Speech from OPEC head to kick off Global Energy Show in Calgary

OPEC Secretary-General Haitham al-Ghais talks during the ADIPEC, Oil and Energy exhibition and conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Monday Oct. 2, 2023. Al-Ghais is to deliver a keynote address at the Global Energy Show in Calgary on June 10. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

CALGARY — More than 30,000 people from 100 countries are expected to descend on the white-collar heart of Canada’s oilpatch next week for the Global Energy Show, which is to kick off with a keynote address from the head of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

OPEC secretary-general Haitham al-Ghais is set to deliver remarks on Tuesday morning, as recent output increases from his group’s members and other producers have put pressure on global crude prices.

Among the other speakers are 20 chief executives from major Canadian and international energy companies and several political leaders, including Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.

Energy show organizers say Calgary is expecting a 30 per cent increase in hotel bookings for the conference and trade show, and that exhibition space has been increased by one fifth year-over year.

Nick Samain, senior vice-president at DMG Events, said as of two weeks before the event, pre-registrations were 78 per cent higher than last year.

He says the show is seeing a big turnaround since the oil bust of 2015 and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There’s a sense of optimism that the show really hasn’t had in a long time,” Samain said in an interview.

“Operationally, we’ve been going crazy to make sure we’ve got enough room for everybody.”

The exhibition hall in the newly refurbished BMO Centre on the Calgary Stampede grounds is to feature a record 11 country pavilions and 500 company booths.

The event was called the Global Petroleum Show until 2020, when it was rebranded to highlight the growing number of non-oil-and-gas participants in the energy space, such as nuclear and renewables firms.

Samain said at the trade show, oil and gas makes up about 70 per cent of exhibitors, with other forms of energy making up the rest.

The conference comes as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff war throws global trade into disarray, raising the prospect of a global downturn that could dampen energy demand.

The trade strife has driven calls for Canada to diversify its export markets for its energy products beyond its biggest customer, the United States, and remove some of the logjams that have prevented infrastructure from being built over the past several years. Prime Minister Mark Carney has promised to speed up and simplify the regulatory process for projects deemed in the national interest.

Samain said the show is an opportunity for people to hash out competing views about Canada’s energy future.

“We’re just big proponents of people meeting face to face,” he said. “We find when people get together at an event like this, it really does (give) the opportunity for people maybe to see a different perspective.”

A week after the Global Energy Show, another major event drawing dignitaries from abroad is to take place in a popular recreation area in the Rocky Mountains an hour west of Calgary.

Canada is to host leaders from the United States, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, Italy and the European Union at the G7 summit from June 15 to 17 in Kananaskis.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 6, 2025.

Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press