00:52.480a mature well strategy that's being pitched by the alberta government of danielle smith so um
00:01:00.560they put out a position paper here a couple weeks back and this kind of seems to be a little bit of
00:01:05.280an addendum to it so we're going to talk with jeff jeff he's chairman of the western standard here
00:01:10.160but he also has a small little oil company that he's doing some stuff and i like to drop in once
00:01:15.520in a while and just look in on his maps and you know we can geek out and talk oil and so that's
00:01:20.160that's what we're going to do, talk a little bit of shop and try to put it down on to a level that
00:01:23.960maybe most people can understand. And then once again, I've also got Nick Semaine, who's head of
00:01:29.380DMG events. So last week, well, I guess it was a week before, we were talking from the Edmonton
00:01:35.220Hydrogen Conference, but I think what he really wants to talk about is some of the things that
00:01:39.100we're doing with the energy show that's coming up here in June. It's kind of a stampede of oil and
00:01:44.460gas, and Western standards can be part of it. We've come up with some arrangements for some
00:01:49.860things that we are going to do with DMG. So we're going to talk a little bit about some things in
00:01:54.900partnership of what to look forward to from the show. I'm going to ask him the question that I
00:01:59.820asked last year. He doesn't know this yet, but it's, what about the rodeo, Nick? What about the
00:02:04.260rodeo? Because that's the one thing that everybody seems to really like. But just from what I've seen
00:02:09.280on the show, it looks like a stacked program with lots of good speakers, lots of good outdoor events.
00:02:14.400They're going to have bands and beers and chuck wagons and the whole nine yards. So it's going to
00:02:19.720be a really good thing. And while we're out of here, we'll just take a minute to ask you all to
00:02:25.000sign up and maybe take out a membership here at the Western Standard. I am a veteran or a victim
00:02:32.380of mainstream media, but anyway, I've seemed to found a home here at the Western Standard.
00:02:37.060We're really proud of what we do, independent media, and I've been able to build up an audience
00:02:43.140of people who seem to care about some of these business stories and some of the energy stuff
00:02:47.180that i like to do so i'm glad you're here and if you want to show some support then i think
00:02:53.740it's incumbent on you to uh take out a membership and uh be part of the team and uh with that uh
00:03:01.500we'll just like to head into some of our uh some of our talk and uh hope you stay with us thanks
00:03:09.580so we're here with jeff calloway uh president and ceo of energize energy energize natural resources
00:03:15.420Standardized Natural Resources. Jeff also happens to be chairman of the board here at Western Standard, and he's in the oil and gas industry, so we kind of talk the same language.
00:03:25.400So I like to have him in once in a while just so that we can talk about a few things. Welcome.
00:06:01.760No, we were talking about data centers and Mike was saying there's a lot of variability there.
00:06:07.160Like you were saying, it could be as high as nine BCF a day or North America, which is still really only about 10% of gas.
00:06:14.560Or it could be a lowest as like two or three, which is a rounding error, like, you know, a couple of good size wells, right?
00:06:21.980Yeah. Well, yeah. For what tourmaline and art can, can bring on and the potential that we've got there. So, I mean, what we should really see is some more power demand coming. And especially when we're reading the news these days about, you know, lower snowpack in, in BC and that now, and they're having to import power from the US. I mean, hey guys, we got a lot of, of potential electricity generation. If we turn on some natural gas plants, that's nice and stable.
00:06:49.800If we don't go on no bid in the summer.
