March 25, 2024

CGEF is pleased to welcome Avanti Helium and Grand Gulf Energy to share their perspectives on being non-American companies in the US helium space. Until 2018, the US helium reserve was the major source of helium to the world and helium prices were set in public auctions. The Helium Conservation Act of 2013 laid the timeline for the sale of the reserve and its assets. A third of the global supply of helium was removed and the price soared at the last auction in 2018. Against the backdrop of a besieged and floundering energy sector, Avanti and Grand Gulf are two of a handful of start-ups that recognized the opportunity and launched with their founding assets in the USA. As Canadian and Australian publicly listed companies, Avanti (AVN:TSXV) and Grand Gulf Energy (GGE:ASX), share their status, tell their story, and offer CGEF perspectives on the rewards and challenges, and do's and don'ts, of playing ball in our neighbour's back yard.

Moderator: David Johnson, CITO Energy

Speakers:
Chris Bakker: CEO, Avanti Helium Corp
Brad Paterson: CFO, Avanti Helium Corp
Dane Lance: CEO, Grand Gulf Energy Limited

David Johnson
Extensive International and Canadian exploration and production experience with significant helium discoveries in Western Canada, and hydrocarbon discoveries in Western Canada, the South China Sea and the Canadian Frontiers. Currently a Partner with CITO Energy Group with experience as a co-founder of public-companies, director, executive, management, technical, geoscience-research, operations and business development roles; touching more than 40 petroleum provinces.

Chris Bakker
Chris Bakker has over two decades of experience in oil and gas, most recently working as a commercial negotiator with Encana/Ovintiv for major facilities and pipelines in the Montney gas play. His expertise includes all facets of Natural Gas Exploration such as land acquisition, exploration, drilling, well production and facility integration and construction. His educational background includes a Bachelor's and Master's in Economics and, later in his career, an MBA.

Brad Paterson, CFO Avanti Helium Corp.
D. Brad Paterson has over 28 years' experience acting as a senior officer of listed companies. In these roles he has developed a thorough knowledge of management and financial accounting, corporate finance, cross-board transactions, corporate governance, and the regulatory markets. He has led and consulted in the public listing of private companies and corporate re-structurings, business and asset valuations and acquisitions, and facilitated prospectus, brokered and non-brokered financings in excess of $76 million for private and public companies. Additionally, he was a contract sessional instructor for the risk management and insurance courses of the Institute of Canadian Bankers. Prior, he has worked as a senior analyst for a private equity and mezzanine-financing firm.

Mr. Paterson has earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Graduate Diploma in Management Accounting from the University of Alberta. In addition, he has completed the Canadian Securities Course and has received the Chartered Professional Accountants and Certified Management Accountant designations.

David Johnson
Extensive International and Canadian exploration and production experience with significant helium discoveries in Western Canada, and hydrocarbon discoveries in Western Canada, the South China Sea and the Canadian Frontiers. Currently a Partner with CITO Energy Group with experience as a co-founder of public-companies, director, executive, management, technical, geoscience-research, operations and business development roles; touching more than 40 petroleum provinces.

March 5, 2024

CGEF is pleased to welcome Sproule for an in-depth exploration of the energy landscape in Latin America and the Caribbean, where we'll examine the latest findings from Sproule's 2023 Energy Outlook and forecast potential developments for 2024. We'll analyze key transactions, transformative projects, and significant regulatory changes that drive growth and decarbonization in the energy sector. Our panel will dissect market dynamics, including the increasing demand for emerging energy technologies like geothermal, lithium, hydrogen, and carbon capture, and discuss geopolitical challenges across the Amazon which could impact the resilience of the regional energy industry.

January 22, 2024

Topic: Free Webinar - Energy Strategies - Current Alternative Energy Overview

June 14, 2023

Join CGEF's upcoming webinar "Exploration Opportunities Offshore Nova Scotia", to learn about the current offshore Nova Scotia Call for Bids and available data. The Canada Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board has an open Call for Bids for eight prospective offshore Nova Scotia parcels. Bids are due September 19, 2023.

