March 2018
Who’s on Board?Early Morning Sessions
March Lunch Summary
PJVA/PASC Joint Luncheon
24th Annual GPAC/PJVA Joint Conference
Social Report
PJVA Membership
Who’s on Board?
In response to some interest from our Membership about our Board Members and their roles, JV Views is proud to present a new series that takes a look at the Life of a Boarder, entitled “Who’s on Board?”. This month, we are featuring our Education Portfolio – Early Morning Sessions, Jonathan Cassetta. To give you some background on the PJVA Board, we are charged with oversight of this nonprofit association. There are 16 seats at the Boardroom table, representing 600+ members, 100+ volunteer committee members, and plenty of goals to execute on annually. We each volunteer ~20-40 hours a month in our roles.
We hope you enjoy learning about your Directors, the waters they navigate in their volunteer position, and why they chose to volunteer to lead PJVA.
Jonathan Cassetta
Education – Early Morning Sessions
Tell us about yourself:
I am originally from Montreal and moved to Calgary in 1996 when my dad was transferred here with his job. I have Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Calgary and a Joint Venture Administration and Analyst Certificate from Mount Royal University. Career wise I have 8 years’ experience within the railroad transportation logistics industry, including fleet management and long term contract negotiations along with 6 years of JV work experience split between Cenovus Energy Inc. and Spartan Energy Corp.
Some facts about me are that I am fluent in three languages, English, French and Italian. I have a twin brother who is also employed in the Energy sector
When did you get involved on the PJVA Board and why?
I originally got involved with the PJVA in 2014 when I joined the Golf Networking Organizing Committee which was run by several highly respected Joint Venture leaders including Doug Phillips and Marcel Savoie. Marcel was instrumental in mentoring me while we both worked at Cenovus and encouraged me to join the PJVA board when a seat became available. I decided to join as I felt the board would be excellent way to gain exposure within the JV community and that it would be a great opportunity to contribute towards the success and growth of the association.
Tell us about why you like the challenges of the joint venture business?
The challenge that I like most about the Joint Venture business is the amount of complexity and work that is involved in building successful business relationships. Being transparent and collaborative is a key behavior that is needed when companies work together towards a common goal. This is what I like most about the JV business; the challenge of combining resources, knowledge and expertise with the goal of coming to agreement with your business partners.
Tell us about your portfolio at PJVA and the progress you have made over the last year or two?
I believe one of the misconceptions of Early Morning Sessions is that some feel that there needs to be a general consensus or definite conclusion on a Joint Venture matter by the end of the session. One aspect that I have been making progress on is to focus on the main goal of EMS’s which is to encourage an open and unbiased discussion between the speaker and PJVA members. If attendees are in an environment where they feel comfortable to ask questions and share how their companies deal with JV industry issues, then that gives me a sense of satisfaction.
What are your goals for your portfolio in 2018/19?
My goal for this year is to ensure we have the best possible speakers/quality topics that are relevant to the current JV community and have as many PJVA members as possible attending each session.
Best advice you ever received?
The best advice I that I ever heard of is that in order to grow, you need to get uncomfortable. If you avoid new experiences that you feel might be uncomfortable, then you are missing out on life. The longer you wait to get out of your comfort zone, the more comfortable you become with the status quo leaving you with no opportunity for growth.
Early Morning Sessions
These sessions are excellent forums for discussions on relevant JV industry practices and matters. The main goal for EMS’s is to encourage and facilitate an open dialogue between the presenter and audience as opposed to reaching a general consensus on business items.
We would like to thank all the people who help us make these early morning sessions so successful - the presenters for their time and energy in putting together the presentation and the attendees for their participation, enthusiasm and suggestions.
We are always looking for more ideas, suggestions and speakers to help facilitate the sessions. If you have any recommendations for future EMS’s, please contact please contact PJVA Director, Jonathan Cassetta: (403) 930-3997; jcassetta@spartanenergy.ca, or Richard Kissinger: (403) 298-1298; RKisinger@enerplus.com
March Lunch Summary
At the PJVA March 7th Luncheon, Mark Taylor, Senior Vice President of Climate Policy Assurance and Closure & Liability with the AER spoke to 120 attendees at The Calgary Petroleum Club.
From the outset, Mark’s extensive experience in the oil and gas industry in Alberta was apparent and many of the attendees who work with Producer and Midstream companies had worked with him at Amoco, BP, Encana and other producers. Over the past 20 years Mark has lead teams responsible for developing unconventional oil and gas assets throughout Western Canada- assets including Horseshoe Canyon CBM, Cardium oil, Horn River shale, and Montney gas.
