Quote:
Originally Posted by Regorium
Wait, I don't really understand your point here. Isn't the whole point that Exxon DOESN'T have the resources because of our regulations against monopoly? I mean, I agree with you that if Exxon was as big as CNOOC and left unchecked, they'd be absorbing companies left and right, but the main point is that they can't do that.
The chinese governmental companies, on the other hand, are allowed to do that. This means that they're not playing by the same rules. It's just fact, not "a load of crap".
Finally, while I would argue against monopoly, I would also argue against foreign government companies (monopolies in their own countries) being allowed to take over all of our domestic companies, and their assets/natural resources. I'm not smart enough to reconcile the two and provide a solution, but I hope you see my point. Perhaps if our "way" and our "culture" ends up with us getting swallowed up by foreign companies, we should rethink it before it's too late.
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Well, CNOOC, Sinopec and CNPC are all seperate entities that act in competition with one another internationally. The only place they can really get away with "not playing by the same rules" would be anywhere the Chinese government writes the laws. That does not apply in Canada. So really my point is that they are playing by the exact same rules in this arena as any other company that develops these resources. These Canadian investments are only a few out of hundreds of acquisition proposals sourced from around the world that get tabled annually by the BD groups of CNOOC, CNPC and Sinopec. They have to meet financial hurdles like any other investment, the projects have to receive environmental and crown approvals like any other, they have to pay royalties and commit to management teams being made of a certain number of domestic citizens... my point is that they play by the exact same rules as anyone else in our back yard.
The deal that our government makes with these companies is a license to produce in exchange for royalties on the production. They agree that a company is allowed to develop the resource, after careful review and approval of the project, at their own cost in exchange for royalties and promised jobs for our citizens. That's it. If these projects don't go ahead, those leases and licenses expire and the government gets to sell the rights all over again. Those rights get continued if and only if royalties (and any other approval conditions) get met on an ongoing basis.
My point of contention with your statement was saying they aren't playing fair. Why? You would be happier if CNRL or Cenovus bought Nexen out instead? Exxon? Total? Shell? BP? Saudi Aramco? Repsol? Resolve? Petronas? Petrobras? Who cares who it is? All these companies have to abide by our laws no matter where they are "from"... and actually the foreign based firms end up committing to other special conditions that a Canadian based firm would not necessarily have to agree to.
In my opinion, these deals establish Canadian subsidiaries that pay provincial royalties and federal taxes. They create jobs. They end up creating entities that have the resources to develop the mega projects with greater certainty. To us, that IS a big deal. Our oil sands projects have been suffering for a long time for being under funded, under staffed, and who's leases are owned by corporate interests that are obsessed with quarterly reporting metrics. That is insanity, and frankly I think its a big part of "our culture" that could use a massive overhaul. What's wrong if we started looking at our resource as a long term benefit and invested and developed them as such?
The people who complain the most about these deals, and I am not saying you are one of them, also seem to be those who are the least educated on the circumstances.
The US is continually developing the means to supply their energy requirements on a domestic basis by developing resource plays. What that means is that Canada will lose its place as the primary oil supplier as their domestic capacity ramps up. Where does that leave us? We need to be selling to other markets.
Dare I say that a little more cross cultural exchange might even be a good thing for our nation? I might argue that in Western Canada there is a long and rich history of Chinese influence in our culture that exists already. Heck in the oil patch alone you've got Husky Energy... a major player who has been held in majority forever by Hutchinson Whampoa which has its roots in Hong Kong. There's been a "chinese" company in our backyard for decades and no one seemed to care about that. Is that because it was privately held instead of it being a foreign national?
There are a lot of people who are unaware of the degree of foreign interests in "our resource" already. Well, there are very few freehold rights that exist, and the other fact is that these stakes change hands all the time, and right now... we're hot. As a matter of fact, we're one of the hottest places on earth and it has created an absolute haven for our little bubble in the corner of the world. We had better take advantage of it while we can because it won't last forever.
Do people have an issue with the "Non-Canadian" First Nations that own and control mineral rights on reserve lands? That's resource that constantly gets developed under suspect agreements or not at all. In comparison, the Chinese are pretty damn transparent about what they are up to and more than willing to bring the cash and people that are required to the table in order to get these things going. A lot more than can be said about some of the other international majors or First Nation controlled lands...