Our guest speakers are:

Karyna Rodriguez, VP Global New Ventures at Searcher Seismic, Mark Deptuck, a marine geologist at the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (CNSOPB), and an adjunct professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Dalhousie University, and Kimberly Doane, Executive Director, Subsurface Energy Development with the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and Renewables.

March 15, 2023

The Caribbean is an underexplored area with excellent exploration potential. Listen to the head of Cuba's exploration, Osvaldo Lopez Corzo speak to the oil and gas potential in Cuba along with Mike Lakin, Managing Director of Envoi, who will discuss the Caribbean in general and Jamaica in particular.

February 28, 2023

Pakistan has had a number of large gas discoveries in the past two years. Please join CGEF for this free webinar where it welcomes representatives from the Government of Pakistan. The high level representatives will discuss the recent discoveries and the upcoming bid rounds.

December 1, 2022

Nigeria is the largest oil and gas producer in Africa and a lot of changes have taken place over the last two years that have affected the investment landscape in the sector. The government recently passed laws to reform its petroleum sector which have, among other things, seen the commercialization of the state owned oil company.

In addition, the government recently concluded the 2020 marginal field bid rounds with the award of 57 oil and gas fields to 161 largely indigenous players. However, some winners of the assets (31 companies) could not pay the signature bonus fee, prompting the withdrawal of the award letters and the government intends to call on the reserve bidders for this purpose. In addition, some International Oil Companies (IOCs) have been divesting from onshore and shallow water fields in the country presenting brownfield opportunities to independent players in the country. Shell and Exxon have indicated that this process may be concluded by the end of this year. All these changes could present potentially viable investment opportunities for Canadian companies. Through this webinar, we hope to provide Canadian companies with an understanding of the changing investment landscape of the upstream oil and gas sector and how they could partner with Nigerian companies to take advantage of the emerging opportunities.

Engr. Gbenga Komolafe (Commission Chief Executive, Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC))

Mr. Bala Wunti (Chief Upstream Investment Officer, NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services (NUIMS))

Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu (Group Chairman, AFRICENERGY and Infrastructure Limited)

Engr. Victor Sodje (Managing Director, Newcross Exploration and Production Limited)

July 7, 2022

Brad Hayes, PhD, P.Geol., FGC

Dr. Brad Hayes is President of Petrel Robertson Consulting Ltd., a geoscience consulting firm addressing technical and strategic issues around oil and gas development, water resource management, helium and lithium exploration, geothermal energy, and carbon sequestration.

Brad earned a PhD in geology from the University of Alberta. He is Outreach Director for the Canadian Society for Unconventional Resources (CSUR), and a Past-President of the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists (CSPG). He served as a Councillor for the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) for six years, and is a member of the Energy Technical Advisory Committee for Geoscience BC.

Brad is currently leading a partnership between CSUR and the University of Alberta Energy Systems Signature Area to produce a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) entitled "21st Century Energy Transition - How do We Make it Work?" The research and collaboration for this course is supporting a series of webinars and presentations on the topic of Energy Transition.

Brad is an Adjunct Professor in the University of Alberta Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and a sessional lecturer in Earth and Environmental Sciences at Mount Royal University. He is a prominent media commentator, writing for a variety of technical and business publications as well as engaging actively on social media.

March 30, 2022

Ms. Shino is the Petroleum Commissioner for the Petroleum Directorate of the Ministry of Mines and Energy in Namibia. She has been with the Ministry of Mines and Energy for 18 years and brings more than twelve years of experience in the exploration and production sector of the oil and gas industry and two years of experience in renewable energy.

Maggy's current role includes responsibility for the promotion of oil and gas investments, negotiating petroleum agreements, issuing of licenses, and the administration of the Petroleum Exploration and Production Act. Maggy has served as a board member of Namibia's Petroleum Training and Education Fund (Petrofund) since 2012. She holds a Master's degree in Petroleum Geochemistry from the University of Newcastle (UK), a BSc degree in Biology and Chemistry from the University of Namibia, and a diploma in Upstream Management of Petroleum Development and Operations from PETRAD, Stavanger (Norway).

Maggy is also the recipient of the Global Women Petroleum & Energy in Africa 2017 Award that was bestowed upon her at the 9th Global Women Petroleum & Energy Club for Africa.

