The Estevan Chamber of Commerce is getting ready to shine a spotlight on the local energy industry.
The chamber has confirmed that they will be hosting the Estevan Energy Expo June 12 to 13 in the city. Chamber executive director Michel Cyrenne said they have been bandying about the idea of hosting an expo for a number of months, but recently decided to set a date to move forward to the first of what they hope will be a bi-annual event.
"We've started to firm things up, we've got a date set and we've got a number of speakers already lined up so we are ready to go," Cyrenne said.
Unlike other events in the southeast which focus solely on the oil and gas sector, Cyrenne said the Estevan expo will focus on all aspects of energy, coal mining, power generation and oil and gas.
"We are trying to showcase the broad array of energy-related resources that we have in the area," Cyrenne said.
Although they have just begun planning the event, Cyrenne said interest has been solid. They have already lined up five speakers and are looking to add two more.
Confirmed thus far are Neil Wildgust, the acting CEO of the Petroleum Technology Research Centre in Regina; Mike Crabtree, the vice-president of the Saskatchewan Research Council; Keith Schaefer, the editor and publisher of Oil and Gas Investments magazine; Kirsten Marcia, the CEO of DEEP Earth Energy Production and Max Ball, the manager of Clean Coal Technology for SaskPower.
Along with the speakers, Cyrenne said they will have 40 spaces available for exhibitors as well as other events. The bulk of the events will take place at Affinity Place but Cyrenne noted the Saskatchewan Energy Training Institute will host the opening dinner.
"There are two prominent oil shows in the area already, so we didn't want to do something exactly like that," he said. "And the fact is, we are fortunate enough in this area that we have broad resources so we kind of wanted to showcase and celebrate that. We are the Energy City; we've got a great energy base and that is what we want to showcase."
Cyrenne said the event will likely to continue to evolve in the months leading up to the event. He expects the chamber will roll out a marketing plan in the next couple of weeks to attract both attendees and exhibitors.
"We are planning on doing it every other year, on opposite years of the Weyburn Oil Show, and hopefully we can expand it to something of that size."
