Oil lobby lagging reality – by Claudia Cattaneo (National Post – December 23, 2011)

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

It may come as a surprise to some, but the organization that represents Canada’s oil and gas industry feels pretty good about public sentiment about its activities in both Canada and the United States.

David Collyer, president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said the sector’s efforts to improve its environmental performance and its communication are succeeding and will continue along the same lines next year.

“I think we have been stepping up, the stepping up has been relatively successful to date, but we also recognize that we got some very focused and very well-funded and very committed opponents to what we do, and we need to continue to step up,” Mr. Collyer said in an interview.

“I think it’s very important not to construe the very strong and vocal opposition from environmental activists and what I would characterize as a very small part of civil society as representative of civil society. Our view is that there is broad public support of the oil and gas industry and we need to keep it there.”

Similarly, he said there is support for the sector among provincial governments in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, in Atlantic Canada as well as in Ottawa.

It’s an interesting take considering the oil sands industry suffered a huge and costly blow when U.S. President Barack Obama delayed making a decision on Keystone XL oil sands pipeline last month in response to opposition from his green constituency, while opposition to the Northern Gateway project is escalating in time for the start of public hearings Jan. 10.

It’s also a take that may be lagging reality.

A new poll suggests opposition to the two projects is widespread in Canada, rather than a fringe cause. The two pipelines, one from Alberta to Texas, the other from Alberta to the West Coast, are central to oil sands growth. Without new pipelines, existing capacity is expected to run out in about four years.

The independent poll conducted Dec. 13 by Forum Research Inc. shows half of Canadians oppose the Keystone XL pipeline plan, with the strongest opposition among Quebecers, Ontarians and British Columbians.

The poll also shows that half of Canadians oppose the Northern Gateway pipeline, with opposition strongest in the same provinces.

“Despite the number of jobs that could be created by the Keystone XL pipeline proposal, the project’s potential environmental ramifications have made this a highly controversial issue,” said Lorne Bozinoff, president of Toronto-based Forum Research, which conducted the survey of 1,160 randomly selected residents.

“Although the Northern Gateway project would allow Canada to gain entry into major oil markets outside of the United States, many Canadians are currently pushing for the proposal to be shelved.”

Mr. Collyer said the lobby group’s game plan for 2012 is to continue to work directly with policy makers and key “influencers” in the U.S., particularly “like-minded” organizations such as the American Petroleum Institute, labour organizations and chambers of commerce.

For the rest of this article, please go to the National Post/Financial Post website: http://business.financialpost.com/2011/12/22/capp-out-of-step-with-public/