History

History of the Quebec Oil and Gas Association and the Annual Conference

The Quebec Oil and Gas Association (QOGA), also known as l’Association pétrolière et gazière du Québec (APGQ), was createdto encourage dialogue in Quebec about the potential of the province’s emerging oil and gas industry.

QOGA believes that Quebec’s energy resources can be developed in a secure and environmentally responsible manner and thisdevelopment can promote Quebec’s society both from an economic and environmental point of view. Our goal is to illustrate theshared interests of the people of Quebec and members of our industry.

Quebec has tremendous resources in place. As long ago as the 1500’s Jacques-Cartier fixed his ships with pitch from surface oilseeps in the Gaspe. It has never been a secret that Quebec has several oil and gas basins, all with potential for commercial oiland gas.

In the 1970’s two small natural gas fields were discovered and produced. These two fields today represent 100% of Quebec’sworking natural gas storage and are of critical strategic importance to Quebec today.

It wasn’t until 2008 that a major discovery was announced in the tight rocks of the Utica shale. While different companies claim tohave been the first, there is little doubt the Utica is a discovery of national importance to Quebec. It ignited the debate abouthydrocarbons in Quebec which has been a discussion of national importance. More recently, promising exploration operations forboth oil and gas, in many regions, have raised awareness of the need to take action in order to go into production.

The outcome of this debate, and the imminent decisions Quebec takes on the file will affect all the hydrocarbon basins and theenergy future of the province.

It has been a spirited dialogue to say the least. The Government has announced they will introduce new hydrocarbon legislationas early as spring of 2016. The QOGA annual conference has become the key focal points for this essential debate.

The QOGA Annual Conference

2015 marks the 7th year QOGA hosts its independent Annual Conference in Montreal. Before this, the industry’s annualconference was part of the annual Mining Conference in Quebec City. Industry has been holding a conference in Quebec for over30 Years.

The QOGA conference is the #1 place each year “where producers and consumers meet”. QOGA has worked tirelessly to providea program that is both informative and offers participants an opportunity to meet their counterparts to establish relationships and,hopefully, future partnerships in the development of the resource. Each year the conference has attracted several hundredparticipants. That interest in the conference continues in spite of the limited activity shows many Quebecers believe in the potentialthat oil and gas has for society.

Each year, the theme of the conference has focused on the current situation in Quebec, whether it is social license issues,investment opportunities, new technology, or regulation. To emphasize these topics, QOGA has attracted high profile speakerswhich in the past have included Sophie Brochu, former President and Chief Executive Officer of Gaz Metro, Tim McMillan, formerPresident of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), John Gorman, President of Halliburton, Ted Morton,former Minister of Energy, Alberta, and many more.

2015 promises to be one of the best Conferences to date.

With legislation due to be introduced in just a few short months, all stakeholders are eager to get together and discuss bothdevelopments over the last 12 months, as well as steps to moving forward in 2016.

Confirmed speakers include Quebec Energy and Natural Resources Minister, Pierre Arcand, Jim Ellis, President of the AlbertaEnergy Regulator and Eric Tetrault, President of Quebec Manufacturers and Exporters Association.