Gil has 25 years of experience in the mining and energy sectors throughout South America and Africa. Prior to co-founding Eco Atlantic, Mr. Holzman was a co-founder of GP Minerals Ltd, a private resource investment and development company, and, between 2003 and 2006, he was the Managing Director of Bombardier Inc's Middle East Region. Mr. Holzman has also held a variety of strategic consultancy roles, including co-founding political consultancy, GCS Issue Management Ltd.

Mr. Holzman has a BA in Business Management and Finance and an LLB in Israeli and International Law from IDC Herzilya. He also has an MBA from The Arison School of Business.

Victoria serves as the Executive for Upstream Exploration at NAMCOR, her role entails leading the Upstream Exploration team to grow NAMCOR's hydrocarbon exploration portfolio by developing business opportunities in line with the company strategy.

She is a Geologist by profession and she holds a Master's degree in Geology from the University of Namibia. In addition, she also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from the University of Port Elizabeth, South Africa (Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University) as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology and Chemistry from the University of Namibia.

Victoria has been with Namcor for 16 years and prior to joining NAMCOR, she worked for the Ministry of Mines and Energy as a Geoscientist.

March 2, 2022

Sheri Meyerhoffer was appointed as Canada's first Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise on April 8, 2019 by the Honourable Jim Carr, Minister of International Trade Diversification. Ms. Meyerhoffer established the office of the Ombudsperson at the beginning of May 2019. The Ombudsperson has the mandate to review alleged human rights abuses arising from a Canadian company's operations abroad, make recommendations, monitor those recommendations, recommend trade measures for companies that do not co-operate in good faith, and report publicly throughout the process. The Ombudsperson will focus on the mining, oil and gas and garment sectors.

Dr. Yrjo Koskinen, Associate Dean of Research and Business Impact and BMO Professor of Sustainable and Transition Finance at the Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary.

Dr. Yrjo Koskinen is the Associate Dean of Research and Business Impact and BMO Professor of Sustainable and Transition Finance at the Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary. He has also served on the faculties of Stockholm School of Economics, Boston University's Questrom School of Business, and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He holds an MSc degree in Economics from the University of Helsinki, and a PhD in Management (Finance) from INSEAD. Prior to his academic career, Yrjo worked as a financial journalist and as an economist at the Bank of Finland.

Josef Schacter, President - Schachter Energy Research Services Inc.

As a veteran of the Canadian Investment Management Industry, Josef Schachter has experienced several exceptional and turbulent global economic and stock market cycles. With his primary focus on the Energy Sector, Josef is able to weave global political, economic and monetary issues with current energy data into a compelling story of what's going on in the sector, what is to come, and why. In 2017Josef left the Institutional Investor arena to author the Schachter Energy Report and assist active, individual investors through the turmoil of the shifting cycle in the energy sector.

October 27, 2021

Global helium prices have increased significantly in the past number of years. To supply this critical gas which is used in many industries, helium exploration has exploded in Canada. This webinar will review the background uses of helium and the future of helium exploration in Canada and beyond.

It is no secret that the traditional oil and gas industry is facing wholesale change with Energy Transition. While most of these changes focus on the reduction of CO2 in the energy chain, some of the changes point to opportunities in entirely different industries. Helium is one of those opportunities.

Join us for an overview of the Helium industry, both domestic and international. Dr. David Johnson, President of Imperial Helium Corp. will explain the industry’s history, the nature of the resource and the commercial factors involved in running Helium projects. He will be joined by Tony Cioni, Co-Founder of CITO Energy Group, who will cover some of the legal and commercial challenges with Helium development projects, as well as a view into the geopolitics of the Helium business.

September 28, 2021

As the world transitions to low-carbon energy solutions, several companies and organizations are at the forefront of new and novel technologies. This webinar will convene leaders from Canada and Scotland who will discuss how they are incorporating hydrogen into their plans to reduce carbon emissions across their respective regions. The session is jointly sponsored by the Canadian Global Exploration Forum (CGEF) and Scottish Development International.