00:07:19.240Yeah, way back. And then shallow rights reversion was sort of proposed, but then put on hold. And now the government's actually coming forward with that. So I'm not going to profess to be subject matter expert here, but from a practical standpoint, there's, well, virtually every producer in the province, I would say, has wells that for a very simplistic, I guess, kind of explanation,
00:07:47.800you know you you drill down you've got a target formation yeah and then you you produce from that
00:07:54.420formation you do what's called perforating your well so it's a steel pipe you uh puncture some
00:08:00.980holes in it and then the oil and gas flows into that uh well from that that depth used to be
00:08:07.680nitroglycerin now yeah now it's uh sand right yeah exactly multi-stage fracture but but that
00:08:15.160multi-zone thing that you were talking about. That was one of the advantages of actually
00:08:19.040drilling in Alberta because you could commingle all these zones and you had bailout targets
00:08:23.500if your first one didn't work out. And the bailout targets, that is very true. If you're
00:08:29.740drilling a well, you know, you spend a million bucks, two million bucks, whatever the number
00:08:33.600is on a vertical well, and then you get down to that zone. If it's not productive, you
00:08:39.700know and you find water or nothing where applesauce apples yeah you might hope for applesauce ever
00:08:48.460versus anything else given the price of food these days anyway yeah it's pretty yeah but um then you
00:08:54.800could go up into a different zone and you could test that one and so on and so forth so in alberta
00:09:02.400we've got thousands of really shallow gas wells cold bed methane wells and that right so they're
00:09:08.680already very shallow so there's not really any upside on on those ones to go up hole right but
00:09:15.580for much of the province which is you know the western half of the province for lack of the big
00:09:22.480generality deep basin deep basin you start deep and then you eventually keep going up hole and
00:09:30.700producing the practical matter of that is you produce from you produce everything from the
00:09:36.820bottom formation and then you go up and then you perforate another zone you produce that
00:09:41.980and so on and so forth so the practical reality of it is is you can end up extending the life
00:09:51.480of of a well and you get more production out of that well over time right you wouldn't necessarily
00:09:57.520go and drill that well for that shallower zone to start with so if um it says in the the bulletin
00:10:07.360there that you've got three years to prove the the upper hole potential which effectively means
00:10:13.660you have to go and perforate and test those those upper zones but that can end up impacting your
00:10:20.660lower zone productivity and now you're you're losing right at a point in time like you said
00:10:27.060when you know gas prices are uncertain they're kind of lower so now you got to go spend a whole
00:10:32.280bunch of money to prove up your upper zones so that you're paying on to those rights because
00:10:36.500you don't get them top to bottom anymore right yeah right so or well depending on how you bid
00:10:42.100yeah there's lots of different so what do you think is going to happen here like like would
00:10:46.720it be fair to call this a form of expropriation yeah absolutely like like they're taking away
00:10:53.820private part yeah they are and to me it doesn't it doesn't make a lot you know it's it's a lease
00:10:59.660it's a lease from the government but um it it doesn't make a lot of sense to me uh just frankly
00:11:07.100because you know we're so concerned with abandoning wells and the inanimate liability of wells that
00:11:13.420if companies aren't um doing that testing of the uphold rights within that that time frame then
00:11:20.460and they lose the rights, and then you're bringing forward the abandonment
00:11:24.860obligations on the industry, which places another cost on the industry.
00:11:29.880And it's done for the province because the province makes royalties off of those
00:15:21.320Like, now I'm going to seem to be like the proud owner of 100,000, 60 MCF a day.
00:15:28.080Well, I mean, my first impression is because this could bring forward a lot of the abandonment obligations, you've got to now factor that into your corporate budgets and that.
00:15:40.320And you may see some initial sort of stimulus period here where you're seeing some uphole perforators.
00:15:49.100So maybe the lobbyists for the perforating companies got a big win.
00:15:57.000I don't know, honestly, but maybe the CAOEC is advocated.
00:16:02.460But that being said, you know, I think practically speaking, though, it would end up bringing forward a lot of those abandonment obligations.
00:16:11.700And sadly, I think we'll end up leaving a bunch of resources in the ground to the detriment of Albertans.
