It’s OK Estevan, you’ve been through this before. It’s nothing you haven’t seen in the past, so no need to panic or even fret.
This is not the last picture show for the oil industry. You’ve been in the theatre before, and you’ve seen this movie several times. You know all the scenes and most of the lines, and you know where the actors need to be standing in each scene change.
There has been another sudden downturn in global oil prices, and those who have been in the game for at least 20 years, know exactly what has to be done.
The cherry picking companies and personnel who were only here for the huge financial good times, are in the process of folding their tents and slinking away … again, just as they have in the past seven decades in Saskatchewan.
They never had that much skin in the game, never called this province home and won’t be missed all that much.
On the other front, we have our stalwarts of the industry, the smart ones who do stick around. These are the companies and the men and women in the oilpatch who know how to add and subtract according to their business needs. They contribute to the community and enjoy being a part of it. Fortunately for us, they have grown in numbers and influence over the past 15 years. We have developed a new generation of local corporate citizens who know how to work and wait out the tough times.
Our community need not be afraid.
Oil influence will be diminished for a few months, perhaps even a year or two.
We have a steady coal mining and electrical power generating family compact in our ranks who like to participate in our well being and know how to be grand corporate citizens.
We still have a vibrant farming and ranching community who aren’t going anywhere. Their numbers have diminished over the years, but their influence and financial clout hasn’t faded at all. It has only grown stronger.
We still have a growing manufacturing and processing sector that will keep the cash flow and a few tidy profits working for the benefit of all.
We have oil and gas pipelines carrying products to market under our feet, whether it be $40 oil, $45 oil or $80 oil. There is still money to be made by those who know how to manage. The bright lights in the industry will survive, if not thrive and come out smiling on the other end. This is not a doomsday scenario we’ve entered into, it’s a simple, unsurprising downturn we all knew was coming.
The smart managers were prepared, the not-so-smart were caught, once again, after all the industry isn’t totally populated with bright lights and first-round draft picks. There is a need to weed out the poor performers from time-to-time anyway. This is probably the right time.
The opportunity is now there for the best and brightest to start flashing their true business management skills while keeping in mind that this is a slight slide on the down slope, it’s not a jump off the cliff.
We need to act as if we’ve been there before … because we have, and it’s not that bad.