Dr Nigel Holmes is the Chief Executive of the Scottish Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association (SHFCA). Over the past ten years he has grown the SHFCA membership from under 40 to over 150 members. Nigel’s talk is titled “Scaling up Hydrogen in Scotland”. Scotland aims to become Net Zero by 2045, with 75% GHG reduction by 2030, including a target for 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production. With locations including North-East Scotland, Fife, the Western Isles, and the Orkney Islands Scotland is proudly leading the way and 'learning by doing' with hydrogen and fuel cell deployment. Highlights include the expanding hydrogen bus fleet in Aberdeen, local hydrogen energy solutions in Orkney, Acorn in St Fergus, and the H100 Fife development at Methil which will trial the use of 100% green hydrogen for heating and cooking in 300 households. Scotland presents significant opportunities for the development and deployment of low carbon hydrogen technologies.

Ronnie Quinn is CEO of NECCUS, and previously held roles as Chief Executive for Crown Estate Scotland, and as interim CEO for the Scottish Council for Development and Industry. Ronnie’s talk is titled “Decarbonising Energy Hubs in Scotland”. Ronnie will discuss leading the Scottish Net Zero Roadmap project (SNZR), which is developing a roadmap towards decarbonisation for some 30 key industrial sites along the Scottish East Coast, from Lothian in the South to Aberdeenshire in the North. The project is funded by the UK Government and is designed to consider multiple carbon reducing options including electrification, fuel switching and carbon capture and storage.

Gregory Caldwell is a registered Professional Engineer, holds a CPA designation, and is currently the Director for ATCO’s Utility Hydrogen Strategy, in Edmonton, Alberta. Mr. Caldwell serves as the Canadian Chair of the International Gas Union’s (IGU) Research and Development Committee, and on the Energy Transition Advisory Committee, which advises the City of Edmonton on methods to implement their community energy policies. Greg’s talk “Developing ATCO's Utility Hydrogen Strategy for Alberta” will discuss ATCO’s approach, and will cover the technical, policy, regulatory and economic aspects of the initiative.

April 26, 2021

Brazil’s oil & gas industry is recovering and is projected to thrive for decades to come. With enormous unexplored areas in the onshore and offshore, and the Petrobras divestment program making numerous additional opportunities available, Brazil’s oil and gas future is indeed bright.

Come hear Canadian businesses discuss their experience operating in Brazil, learn from oil & gas regulator ANP regarding the potential of the sedimentary basins, upcoming bidding rounds and the permanent acreage offer regime. Find out from local experts about key legal aspects of doing business in Brazil: opening a subsidiary, taxation, labor force and access to financing. This is the first of several seminars in the coming months that will detail opportunities for E&P companies and service companies in Brazil.

March 17, 2021

TCS Resources for Canadian SMEs

Websites

• Several tools exist to help you find, understand and navigate what Free Trade Agreements may represent for your company. For more information, please consult Expand Globally with Canada’s FTAs.
• Visit the CETA website
• The Canada Tariff Finder lets you quickly and easily search for tariff rates in markets where Canada has an FTA. Simply enter your product and select the country you are exporting to.
• For more information specific to CETA, check out these four short videos on YouTube: Preferential Tariffs, Rules of Origin, Temporary Entry and Government Procurement.
• For any additional questions or information on how to leverage the opportunities created by Canada’s Free Trade Agreements, please contact the Trade Commissioner Service.

Funding

• If you are a Canadian SME looking for funding to expand to new markets, take a look at the eligibility criteria for the CanExport SMEs Funding Program

Guides

• TCS Guide on Exporting to the EU
• TCS Guide on Exporting services to the EU
• TCS Guide on Government procurement in the EU
• TCS Guide on Innovation partnerships in the EU

Other information on the EU

• The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation
• Six steps to CE marking
• Canada2EU Trade Chats podcast

February 17, 2021

Canada and at least 72 other nations have committed to net zero CO2 emissions by 2050. Achieving that will require replacing the C-based energy carriers that currently fuel the global economy (i.e. gasoline, diesel, natural gas etc) with zero emission alternatives (e.g. electricity, hydrogen), produced with little or no emissions. While this might sound threatening to Alberta, the province is international renown as one of the lowest cost producers of low carbon ‘blue’ hydrogen (i.e. hydrogen produced from fossil fuels but with the CO2 byproduct captured and geological stored). In this presentation, I will discuss the magnitude of the opportunity and the possible transition pathway to a Canada hydrogen economy, led by Alberta.

