Recently learned that the Fraser Institute released their 2011 Global Petroleum Survey which measures the attitudes of oil industry managers and executives towards doing business.
Out of all the jurisdictions in the survey, Manitoba was 12th (down from 8th in 2010, but in things like these a few positions one way or the other are not generally indicative of much). Saskatchewan was 11th, while Alberta was 51st Alberta seems to have a royalty regime and environmental policies are hurting their ranking, a permitting process that takes too long, and harsh aboriginal consultation requirements. The NWT are way down in the rankings due to land claims issues and the Mackenzie Gas Project, which spent three decades after proposal in consultation, review, and just sitting around before finally being approved a couple months back.
Comments on Manitoba included:
“Qualified labor and best tax regime.”
“Manitoba has a relatively small piece of the basin but is smart enough to want employment rather than worry about trying to collect royalties.”
There are also no "horror stories" from Manitoba.
It seems our government is friendlier to the economic expansion of the oil industry than Alberta, something which surprised me enough that I thought it was interesting enough to point out.
My off-the-cuff guess is that this is most likely due to the fact our sector is a lot smaller, so there's not as much pressure to try to exploit the industry for political purposes. It would be a lot easier for the oil industry to leave here than Alberta, so Alberta can get away with more.
But whatever the reason, good for Manitoba.
Manitoba's oil industry is located in the southwest. A map of Manitoba's oil fields can be found here.
For "fun" facts about the oil industry in Manitoba, you can go here.