00:16:18.100albert i was just going to ask you like um would it be enough for some companies maybe just to walk
00:16:24.000away and so you know like these good people that were walking away from the houses when the
00:16:27.060mortgages go underwater well i i don't know that's pretty speculative you know you know what i mean
00:16:32.260like like so now all of a sudden you're abandoned liabilities kind of outweigh any returns that you
00:16:37.460thought that you might have gotten in the past like and then how do you sell this stuff right
00:16:40.740yeah good luck selling it good luck selling selling your old uh well like practically
00:16:50.500speaking you know there's there's in the industry in your portfolio of all of the wells that you've
00:16:56.520got you've got good producers you've got worse producers um try to package it up yeah and so
00:17:02.620they package them up and as you get towards the end of life companies go okay so do i need to
00:17:08.940factor in that I'm going to have to be abandoning these wells within a couple of years? Or do I
00:17:17.600factor in that I will have to be abandoning them much later down the road, offset by the uphole
00:17:23.020production that we can see? Or like amortization. Yeah, exactly. So it'll get much harder to sell
00:17:35.080those um more mature assets it would be um yeah yeah so you've kind of had uh dual duty because
00:17:45.840you're kind of a little bit involved in the political side as well as the business well
00:17:49.440not for eight years and i don't want to be in it anymore yeah okay no i was just going to say like
00:17:54.040would you have any insight like into how these discussions go like how would they
00:17:57.640like why would they come up with something like this and why would they do it now
00:18:27.520go and meet your mla and when you consider that these mlas as a as a collection are managing now
00:18:40.800a 70 billion dollar budget or and the province and you're talking about health care and education
00:18:45.360and the economy and everything in this province right you quickly become scared
00:18:49.820and you go i've got to get involved in in trying to help do my bit to guide the province in a in
00:19:00.120a new direction so uh you know not not everyone is a subject matter expert i run a i run a little
00:19:07.340oil company i don't consider myself a subject matter expert on on this so when you are um
00:19:15.400assistant restaurant manager and or whatever you were doing before and now this is put in front of
00:19:23.800you i understand like from a bureaucracy standpoint or from an aer standpoint that
00:19:31.460maybe it meet it makes some bureaucratic sense but from a practical industry perspective
00:19:38.640it doesn't okay so no fair enough yeah you know i think i heard somebody say that once
00:19:46.400um it's something that people have a lot of interest in yeah but they're not very interested
00:19:51.780in it yeah right you know too much of this world is is just headlines and one little blurb and it's
00:19:59.540um and mostly it's national inquirer types of headlines now and that's the depth of our
00:20:04.960thinking, unfortunately, but click dates, you know, and
00:20:10.060unfortunately, everything is much more complex and gray than
00:20:13.480than anything that we have. And that's, that's where I think
00:20:17.720some of this shallow rights reversion, it's sort of
00:20:22.180disregards some of the just the business practicalities and
00:20:25.960implications, you know, coming through. And it's not something
00:20:30.400that happens today. It's not like, oh, your royalties are
00:20:33.820doubled today but over time and in many ways it's like and ultimately it could well mean that more
00:20:42.960wells fall into the orphan well fund which then falls on all of us taxpayers and that's not
00:20:48.620anything that the industry wants to see happen either sure so yeah a lot of food for thought
00:20:55.200there a lot of food for thought it's much more complex than just and here i thought hell yeah
00:21:01.820this is simple. And here I thought it was going to be boring. Yeah. Well, thanks a lot, Sean.
00:21:06.380Yeah, no problem. Thank you a lot, Sean. Yeah, appreciate it. Thanks for coming in. Yeah. Cheers.
00:21:12.060Hi, we're here with Nick Semaine, Senior VP of DMG Events. And we're going to talk a little bit
00:21:17.980about the upcoming, is it the Global Energy Show now? GES? Global Energy Show Canada. Oh my god,
00:21:25.580it's just getting bigger and bigger and bigger and better, as always. Thanks for having me, Sean.
00:21:30.700Yeah, thanks a lot, Nick. Yeah, we were talking a little bit before. So Western Standard, we're going to be doing some things with you guys in terms of some of the coverage and some of the events. And so we just thought it would be worthwhile having a little bit of an update on where things sit with less than a month to go.
