A Man on a Mission - Premier Danny Williams

Off in the distant lands of the western world, way up north, cushioned on the east side of Canada, is the majestic island of Newfoundland. Newfoundland is a secret paradise on our planet.

If you Google Newfoundland, you will see that it’s a great big island sitting in the Atlantic Ocean that looks to Europe from the East and the Arctic from the North. About the same size as Cuba and New Zealand’s North Island, it takes a good 12 hours to drive across Newfoundland.

Newfoundland is home to more than 20 species of whales at one time of the year or another, making Newfoundland one of the best whale viewing locations in the world. Known for its kind people and generous hospitality, it’s the same place that famously hosted the guests of the planes that were ordered to land in Newfoundland, when 9-11 happened. Once the poorest province in Canada, Newfoundland proved amongst the mose generous in giving contribution – a true testament to its people.

Overcoming economic challenges with great leadership and entrepreneurial spirit, Newfoundland now enjoys a booming energy economy. The Hibernia, Terra Nova, White Rose and Hebron oil fields, offshore eastern Newfoundland, contains almost 30% of Canada’s conventional established oil reserves.

Transforming from a poor province to a lucrative and esteemed oil haven, Newfoundland now boasts a booming economy, pristine and safe lifestyle and all the comforts of Canadian living. That emergence was not an easy ride for the people of Newfoundland, yet it became possible with the leadership of the most powerful and significant leader in Newfoundland history - the current reigning Premier, Danny Williams.

Danny Williams, born in 1949, is the ninth Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and has faithfully served the people of the province since 2003. Prior to Danny’s premier leadership role, he was an incredibly successful lawyer and businessman. Danny practiced law from 1972, and was appointed to the Queen’s Counsel in 1984.

Danny led a consortium of business people that was granted one of Newfoundland’s first cable television licenses and started the company “Avalon Cablevision”. Through major acquisitions and the very early adoption of the Internet ISP business, Danny built Cable Atlantic into one of the largest communications companies in Atlantic Canada.

As the principal owner, he sold the telecommunications portion of the business for $76 million dollars in April, 2000 to GT Group Telecom.

Eight months later, the cable TV portion of Cable Atlantic was sold to Rogers Cable Inc. for $152 million in November, 2000. In the interest of a little downtime and business on the green, Danny opened three golf courses in Eastern Newfoundland. The Oil and Gas Magazine was founded in St. John’s, Newfoundland some 20 years ago. Today it has offices in Calgary, Alberta, which has the 2nd largest oil reserves in the world, and offices in the Middle East which has the largest oil and gas reserves in the world. With its global presence and readership, it seems fitting that Danny should give us his views on the energy industry, its impact on our province and, perhaps, a sneak peek at his goals and aspirations for leadership in the future. Here’s what Danny had to say.

The Interview:

The OGM: Where do you see the future of oil and gas projects offshore and on land in Newfoundland and Labrador?
Danny Williams: The province is enjoying high levels of activity both onshore and offshore. The Provincial Government’s 2007 Energy Plan: Focusing Our Energy was a very important milestone. Given the vast energy resource riches of this province and the tremendous potential for the future, the plan provides a holistic approach that strategically positions the province for the long term. With our numerous sedimentary basins having oil and gas potential and an open and transparent land management system and competitive fiscal systems, we remain attractive to companies wishing to replace their reserves. Newfoundland and Labrador is currently enjoying high levels of exploratory drilling activity in many offshore basins. While the attention to the richness of the Jeanne d’Arc Basin continues, wells have been drilled in the Flemish Pass and Laurentian basins, with a second well planned for the deep water Orphan Basin later this spring. The 2010 Call for Bids has another two parcels available in the prolific producing Jeanne d’Arc Basin.

We also have a great future as it relates to natural gas development. Discovered resources of 10.9 trillion cubic feet and the potential for another 60, will provide a sound basis for developing a natural gas industry here. We have world-renowned expertise in cold-ocean environment and we continue to promote the potential of Labrador gas and look forward to Labrador becoming a vibrant part of the province’s oil and gas industry.

