As global demand recovers and the Canadian companies face increasing regulatory complications and cost, does it make sense for Canadian companies to operate abroad to serve global demand with O&G sourced from outside Canada? Amid the COVID 19 oil price crash, the amount of current oil and gas assets with recoverable reserves for sale globally has ballooned up to over 12.5 billion boe, according to a recent Rystad Energy report. While some companies are divesting low-priority assets, others are considering whether this may be the right time to acquire assets at a low price outside Canada. Canadian capital faces the need to seek other markets to ensure a return with the most important aspect of doing international deals  being about the relationships as well as about the finite legal terms.

As a 21-year old student, Tony lived in St. Petersburg in post-Soviet Russia and also lived in Kazakhstan for 3.5 years, after moving from Kuwait to sidestep the second Gulf War of 2003. Tony has built an impressive career in energy law, specializing in domestic and international exploration and production development. With more than two decades of international experience, Tony’s work has touched 40+ countries. His language skills in Russian, French and Italian, combined with his international petroleum sector experience make him a dynamic leader in energy law. He is called in Alberta and England, and is listed for Energy in Chambers and International Who’s Who. He is currently a board member and the Secretary of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN)

Pat Cunningham, Co-Founder, Cito Energy Group

Pat Cunningham grew up as a child in Peru. In addition to making him a native Spanish speaker, the experience gave him an authentic understanding of the Latin American region. After transitioning from operational geology into international business development, Pat steadily worked north Africa and the Middle East; including a 10-year residence in Cairo where he became fluent in Arabic. He joined Talisman during its first 6 months, running the company’s business development initiatives for over 20 years in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. Pat has negotiated with each sanctioned government in the “Axis of Evil”; Cuba, Libya, Iran and North Korea. Pat specializes in upstream and oil service business development, with an emphasis on Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa. In addition to his time with Talisman, Pat has worked for Pluspetrol, Amoco Europe and Getty Texaco. Pat’s hard and soft skill sets make him a true rarity in the market.