Oilpatch players in Canada’s export market celebrated a new addition to their toolbox Wednesday, with the launch in Calgary of Going Global (II) report, a guide for Canadian service and technology firms intent on cracking or expanding further into international markets.

Industry executives speaking at yesterday’s product launch included a representative from report publisher JWN.

“Many of you are starting to look at global markets, but have communicated a need for advice, whether on how you look at market expansions or [what] you need to think about for growth,” said Bemal Mehta, JWN’s senior vice-president, energy intelligence.

Knowing there are many places worldwide they could market their equipment and services, many company heads nonetheless have questions about what to consider before leaving Canada, and which markets offer the most for their wares.

“The report was proposed as a catalyst for that conversation,” he said, noting the report is the second of its kind, following the release of Going Global (I) in November 2016. At the same time, Mehta told the audience the current report is only the first step in their export journey.

“I would never recommend you read it — or the one released in November — and say, ‘Hey, I know everything there is to know about exporting,’” he said. “You’ve got to be able to use it as an intelligence tool that perhaps helps you raise your game or gives you a few considerations to think about as you explore global markets.”

Also speaking at Wednesday’s event were executives from several agencies that partnered with JWN to create the report, including the Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC); Export Development Canada (EDC); Canadian Global Exploration Forum (CGEF); Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC); Global Affairs Canada, and the Alberta government.

Among those speaking was Robert Hodges, senior advisor to EDC, which assists Canadian companies trying to enter foreign markets, as well as foreign buyers of Canadian goods and services.

“Early last year, it became apparent that Canadian service and supply [companies] needed additional support dealing with the industry downturn,” he said. “After that, we allocated a $750 million ‘envelope’ for Canadian companies in the oil and gas sector,” he added, noting EDC offers solutions in four key areas: increasing productivity, investing in new technology, adopting structures to increase market access, and enhancing environmental sustainability.

“We were enthusiastic in supporting the Going Global initiative with our partners,” Hodges added. “We believe the knowledge produced by these studies will be instrumental for companies looking to expand abroad.” The 82 page report, created from extensive data in JWN’s Evaluate Energy database, is geared to help oilpatch companies identify potential export markets for technologies and services, and give them intelligence on market access.

The first Going Global report focused on six countries: U.S., Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, while the second deals with another 10 countries: Australia, China, Indonesia, Iran, Norway, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

Together, the two reports quantify which of the 16 countries offer the best market opportunities, based on size and maturity of oil and gas production assets, and how well these assets match up with the Alberta industry’s core competencies in heavy oil development, unconventional resource development and enhanced oil recovery (EOR).

Another partner in Going Global (II) was the Alberta government, represented Wednesday by Tim Hazlett, director of upstream oil and gas services and technology for the province. “I think the [study] speaks highly to collaboration,” he said. “The report is truly a collaborative approach and an important step in helping Alberta and Canadian firms.”

Hazlett said he liked the report’s methodology and the expertise brought to bear. “I think it was an appropriate use of international expertise. We liked the fact-based approach and how the data was gathered,” he added.

Noting the many agencies — both governmental and non-governmental — involved in creating the report, Hazlett said it is “possibly the first time that a project of this measure came together” as it did. “We believe the combined effort will give us more ability to get industry, provincial and federal governments on the same page, at the same time. We feel like we’re all moving in the same direction.”

He suggested Going Global is geared towards a large part of the lesser-experienced Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises, but believes there are also benefits for the industry’s more experienced export players. “At the end, I think it’s another tool in your toolbox,” he said.

Another executive welcomed the report as a welcome aid to exporters. “My view is that this is a stepping stone,” said Shane Pospisil, head of business and development for New West Opportunities. Yet he called for more government resources to be brought to bear.

“We need to see additional government support come into a sector that has lost 48,000 jobs over the last couple of years,” he told the audience during a panel discussion on export and international trade. “We’ve lost 104,000 jobs in the [oil and gas] sector as a whole.”

Pospisil acknowledged the industry has gotten government support for some studies on the subject. “But we need something over and above that, both on the export side and on the well decommissioning side,” he said, repeating a call for government to boost funding for abandonment and reclamation of the province’s orphan wells. “Those wells have to be cleaned up and they need to be cleaned up now.”

Noting the Trudeau government recently backed an interest-free loan for train and aircraft builder Bombardier Inc., he wondered aloud whether Ottawa was also considering similar loans for Western Canada’s oil and gas service sector, which is still struggling, he noted, after a downturn of more than two years.

“We’re looking for more and we’re looking for our fair share as we go forward,” he told a sympathetic audience. “We contributed so much to the Canadian social [fabric] over the years. Now we need something back, so we can come out the back end of this downturn.”