The sustainable development of Canada’s oil and gas resources is a major concern to Canadians. Not only are citizens concerned about the long term supply of oil and gas for domestic consumption, but also for the responsible production and remediation of any and all lands involved. Further issues that fall under the ‘sustainability umbrella’ are climate change and energy security.

Climate Change: Like other industries, integrated oil and gas companies are sizeable emitters of greenhouse gases and, depending on where their refinery and production operations are situated, may face requirements to reduce emissions in the future. Perhaps more of a strategic concern is the disruptions to future fossil fuel markets caused by any societal shift towards cleaner energy and fuel types. Thus, the carbon embedded within fuel products may also become a strategic management issue. Both trends pose a direct threat to the bottom line, although the effects will impact companies in different ways in part because corporate strategies to manage climate change risks also vary considerably.

Energy Security: This is a crucial social issue in the sector, cross-cutting several important areas, including foreign investment, employee health and safety, as well as relationships with regulators/policy-makers. Canada has recently been experiencing a rise in foreign investment and partnerships in its oil and gas resources, which has many Canadians thinking about protectionist and insecure measures. Further, infrastructure vulnerability is another major dimension of this issue, but a second dimension of pipeline safety has emerged after 9/11, namely the security of nations’ energy infrastructure from terrorist attacks. Major continental transmission pipelines face the risk of targeted attacks due to their strategic importance in energy delivery and characteristics as a physical target.

The following publication is available to those interested in a deeper understanding of sustainability as it relates to Canada’s petroleum industry:

Our Petroleum Challenge – Sustainability into the 21st Century, Seventh Edition, 5th printing

This publication serves as the premier introductory guide to the Canadian oil and natural gas industry. The book, now in its seventh edition, helps Canadians learn more about one of Canada’s most important resources. Readers who turn to Our Petroleum Challenge will discover more about the science and technology involved in finding, producing, processing, delivering and using crude oil and natural gas as well as the challenges Canadians face in developing and using these resources.

The fifth printing of this award-winning publication is available here:
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