00:21:48.700um most people in calgary know that uh that the oil show is probably what they're familiar with
00:21:55.920is is like almost the run-up to the stampede and and the big summer event season and
00:22:00.540the major kickoff right yeah i mean what a what a great tradition here in calgary since uh yes
00:22:07.900since its inception in the 60s and we're okay with people still referring it to the well show you
00:22:12.220know um that's how i knew it when i came to talk and that's okay and it is it is the global energy
00:22:18.120show canada and and i think you know that that does reflect um the different names actually that
00:22:23.000the the show has had from uh sure our little petroleum show to the national petroleum show
00:22:27.560and iterations yeah intercan is as as you know the industry is changing and um and continues to evolve
00:22:34.520and and grow in some exciting ways and i think this year's event um really uh you know in 2025
00:22:41.080there is there there's so much um at play in the event both from the challenges and an opportunity
00:22:47.000Sure, absolutely. We just had the apartment in the cabinet this morning, what I've been going on all day.
00:22:51.900More news and yeah, more people wanting to talk about energy.
00:22:58.360I think that's one of the things, I mean, I think that's been happening the last several months or the last couple of years.
00:23:05.760But even more so than ever, your average Canadian coast to coast is tuning into what energy means.
00:23:12.280And I think more are starting to see, you know, that what its impact as far from Canada's top export or other other other reasons that that that make news.
00:23:23.240And that's really, really helped the Global Energy Show Canada this year really continue to expand.
00:23:29.320It's not just its prominence within the industry as Canada's national energy event, certainly the largest.
00:23:38.100He has attracted close to 30,000 people this year.
00:23:41.540But we've seen a big spike in our registrations this year, certainly compared to 2024.
00:23:49.220And you mentioned, of course, the opportunity to work with you and the great folks here at Western Standard.
00:23:55.560We're thrilled to have you down on the show and doing some interviews and really just being part of that activation of getting all of the challenges and the debates.
00:24:06.780I mean, look, a good conference isn't about everybody on stage agreeing on what's right.
00:24:12.500And, you know, with the roster of speakers, we haven't had this level and this many speakers for the conference,
00:24:21.340a roster like this, and certainly more than a decade, if ever, in the show's history.
00:24:27.960And then adding in all the issues in and around what's going on in Canada, but internationally,
00:24:35.060we've got a record number of international pavilions and international delegates coming
00:24:39.360right here into Alberta here in Calgary. Yeah, absolutely. Like, uh, we were talking, uh, well,
00:24:44.720and you said, I, you know, I think in the election that, you know, energy definitely became more of
00:24:48.780the national conversation, you know, whereas maybe before this was kind of seen as a trade show,
00:24:53.540you know, now we're actually talking about some of these policies and issues. And we were speaking
00:24:58.620just even before we came in here, like maybe the possibility that the prime minister might even
00:25:02.380show up well no no comment is not what we say uh sometimes uh but yes certainly um we do welcome
00:25:10.060uh it debates on energy from a national level and there's and it would make good if if you're
00:25:15.260watching out there uh anybody in the prime minister's camp it would be a very good opportunity
00:25:19.900i think for him to come and actually you know address some of these issues and and air it out
00:25:24.860with people who actually care there's no question that um that the viewpoint um we've just as you
00:25:30.940so just gone through an election we just this morning had a new cabinet elected and a new leader
00:25:35.500um the energy sector will all be in one place uh you know 30 000 strong uh with all major you know
00:25:43.500this many of the major several uh ceos the administers from different provinces across
00:25:49.980the united states and internationally from south america contingents from europe and from asia all
00:25:56.940here at the events now you know so there's uh the theme around the that is the conversation
00:26:03.100and the idea around the show is that when you bring that many decision makers together and
00:26:08.540come up on stage to your point about inviting the new prime minister or others it is an opportunity
00:26:13.740and a place to be able to get those views out on the table um as many know we've have um uh peter
00:26:21.100mansbridge joining us as the host of the conference and peter's really there to help enable that
00:26:27.180conversation to come through so at the end of the three days um that's really our mission with this
00:26:31.900year's event is to help along that conversation and um you know along those two macro themes which
00:26:38.140are really driving the big growth um we think on the trade show and with the registrations is in
00:26:44.300and around the opportunity of expanding and building more energy domestic infrastructure
00:26:50.780here in Canada. And alongside of that, there's a tremendous amount of talk and activity at the
00:26:56.060show this year around diversifying customers for Canada's energy around the world. And with
00:27:04.060all of those ingredients in place with a strong international contingent, the big speakers,
00:27:09.960There's really a huge opportunity for the 2025 edition of the Global Energy Show Canada to make a big difference and help air out maybe a lot of those conversations and get them out in the open.
