WEC Inside 

   

15–31 March 2014 

Welcome to WEC Inside, your exclusive briefing from your WEC network

News 

Over 55 representatives from industry associa-tions, energy companies, federal departments, foundations and local embassies gathered in Otta-wa on 13 and 14 March at an event organised by the Energy Council of Canada, the WEC national committee, to discuss the experiences, lessons learned, and useful tips arising from global opera-tions of the energy sector.

Canada is traditionally best known for its abun-dant energy resources, its extensive oil, gas and electricity facilities, and its energy transportation infrastructure. But global markets present an at-tractive growth area for Canada’s energy sector based on sales of commodities and innovative technology solutions, and expertise in business services, financing support and responsible re-source development practices.

Marie-José Nadeau, Chair of the World Energy Council, opened the Forum with a keynote ad-dress. She commented that Canada’s energy companies could have a stronger global footprint. Despite being global leaders in the production of resources which require state-of-the art technology to produce, Canadian energy companies have not yet leveraged this know-how in the global energy

WEC Canada hosts the Ottawa energy community

market as much as they could. She was however confident that, by moving oil and gas east, west and south, Canada will secure new markets and, as it exports beyond North America, the country is set to become a truly global player.

After setting out the many outward-facing chal-lenges and the opportunities available to Canadian companies, Serge Dupont, the Deputy Minister of Canada’s federal energy department, recommend-ed four pathways to success abroad: ■ keep a global perspective on the energy industry and its potential

Interview continued on page 2 ...

15–31 March 2014 WEC Inside 1

You’ve had many decades of experience of scenarios planning. Why is the WEC Scenarios unique?

We need to be clear about what scenarios are and why we build them, and then come back to the special situation of the WEC. Scenarios are narra-tives about the future, underpinned by rigorous analysis. We build them because the future is largely unknown, and those who make future-oriented decisions – for example energy policy-makers and strategists – find that scenarios can help them to better identify the focus of new poli-cies and strategy and appreciate the risks faced in making substantial investments.

Capital investments by utilities and energy supply companies may typically require planning horizons of 20 to 40 years. Even longer term is the impact of possible energy developments on climate change, which partly shapes the context of strategy and project choice in the energy business.

The WEC is an interesting place to build sce-narios because it is faces problems central to the world energy agenda, and yet investigates regional and national energy issues. The WEC potentially has the insights from a hundred member commit-

Interview 

tees from across the world, so working in a study group is a wonderful way to remain abreast of the energy debates and find solutions to energy prob-lems. That is important to anybody who has spent much of their life in the world of energy.

You have also been involved in the Trilemma study. Are there synergies with the Scenarios work?

Ensuring a successful and sustainable economy and environment is very much at the forefront of the WEC remit. The assessment and bench-marking of current national policies in environmen-tal sustainability, energy security, and energy equity, which is central to the Trilemma report, directly complements the futures thinking on poli-cies embodied in the WEC’s energy scenarios. The 2013 World Energy Scenarios laid out with some clarity the likely future balance of ‘Trilemma policies’ consequential on the development of the Jazz and Symphony scenarios.

Each of the WEC’s flagships studies is valuable to the others. The Scenarios work gains a lot from having unique insights coming out of the Re-sources study, and depends on the Trilemma

analyses for setting a platform for discussion of future policies.

There are other WEC inputs, beyond the flag-ships, which can affect the way we think about the future of energy, and become important inputs into the Scenarios. In particular the WEC’s MCs consist of people who work in the world of energy, and have perspectives that can make a valuable contri-bution to the Scenarios.

How can MCs take part?

The Scenarios core team co-ordinates most of the WEC Scenarios work, and the study group provides strategic direction and quality control of the work done. MCs equally assist and ensure that the work being done is really of interest locally to govern-ments, companies and specialists. So MCs play a central role in this work, and we look to them to provide input through the work streams, and to take leadership roles in the study group. Without them we cannot succeed. Particular opportunities occur

Ged Davis, Executive Chair of World Energy Scenarios, tells WEC Inside how the study could develop in the next few years and why WEC member committees are so important.

News continued on page 2 ...

From left: Colin Andersen, Chair, Energy Council; Marie-José Nadeau, WEC Chair; and Graham Campbell, President, Energy Council

■ develop a global brand for Canada as supplier of energy solutions ■ maintain a commitment to innovation, productivity, and competitiveness, and ■ make good use of collaboration and partnerships as a pathway to global success.

Highlighting the presentations and discussions were several observations which are equally relevant to Canada and to other countries. The speakers highlighted the importance of providing a diverse menu of financial and credit instruments, carefully responding to local business cultures and practices, taking a strategic and selective approach to meet the needs of international markets, being a patient, long-term player, and including related supporting services, such as regulatory practices and environmental stewardship practices, in the suite of Canada’s offerings in international markets.

The outcomes from this Forum will be integrat-ed into the planning for the WEC North American Region Energy Forum which will be held in Calgary, Alberta on 24–26 June. A summary of the presentations and discussions will be posted on www.energy.ca. ■

Gerald (Ged) Davis is the Executive Chair of World Energy Scenarios