An idea developed locally that could potentially generate jobs in the beleaguered oil and gas industry has garnered national attention, including from the federal government.
The idea, which the provincial government has promoted as the “Accelerated Well Cleanup Program”, could put hundreds of oil workers back on the job, even for a little while, and at the same time bring a benefit to the environment here in southeast Saskatchewan — and really, to anywhere in the province or in western Canada where there are abandoned oil wells.
The concept is to have people who have experience and knowledge in the oil industry to use that expertise to help oil companies clean up abandoned well sites and reclaim that land back to its original state.
There have been misgivings expressed about this idea, including from, of all people, environmentalists, who don’t look at the good this would do, but express the view that this a mess created by oil companies, so let them clean it up and pay for it.
Oil companies have in fact been doing just that, but with the price of crude oil at or below $30 a barrel (and at times recently, far below $30), they simply do not have the money to hire extra people to do well cleanup, beyond the personnel they may already have committed towards doing that.
As for misgivings about giving oil companies the money, there are two things to consider. One, the proposal being floated here would see the money go directly to the hiring of people to do the well cleanup, and not to the oil companies.
Secondly, detractors need to be reminded that both the auto giant General Motors and the giant corporation Bombardier were given bailouts by the federal government, in a bid to help save jobs in Canada. Just because the oil industry is mostly based in Western Canada does not make the idea less worthy of consideration, plus it’s not a bailout for them, as the money won’t even be going to them.
So with that in mind, is there really any reason not to consider giving this idea the green light to proceed?
There are thousands of oil workers, who are experienced and knowledgable, who need work, and we have an industry who would like very much not to lose this expertise should they look outside of the industry for employment. This is an idea whose time has come, and will help many. — Greg Nikkel