• » Download Layzell CGEF 210217 for full details

January 11, 2021

Speakers

KIRSTEN MARCIA
Founder, President & CEO of DEEP Earth Energy Production

Kirsten Marcia is the founder, President and CEO of DEEP Earth Energy Production (“DEEP”). DEEP is a private company focused on developing geothermal resources to meet Saskatchewan’s increasing energy needs with sustainable, baseload renewable power and industrial heating applications. Ms. Marcia is a geology graduate from the University of Saskatchewan and a Professional Geoscientist, registered in the Province of Saskatchewan. She has worked in the resource exploration industry for more than 20 years exploring for renewable energy, diamonds, gold, base metals, coal, and petroleum. Ms. Marcia considers herself a resource entrepreneur who has participated in the formation and early stage development of several Saskatchewan resource companies. Kirsten is using her previous experience gained from developing traditional resources to develop an entirely new, clean energy resource for the province. When not in her office, Kirsten can be found happily working on yard projects at her acreage she shares with her husband and teenage daughter, camping, fishing or hosting dinner gatherings with friends.

SEAN KORNEY
Partner at Burnet, Duckworth and Palmer LLP Law Firm (BD&P)

Sean is a qualified lawyer in Alberta (1994) and England (2003). He is a native Calgarian who has practised law in the energy industry for nearly 25 years.

Since 2014 Sean has been a partner with Burnet, Duckworth and Palmer, where he continues to work on international matters (more geographically diverse) and domestic matters.

Sean has been recognized by a number of independent legal guidebooks as an expert in the field of energy law. He has served in various roles for the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators and often presents at conferences on topics of interest to the energy industry.

MIKE HENRY
Associate at Burnet, Duckworth and Palmer LLP Law Firm (BD&P)

Mike Henry is an Associate in the Energy Group at Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer LLP. He advises clients on a range of commercial matters in the oil & gas and renewable energy sectors including asset and share acquisitions and dispositions, corporate reorganizations, corporate and asset due diligence, and negotiating and drafting commercial agreements.

PETER BAUMAN, M. Sc., P.Geol.Senior Geologist at Eavor Technologies Inc.

Peter Bauman is a Professional Geologist registered with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA). For more than 20 years, he has held various technical and managerial roles at major, intermediate and junior energy companies with a successful track record of growth and value addition. His passion and strengths lie in new country entry, exploration and development. His geographic experience includes North America, South America, Europe, Australia, Western Asia, North Africa and Middle East. Peter holds a B.Sc and M.Sc from the University of Calgary in Geology and Geophysics.

Peter is currently the President of the AAPG Canada Region, is an active member of the CSPG and a director at CGEF. He has authored numerous technical presentations at various domestic and international societal conferences.

• » Download CGEF Geothermal Webinar PDF for full details
• » The Future of Geothermal Power in Alberta
• » DEEP CGEF Presentation

December 9, 2020

CGEF Suriname Webinar

Online with Zoom Software
Wednesday December 9, 2020
10:00AM - 11:20AM MST (GMT-7)

Speakers

CGEF is proud to host speakers from across the globe

Ismaël Kalaykhan
Director of the Tax Administration, Surinamese Tax Institute

Brian Glover
Offshore Director, Staatsolie

Cedric Nelom
General Director, The National Environmental Institute

Anand Harrilall
Trade Commissioner, High Commission of Canada

Ranvir Soenessardien, BSc
Technical Advisor, Staatsolie Hydrocarbon Institute N.V.

Download CGEF Suriname Webinar PDF for full details

November 26, 2020

The Turkish oil and gas industry has an active onshore energy industry. Historically it has focused on onshore exploration and production. Recently Turkey has been in the news with the announcement of a large gas discovery in the Black Sea.