The onshore area in the western region of the province has several basins with significant oil and gas potential. These basins are lightly explored and the recent drilling that has occurred has resulted in one light oil discovery and several significant gas shows, including measurable gas flows to surface. Marking a significant step for the future development of our onshore oil and gas resources is Nalcor Energy’s recent three-well exploration program in the Parsons Pond area. Nalcor Energy is currently drilling the Seamus #1 as part of the drilling program. As a government, we are facilitating new investment; we are supporting local Industry; we are telling the world very clearly that we are open for business.

The OGM: Where do you see the future of oil and gas developments for Canada?
Danny Williams: While the more mature Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin has a balance of conventional, unconventional and oil sands projects, the more lucrative conventional resources are in decline. Buoyed by forecasts of rising oil prices, oil sands production in Western Canada will be a mainstay for Canada’s petroleum industry for many years. Recent announcements by many of the oil sand operators indicate that some of the development activity that was put on hold with the decline in oil prices in 2009 will be revisited in the short term. The scope of this development activity is huge and will result in significant employment and development benefits to the region.

Developments in the unconventional field, including shale gas, will see increased activity onshore both on the east and west coast of Canada. Recent announcements by Apache Corporation and Southwestern Energy will see enhanced exploration activity in Eastern Canada. New shale developments are being undertaken in Western Canada (British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan) and companies continue to acquire acreage in new and existing areas. Some analysts are of the view, however, that significant challenges lay ahead related to well costs, well productivity and environmental concerns related to the techniques utilized.

Canada’s North has a wealth of natural gas resources, but is presently challenged by lack of infrastructure. The petroleum industry has recently focused attention on Greenland, which the United States Geological Survey ranks as one of the world’s most potentially prolific hydrocarbon jurisdictions. Intense seismic surveying has been ongoing in West Greenland, and an exploration drilling program is planned by Cairn Energy this summer. Drilling success in Western Greenland, particularly in the case of a new oil discovery, will significantly invigorate exploration interest in the geologically similar offshore Labrador region. The future of oil and gas development in Canada is very positive, which will ensure its position as a North American energy provider.

The OGM: What are the top three most important global energy matters right now and how should we be addressing them?
Danny Williams: Security of energy supply is perhaps one of the most important global energy issues we currently face. With declining non-renewable resources, we need to ensure that we develop the technologies and infrastructure necessary to meet the growing global energy demand.

Newfoundland and Labrador is in a unique position with regards to contributing to the North American security of supply and plays an important role in addressing this issue. Our province has a vast endowment of rich and diverse natural resources including: oil, natural gas, hydro, wind, uranium and other energy resources, making us a true Energy Warehouse.

Per capita, our province is one of the largest petroleum producers in the world. Our discovered oil resources to date totals almost three billion barrels, with more than 6 billion barrels currently undiscovered. In 2008, we produced over 125 million barrels of oil from our three producing oil fields – Hibernia, Terra Nova, and White Rose – all of which was exported to North America. Needless to say, our province certainly contributes to a secure energy supply for North America. However, due to the non-renewable nature of the resource, the production of our discovered oil resources will steadily decline over the next 20 to 30 years. Therefore, it is crucial that we tap into our vast wealth of undiscovered oil to ensure the security of our energy supply for the next generation, as well as develop our non-renewable resources. Renewable forms of energy must be developed to ensure indefinite energy security.

Climate change is another important global energy issue that we currently face. Although climate change is one of the biggest and most urgent global challenges, it also presents opportunities to move towards a low-carbon economy, create new jobs and develop new technologies.

The central theme of our 2007 Energy Plan is the transformation of our considerable non-renewable resource endowment into a sustainable economy powered by renewable, clean energy. Much of this will be available to export to our neighbors in North America to help them grow their economies while meeting their climate change mitigation goals.

