CARRIE KELLY
The Pipeline
Things are decidedly more rosy for gas drillers than they have been in the recent past — a good jumping off point for the Canadian Society of Unconventional Gas (CSUG) 10th annual conference. 
“In the last year, there has been significant growth and interest in unconventional gas across Canada,” said Mike Dawson, CSUG president. The theme of the conference is Unconventional Gas Blooming in Canada.

“Gas prices are fairly strong at the present time. The dynamics of the natural gas industry in Canada are changing. Natural gas is going to be the primary hydrocarbon energy source for North America,” he said.
The Unconventional Gas Conference takes place Nov. 19 to 21 at the Telus Convention Centre in Calgary.
The main themes will focus on the growth of the unconventional industry, as well as the technologies that have enabled the resources to become commercially viable and led to a resurgence of the natural gas sector in Canada. Even Quebec and the Maritimes have seen a revival of natural gas in Canada, Dawson said.
People are also recognizing that natural gas is by far the greenest form of the fossil fuels, he continued.
“We have a lot of technical presentations that are dealing with very topical issues and dealing with shale gas at the present time,” he said.
Case studies on the Horn River Basin and Montney Region will be presented.
Keynote speakers for the event include Murray Smith, energy advisory board with TD Securities; former Alberta representative to Washington DC and former Minister of Energy for Alberta talking about the political landscape in the U.S. 
Peter Tertzakian, chief energy economist and managing director of ARC Financial Corp and author of A Thousand Barrels A Second will discuss the changing world of natural gas.
“Friday morning we have invited the regulators from a number of provinces to talk about how they are supporting this resource development. It’s a chance to find out where the politicians heads are at,” Dawson explained.
In addition to the presentations, several opportunities for networking have been scheduled. There are lunches set for two days and a networking gala scheduled for Nov. 19.
Last year, the conference sold out with about 1,100 delegates and attendance is expected to be even greater this year. Engineers, geologists, management and CEOs from Canada, the United States, India, China, Europe and Australia are expected to attend.
For more information on the 10th annual conference and to find out how to register, visit www.csug.com.