This webinar will focus primarily on the activity and opportunities onshore with a brief discussion of the offshore discovery by TPAO. CGEF has three speakers discussing various aspects of the Turkish petroleum industry. Our first speaker will be Mr. Cem Sayer.

Mr. Sayer is the Chairman of the Board & President of Aladdin Middle East Ltd (AME). Aladdin is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company founded in 1961 and focused on the strategic exploration and exploitation of oil and gas assets in Turkey. AME is an industry leader in Turkish upstream and is the most senior private player in Turkey. Mr. Sayer will discuss AME’s operations in Turkey.

Our second speaker is Ms. Berfu Aksoy. Berfu is a seasoned lawyer with extensive experience in Turkey’s energy industry. She is the founding partner of the Aksoy Law Offices based in Ankara and Istanbul. Ms. Aksoy will speak about Turkey’s oil and gas legislation and operating environment. She will also touch on the large offshore discovery recently announced by TPAO.

Our third and final speaker is Mr. David Kisilevsky. Mr. Kisilevsky is Executive Vice President Exploration & COO of Gazelle Energy Limited. Gazelle Energy is a Canadian based, internationally-focused Exploration & Production company founded in 2018 and based in Calgary. Mr. Kisilevsky will give an overview of Gazelle’s exploration assets and opportunities in northwest Turkey.

October 7, 2020

COVID and concerns about climate change have significantly impacted the oil and gas industry. Many oil companies as well as drilling and oilfield service contractors are now targeting new markets. Not every company is able to enter a new market nor is every market the same. In fact, most markets are different and complex. In this presentation, I will examine key internal and external factors that should be considered when targeting new markets.

June 1, 2020

The Global COVID Pandemic has temporarily altered the lives of the World’s population, but at a time when its estimated growth of over 1% annually will add 2.8 billion more people by 2050 (i.e. 30+%).? This dramatic growth will expect and require more and more sustainable energy. The underlying facts show? that based on current technology, this simply can not be done without the use of hydrocarbons, and? increasingly gas, which remains one of the most effective and efficient fuels, even in this age of new ‘energy? transition’. The all too emotional, but ill informed faculties of the World need to understand now that? without appropriate upstream investment, the upstream industry’s ability to meet this demand within the? next 4 years is in question (even with the temporary high inventories caused by Covid) and by which time it? will simply been too late for any E&P efforts (which traditionally can take between 2?10 years to deliver from? exploration to production) to fill the gap.?

The already limited E&P expertise being lost by retirement, with very few technically experienced (G&G and? Engineering) people available to find new resources (due to the legacy of the extended 1984 – 2003? industry crash) leaves the World in a energy dilemma unless a completely new source of energy is found to? replace oil and gas very quickly indeed (which seems unlikely). The World therefore needs new E&P now, so? potentially within 12 – 24 months if the new trusted sources (including Rystad )predicting supply shortfalls? of 5 MMbbls / day by 2025 are correct, commodity prices do not rise very much more sharply than is? currently predicted.?

The ‘early bird catches the worm’ is a very old saying from the late 1600’s and is perhaps very relevant for? investors looking for a prime opportunity which equally understand the underlying facts about energy cycles? and the facts that underpin the next 2?5+ years rather than a quick buck over the next few weeks and? months. Few have ever consistently predicted the big commodity price swings so what has changed now?? The facts seem to suggest a swing back the other way, particularly as the resource play boom predicted by? many to be the savour of global supply, appears to have hit the buffers ladened with unsupportable debt? even before Covid, will not help.?

Filling the future hole in supplies, whilst satisfying the demands of the Worlds new Green Army that remains? dependent on hydrocarbon energy, unless they are willing to accept significant change (i.e. like being locked? down for the next 30 years as we have these last 12 weeks) and paying much higher prices for sustainable? energy, is something that collectively needs to be considered and actioned by everyone in the World,? including the users, producers and governments. Only time will tell but the evidence seems clear”

May 20, 2020

Chinook Consulting and Oea are delighted to jointly offer an online information session about Romanian Oil & Gas industry. Both companies have previous and ongoing operations in Romania. Their experience will benefit CGEF members who intend to penetrate or consolidate their position in the Romanian market. from CGEF on Vimeo.