Newfoundland and Labrador has a lot to offer in the battle against climate change. At present, 85 per cent of the power Newfoundland and Labrador consumes is generated from hydro developments. We also export over 5,000 MW of stable, clean, green, renewable hydroelectricity. In total, we have almost 18,000 MW of developed and waiting to be developed green, renewable hydro power. Our Lower Churchill hydroelectric project alone has 3,000 MW ready to be developed. Using coal-fired generation as a comparison, 3,000 MW would reduce GHG emissions by 16 million tonnes. This is also equivalent to taking 3.2 million cars off the road.This clean power could be exported to other regions of Canada and the United States to displace carbon intensive generation.

The OGM: Do you feel that wind and solar energy are viable alternatives for Canada?
Danny Williams: We believe wind and solar energy are viable alternatives for Canada and both are important to address Canada’s growing demand for green power. Wind energy, in particular, has become more cost-effective as new technologies become commercially available. This is good news for Newfoundland and Labrador as we have an almost limitless endowment of wind energy with an estimated 5,000 MW of undeveloped wind potential. According to the Canadian Wind Energy Atlas, Newfoundland and Labrador has the most attractive wind speed map in North America. Average wind speeds in the range of eight to nine meters per second are commonplace.

The province currently has two wind farms in operation and is looking to develop its wind resources on a large- scale in conjunction with the Lower Churchill Project. The intermittent nature of wind power can be offset by reliable hydropower, making a combination of these two sources of clean energy attractive. This will have a great impact on other jurisdictions in Canada as the demand for clean sources of energy rises. Solar energy is one of several alternative forms of energy that has an important role to play in Canada’s future energy mix. To date, solar technology has not advanced to the stage of becoming cost- effective on a commercial scale. However, with continuing R&D, solar has the potential to become technologically and economically feasible and could certainly supplement Canada’s renewable energy portfolio in the future.

The OGM: In terms of leadership what do you feel are the most powerful characteristics our business people should possess in order to be successful?
Danny Williams: In terms of leadership, there is nothing more important than having a strong passion and unwavering belief in the purpose and core values of your business. Whether in politics or an oil and gas company, having a strong leader is critical for success. If you do not believe in your organization and its purpose, it is impossible to convince those around you to provide the necessary drive and determination needed for success. In addition, all great leaders must possess a high level of integrity and the ability to motivate and inspire others. But most important of all, good leaders have great teams. I have always believed strongly in surrounding myself with competent, skilled and passionate people.

I once heard a John Welsh quote that resonates and clearly demonstrates the role of effective leadership. “Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.” It is imperative leaders possess a solid vision and have exceptional communications skills to ensure their vision is conveyed to the members of their organization. Finally, there must be an inherent ability to undertake risk based on good research and sound economic principles.

The OGM: You have been hailed as the most important leader that Newfoundland has ever had based on your stellar results. Would you consider broadening that leadership to be the next Prime Minister of Canada?
Danny Williams: I am honoured and flattered by these comments and the level of support I have received within my home province as well as from other Canadians, especially considering all of the great leaders Newfoundland and Labrador have been blessed with. When I entered politics in April 2001, I did so because I was tired of seeing the mistakes and repeated giveaways that plagued our history as a province. I was determined to make a difference, to turn around our provincial economy, someday securing “have” status for Newfoundland and Labrador.

Back in 2001, our province was in a state of turmoil. Newfoundland and Labrador was deemed the poorest province in the country with insurmountable debt, rampant out-migration of our young people, crumbling infrastructure, severely under-funded pension plans and the highest level of unemployment in Canada. I deeply loved and believed in Newfoundland and Labrador, a province that had given me so much, and I wanted to give something back. Change was desperately needed, and I felt I could provide the sound leadership necessary to turn our provincial economy around. I could no longer sit back and let others determine our provinces, future. We needed to be masters of our own destiny.

I can say with certainty that my political ambitions do not go beyond Newfoundland and Labrador. My sole purpose for entering politics has been to make Newfoundland and Labrador a better place to live, work, and raise a family. I am happy in my decision to enter into public life, proud of what we have accomplished, particularly achieving “have” status, but I have to say my focus is and will remain on Newfoundland and Labrador.