Mark gave context to the current policies and practices of the AER as he explained how the regulator was created in 2014 after a competitiveness review, with the intention to make Alberta a great place to invest. The idea was to create a single regulator rather than several regulators. Since then, AER as been on a continuous journey.
Mark identified the current three key pillars of the AER: Collaboration, Ensuring Innovation and Using the directives in making risk informed decisions. He stressed how the regulator needs to go out and hear from stakeholders and get valid get feedback to know when they are succeeding. He stressed the AER’s focus to achieve stellar competence and employ empathic consultation with Industry.
The current AER has inherited processes from the ERCB, which needed to make their processes more efficient and the AER has instituted a culture of continuous improvement. There is an awareness that they are implementing new technology in their Integrated decision approach. He stressed that the AER has inherited 75 years of accumulated regulation & application processes and they are now streamlining those applications with a new process that is fit for purpose for larger projects.
Mark described the new tool called “One Stop” likening it to online tax software that prompts you with help to complete the application. One Stop runs a risk assessment and if project is low risk you can get a pipeline licence in 15 mins. It should reduce re-work of applications, and companies won’t need personnel with years of experience to manage AER applications. Another upside is that there are now dedicated personnel to speak to applicants on the non-standard applications. One Stop may be a software product that the AER could sell around the world. In general, the AER’s new focus is to move to point where low risk activities take less time for approval.
Mark acknowledged that some delay while implementing this approach is inevitable but they are making progress and that the AER wants to maintain trust with Albertans and consistently make good decisions.
You will find more information in the powerpoint presentation on the PJVA website.
PJVA/PASC Joint Luncheon
Developments in Western Canadian Midstream Commercial Arrangements
A relevant history of gathering and processing in western Canada from the unique combination of a legal and a joint venture perspective.
A presentation on the various types of midstream transactions and commercial structures, the main concerns of the parties and the most recent innovations in the midstream sector in Western Canada.
Graham Baugh is a Lawyer and a Senior Legal Executive and Energy & Infrastructure JV Consultant with a deep and broad-based background in the oil and gas, oilsands, facilities construction and chemicals industries in Canada and around the world. Mr. Baugh has the enviable ability to work effectively across cultures and geographies. He has wide ranging experience including: the upstream and midstream oil and gas businesses. He facilitates construction and operation, contract management, joint ventures, litigation management, compliance and governance and regulatory matters. His specialties include M&A, material commercial negotiations, joint venture transactions, midstream services agreements, dispute resolution, litigation management, construction contracting, project management, stakeholders relations and legal team organization, leadership and management.
Sponsored by The BOE Report.com
Date: |
Thursday, May 17, 2018 |
Time: |
11:30 am – 1:00 pm |
Location: |
Calgary Petroleum Club 319 – 5 Avenue SW Devonian Room |
Register: |
Click here to Register |
24th Annual GPAC/PJVA Joint Conference
The 24th annual GPAC/PJVA Joint Conference will be held on Tuesday, October 30, 2018 at the Calgary Petroleum Club. The conference provides members and other petroleum professionals the opportunity to watch a variety of presentations from industry experts and partake in networking activities with colleagues. The theme this year is, “Resilience Through Diversification”, and we look forward to a day of education and engagement.
The conference organizing committee is very pleased to have secured Ian MacGregor – Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer of North West Refining – as a keynote speaker for this year’s event. In addition to Ian, speakers from Pembina Pipeline, Altagas, Bennett Jones LLP, Price Waterhouse Cooper, and the Alberta Energy Regulator are slated to present at the conference. A complete schedule will be posted on the conference web site in April.
GPAC and PJVA members will again be offered Early Bird rates to attend the conference this year. Details on sponsorship opportunities will be posted on the conference web site, and corporate tables will be available for companies wishing to send a larger contingent of representatives.
PJVA members will be emailed a link to the conference web site in the near future. Further information on event pricing, speaker bios, and event sponsors will be provided.
Brad Hodges
Conference Director
Social Report
St. Patrick’s Day PJVA Pub Night was held on March 15th at James Joyce Irish Pub.
Stay tuned for the next pub night social gathering which will be themed “Spring thaw break-up”.
Upcoming Events
JV Analyst Certificate - Introduction to Facilities
April 5 – 6, 2018
Joint Venture Analyst Level 1
May 1 – 24, 2018
PJVA/PASC Joint Luncheon
May 17, 2018
Joint Venture Analyst Level 2
June 5 – 28, 2018
PJVA was incorporated in 1985 to represent individuals and organizations involved in petroleum joint ventures. JVViews is published to keep members informed about upcoming PJVA and industry events, courses and seminars offered and/or sponsored by PJVA and current projects being facilitated by the Association.