00:27:23.360I liked what you were saying earlier too, like, because we've been to the shows in Houston and I've been studying, you've been studying, but how it's taking the policymakers and combining it with, you know, the expo of all the people who actually do the work and actually work in the field and actually put this stuff into the ground.
00:27:42.820it's so important and and yes you i know sean because i see you around the uh the conference
00:27:48.600circuit and we do get around and and yes it's really important that we do tend to we do tend
00:27:52.800to fixate a lot on the on that executive conference and some of the things we talked about and those
00:27:57.700big issues which are vitally important to come out of this but yes um the global energy show
00:28:03.100canada is unique in that it's got that massive trade show chocked full of companies that are
00:28:09.940you know whether it's the latest in technology equipment services these are the companies and
00:28:14.680the men and women and the tens of thousands of them that make the energy sector work that have
00:28:20.880a tremendous amount of influence on what that direction looks like sure and they'll be there
00:28:26.180and so there's a really cool um top to bottom connectivity i'll say right down to your average
00:28:34.040uh canadian or not so average canadian that's interested in energy or if you're a young person
00:28:39.640or a student, or maybe you're an early career professional that's just entered the energy
00:28:44.740sector or wanting to, up until two weeks before the show, your entry to the trade show, provided
00:28:51.420that you pre-register in advance, you are able to attend. We really believe in the event being
00:28:56.140accessible. And there's so much programming. We've got, you know, the executive conference we just
00:29:02.140talked about, but the influencers conference, energy influencers conference happening on the
00:29:06.360floor. Wait till you see this in action, Sean. We've got a tremendous center court, and we've
00:29:12.160got three theaters focused on three of the most important categories that our committee of 50
00:29:18.360strong have designed, curated in AI, in new energy, and oil and gas, three theaters happening.
00:29:27.300So you've got another conference happening on the trade show floor that's going to have thousands
00:29:32.200of delegates let alone uh some of the the number of networking events that are taking place in and
00:29:39.400around the show as well sure yeah i was going to say like these people are your neighbors
00:29:43.800you know a lot of them they they own these businesses they're entrepreneurs or small
00:29:47.480business owners and they're you know there's a whole community here in downtown calgary you know
00:29:52.280people non c-suite executive people that are actively involved in it as well right yeah um so
00:29:59.720We were also talking, like, in the past, it's been kind of a big outdoor event.
00:30:03.920You've got big iron outside, and now we've got cowboy stage.0.99
00:30:08.900We're going to have music, a pittier tent, and pancake breakfasts.
00:30:12.500And, you know, there's a real social element to this as well, right?
00:30:17.020And I think that back to, you know, your general public has an inherent interest in energy,
00:30:22.460and the show has a responsibility to tell that story outwards.
00:30:26.560So, yeah, we really want to thank the great city of Calgary and all of those men and women across a myriad of thousands of companies that go to work every day.
00:30:36.100So we're kicking the show off on Tuesday morning at 7 a.m.
00:30:40.100There's a pancake breakfast that's open to the city of Calgary.
00:30:43.060Whether you're planning to attend the show or not, we certainly would love you to come and attend and and visit the exhibit.
00:30:48.860But on your kickers and come down, start with the pink.0.98
00:30:52.280So that starts from seven to nine early that morning.
00:30:55.360And yes, throughout the day, there is, we're thrilled to be partnering with our friends at Cowboys again for this year, where we've got a music stage, a picture of a lovely beverage, a beer garden happening, some, some smoky.
00:31:09.220It's really a core to this event and, and, and several outdoor exhibits of big equipment, the kind of things that we can't so big, we can't quite fit in, in the exhibition floor.
00:31:20.280So it's a really cool atmosphere that you're able to go inside and outside throughout the three days of the event.
