Neil Roszell, 2015 Saskatchewan Oilman of the Year, responded to the accolades, saying, “It’s an honour to be back in my home province of Saskatchewan to receive this award.”
“Having worked in the Saskathcewan oilpatch for 25 years, I’ve witnessed a lot of technological changes and advancement. I started work for Mobil work in the Shaunavon area, worked through Lloydminster into the Pierceland area. We’ve seen a lot of technology advancements that have revitalized fields. We’ve seen an industry that just keeps on giving.
“This industry will continue to keep on giving. One of the comments earlier today of someone speaking to me was, ‘What do you think of commodity prices?’”
“I think we’ve been through it before. This, too, will pass. People will be back at work. We’ll all come together as communities. We’ll continue to work hard. We’ll take reduced work week, if that’s what’s required. And we’ll have a thriving industry for many, many years to come.
Roszell said he was proud to be born and raised in Saskatchewan. He lived in some towns that are now ghost towns. “It makes me proud to come back here. My three children were all born in Calgary, but they would swear they were Saskatchewanians. They bleed green.”
“What differentiates Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan oilpatch? I think it was made in many comments today – the work ethic of the people. Many of us grew up in rural Saskatchewan and learned the value of a dollar. We started working at 12 years old – paper routes, grocery stores. We learned hard work achieves success. I think that differentiates a lot of people of Saskatchewan.
“Innovation matters. People that learn to fix things with baler twine and duct tape, they learn how to innovate. As you wander around the grounds today, you’ll see that innovation displayed in new technology throughout the oil show,” Roszell said.
He continued, “I can’t comment enough about what was mentioned by Minister (Bill) Boyd and Premier (Brad) Wall – a stable political environment. Investors and companies alike can chose to invest anywhere in this global world in the energy industry. To know that we’ve got a stable royalty regime, what we’re get for return on our dollars; Premier Wall made one comment to me today that was really compelling.
“‘Neil, thank you for helping Saskatchewan. We’re just going to stay out of your way. We want you to build businesses, be successful, and help the province along.’
“Thank you Saskatchewan for affording Raging River and I the opportunity to help the Saskatchewan oilpatch. We look forward to many more years of development; exploitation of the people’s own resource; creating jobs in more communities. Thank you again,” Roszell concluded.
