Despite the low price of oil, which isn't poised to make a quick rebound in the foreseeable future, the Sundre Petroleum Operators Group has not lost any of its members in 2016.
“We're very fortunate that our industry members still see the value in participating with SPOG,” said Tracey McCrimmon, the group's executive director.
All of its roughly two dozen members retained their membership, she said last week during a phone interview.
“We're pretty much the same as what we've been the last number of years,” she said, adding SPOG even has one new member, a small company that sees the value in what the group does.
The benefit of being a member for a small company is even bigger than for large enterprises. For example, SPOG helps them save costs on consultation programs, she said, adding companies also value the group's relationship with the community.
SPOG's resident visit program, which has been around since the group's inception, is a service that's all about mutual aid and adds significant value for members. The group's program offers its industry partners the ability to share the expense of collecting landowners' information as required by the Alberta Energy Regulator in case of emergencies, she said.
“The benefit we bring to the table is allowing them to share that cost,” she said.
The resident visit program additionally doubles as a benefit for landowners, she said.
“Residents don't want six or seven companies coming out to collect the same information,” she said.
SPOG also froze its membership fees this year and is trying to run as lean as possible. The more value added services SPOG can invest in industry, the more the group can invest back into its programs, which in turn helps with sustainability, she said.
“We're working on some business models to see what other kinds of value added services can be introduced,” she said, adding without being able to get into details, that a new program could potentially launch in the coming months.
“That's our big priority, is how we can benefit industry this year.”
Meanwhile, SPOG understands the oil and gas industry is experiencing tough times, she said.
“We really appreciate that they see the value in what we do. We'll make it our priority to help them get through these hard times and do what we can to support them,” she said.
"We're very fortunate that our industry members still see the value in participating with SPOG."Tracey McCrimmonexecutive director