00:31:27.080And the show this year, let me think, we've got the outdoor, you've got three, four, five halls full of exhibits.
00:31:34.860You certainly, if you pencil off the three days, you're able to do that.
00:31:38.240There's networking events happening every night.
00:31:40.720There's dinners happening every night.
00:31:42.500There's loads of networking, lots of places to sit for you to plug in if you need to take some meetings.
00:31:48.520We encourage, if you're planning to come down to the show, mark it off in your calendar
00:31:53.240and get your business done from down at the show.
00:31:55.400It'll be a really productive three days.
00:32:09.280I mean, so the rodeo, and thanks for that question, because I do get asked that a lot.
00:32:13.420Now, look, we've got some wonderful partners that we talk with each year that are keen to put on the rodeo.
00:32:20.040And it is such a hit, both with with with whether it's young people or people bringing their families to that are coming to the show.
00:32:28.300Internationals that are coming here that have never seen anything like that, that might not be able to come back to our great city again to to see the actual stampede.
00:32:37.420So we didn't make it into the program this year.
00:32:40.160here's my diplomatic answer uh but we are working with our executive committee um who is our
00:32:46.100steering committee on the show uh to put that on um on the boil for for next year okay yeah fair
00:32:53.040enough good question yes well beers and you know cowboys that's right yeah beers and cowgirls and1.00
00:33:00.340pancakes i mean you really can't go around and also like you said a lot of good discussion
00:33:05.040government officials. High-level, high-level Alberta government for sure. We had a couple
00:33:11.180senior federal cabinet ministers last year, but I think it got a little mixed up with the,
00:33:16.900what was it, the Global World Petroleum Conference, right? Congress. So this year it's just all about
00:33:24.760us. Yeah, this year the number of, not just the number, but the quality of ministers and
00:33:32.220representation from across Canada that's coming to the show is the best we've ever had and I can't0.95
00:33:39.380comment yet of course from the federal ministerial side as we know with it being where we are well
00:33:44.160and just the tremendous support and leadership from from here in Alberta with the government
00:33:50.940of Alberta enabling us to really make that connectivity we work to with with the government
00:33:58.920Alberta on outreach to uh really um delegates from countries whether that's from Asia whether
00:34:04.600that's from Europe whether that's from South America to really bring those folks here and
00:34:09.320why aren't they coming here it's because they want to do business um whether that's investment
00:34:14.520whether that's becoming customers of Canadian energy uh ventures joy you know we all remember
00:34:21.400um you know before the downturn a decade ago there there was lots of money and lots of
00:34:26.200investment coming in here that's one of the main purposes that um our organization and putting the
00:34:33.000show on is here to serve is to really create an attraction that's on a global scale to bring more
00:34:39.880of those people here so more business can get done and and you know again you back to the men and
00:34:44.440women that are owning all of the the the many many thousands of small businesses and medium-sized1.00
00:34:51.240businesses um that's what the show is trying to do is really follow you know is to steer the
00:34:57.960programming to follow the money to to tilt the trade show and bring in buyers to continue to
00:35:04.400regrow uh the sector excellent and for us uh lots of headlines because uh we got a lot of headlines
00:35:10.880out of it last year and uh like you said i've been looking at the program and i've been fairly
00:35:16.320impressed like in all the years that i've been in this city and i've been pretty much every single
00:35:20.940one of them since you know 1999 and yeah this one looks like it's gonna be one of the best well i and
00:35:27.980not to be a good show guy but there's still more announcements to come i wish i could perhaps in
00:35:33.660our net in our next time that we uh we catch up together sean but there's some more major speaker
00:35:38.460announcements to come between now and the event we've got more major sponsor announcements to come
00:35:44.060and other special events that are coming together this year is going to be a show like no other and
00:35:49.900And as I said, we, whether people want to attend just a trade show or come to the executive
00:35:55.100conference, the influencer conference, there's a number of options that you can get right
00:36:00.100through just Google and Global Energy Show Canada and right on the website.
00:36:03.880And our team of 30 full-time people here in Calgary in our offices here are happy to help.