Crude oil futures and gas prices at the pump seem to have everyone grumbling. Everyone, that is, except the Canadians. Specifically, Canadians in the oil-rich province of Alberta. With oil trading over $100 per barrel, it's profitable to extract crude oil from the tar sands in northern Alberta. And once again, the province is enjoying an oil boom. Alberta claims to be number two in oil reserves, behind only Saudi Arabia, with 177 billion barrels versus the Saudi's 259.3 billion and more reserves than Iraq's 112.5 billion barrels.

 

Elizabeth Vivirito, Vice President of Marketing at the Bay Area World Trade Center in Oakland is working with the Canadian Consulate in San Francisco to organize an event called "Insider's Breakfast: Opportunities in Canada" on April 3^rd.

 

Vivirito says that due to rapid growth, Alberta is suffering from manufacturing and professional labor shortages, and the province's business leaders are looking south, particularly to the San Francisco Bay area for solutions. That rapid growth is the reason why Amanda Babichuck of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce is flying in to San Francisco to give the keynote address for the Insider's Breakfast. Vivirito goes on to say that Albertans are also very much interested in the greenest and most sustainable methods for extracting crude from the oil sands.

 

The Canadians are also touting business costs which are 9% lower than in the United States, the province of Alberta's $125.4 billion GDP, and the high standard of living in the greater Edmonton area. In the academic arena, the University of Alberta with over 34,000 students spins-off high-tech companies focused on biotech and petrochemicals to the 320-acre Edmonton Research Park, home to 65 companies.

 

Interested parties can register for the Insider's Breakfast from the Events section on the Bay Area World Trade Center's website at http://www.bawtc.com