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Low global oil prices not halting flow of workers into Lac La Biche area—yet

Northeastern Al ber ta hasn’ t ceased to be a destination of choice for people seeking employment, even as the global prices of oil tumble and economists predict the province’ s most profitable industry will take a hit.
One of the main oilsands plants north of Fort McMurray. Low oil prices have spurred fears of a slowdown in Alberta’s most lucrative industry, but people in the know are
One of the main oilsands plants north of Fort McMurray. Low oil prices have spurred fears of a slowdown in Alberta’s most lucrative industry, but people in the know are saying there’s still plenty of work to go around.

Northeastern Al ber ta hasn’ t ceased to be a destination of choice for people seeking employment, even as the global prices of oil tumble and economists predict the province’ s most profitable industry will take a hit.

How that will affect the local economy is a question on the minds of most in the region.

In September, Nor wegian company Stat oil announced that it plans to postpone developing some of its holdings northwest of Conklin, saying the time for embarking on new extraction projects just isn’ t right.

That strategy of “maintaining rather than going all in” is becoming more widespread in Alberta’ s oil industry as extractors large and small adjust to new realities, speculates one of the thousands of oilsands workers who have called northern Alberta home over the last several years.

Jarrett Arsenault, a former rig worker for Nabors Drilling, says smaller operations are feeling the pinch more than their larger cousins and there’ s less exploration being done as more extractors in the region concentrate on the projects they’ ve already committed to.

Even so, he says, prospective workers don’ t have much reason to worry about there being no places for them in the adapting industry.

“There is (a slowdown) overall, but it depends on where you’ re going and what you’ re looking for,” he said. “There’ s still a lot of work out there.”

Fiona Blood, a career and employment consultant at the Alberta Works office in Lac La Biche, says she hasn’ t noticed any drops in the number of people coming to this area to find work.

Many of the people coming are seeking camp work, she says, so a job fair exclusively for those types of occupations was held in Wandering River on Friday and Saturday.

Alberta’ s Premier Jim Prentice is already saying the province’ s finances are in dire straits because of low oil prices taking a bite out of forecasted revenues, but how might a prolonged slowdown in the oil industry impact the Lac La Biche community?

Lac La Biche and District Chamber of Commerce president Ron Briscoe says many local businesses have pinned their hopes on a thriving oil-patch, but only time will tell how the changes to the industry will affect them.

“Lac La Biche County is oil country and we have a lot of residents who work in the oil-patch,” he said. “In particular, we have many dozens of small local contractors that count on their oil-patch contracts to maintain their staff. The new reality of lower oil prices is only a few months old and the oil industry, like an ocean liner, has a lot of momentum and takes a long time to slow down. But if the low prices stay low for a long time, it wouldn’ t surprise me if employment levels also eventually start to dip.”

On top of that, transient workers passing through the area have become part of the fabric of this community, Briscoe says.

“The County’ s 2013 municipal census showed that 26 per cent of the population-nearly 3,200 people-are temporary residents living in hotels and work camps,” he said. If those people were forced to go elsewhere to find work, then the local business scene could suffer as a result of having fewer customers and accordingly lower profits, he added.

The price of oil was at $47 per barrel at the closing of the markets last Friday. It was almost $100 per barrel a year ago.

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