Canadian Lawyer InHouse

JANUARY/ FEBRUARY 2018 22 INHOUSE 1. WHAT BUSINESS CHALLENGES FACE YOUR COMPANY AND LEGAL TEAM FOR 2018? Our biggest current challenge is that fol- lowing a full three years of low commodity prices that brought the industry to a halt, the oil and gas industry is finally seeing some price stability. However, this brings with it expectations from some stakehold - ers that they will see immediate growth and corresponding improved operating and fi- nancial performance by companies. Given continuing commodity price un- certainty, the challenge is to manage that growth carefully to ensure industry partici- pants implement a reasonable ramp-up and don't get ahead of the commodity price- driven revenue. There was a transition a few months ago where investors suddenly turned themselves to "What do you have for growth capital, what is your capital spending going to be in 2018 and what sort of meaningful growth can you provide?" The problem with that is in conventional drilling for oil and gas that's something that can be done in a six- to eight-month turnaround, typically, but in more capital- intensive portions of the industry such as our oilsands project MEG is involved in, it isn't that kind of turnaround. We've found some ways to provide some growth on a rea - sonably prompt basis, but that's not a wide- spread opportunity. Sometimes, it actually requires the construction of processing facilities and the turnaround is longer than just doing it within the current fiscal year. But that doesn't keep those investors from wanting to see the growth and measuring companies against each other dependent upon who can provide growth the soonest. A second significant challenge is manag - ing increasing regulatory requirements for our industry, with seemingly all levels of gov- ernment and also regulators of various stripes increasing their respective oversight of the industry. Not unjustifiably, there has been a need for improved regulation in some areas. 2. WHAT ARE YOUR TOP PRIORITIES FOR THE BUSINESS UNITS YOU SERVE WHEN IT COMES TO REGULATORY AND COMPLIANCE MATTERS? Both as a company and as an industry, there is a drive toward being more open and trans- parent about the actual environmental im- pacts of our businesses, which in part is being fuelled by increased regulatory requirements and expanding disclosure demands. It has become apparent that the industry as a whole has not done a very good job of explaining its business, the benefits it pro - vides locally and nationally and the impor- tant technical advances that have been made in recent years that have greatly reduced and continue to reduce the environmental impact of the industry. As a result, the in- dustry has become a lightning rod for the concerns voiced by those with unfa- vourable views of the industry. To accomplish greater disclosure, however, requires material changes internal to the company. First, it requires a thorough collection, organization and assembly of data necessary to provide more fulsome disclosure. Some of that data may not have been publicly available in prior years and may require significant discussion to determine the advantages and risks of such disclosure, and then how to make the disclosure understandable for non-experts. Second, it requires a change in mindset to foster a willingness to talk not only about successes but, importantly, about the challenges facing the company and the industry. In some cases, that shift in mindset may only be achieved with strong encouragement from the board and/ or senior management. 3. IS CYBERSECURITY A PRIORITY FOR YOUR DEPARTMENT? Cybersecurity is a priority for the board of directors, company management and cer- tainly for departments such as the finance and legal teams. However, oversight of the preventative strategy and issue response plans are not in the hands of any one de - partment but are instead managed by a multi-disciplinary team. We don't have the same exposure that other businesses would such as retailers in this area. Grant Borbridge Senior vice president legal & general counsel MEG Energy Size of department: Seven lawyers Time in the role: Five years

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