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Consultations on Services Trade Negotiations
Online Questionnaire for Canadian Businesses
Oil and Gas Services
Background Information
In 2000, Contract Drilling, Equipment, and Services accounted for 1.4% of GDP and industry revenues were estimated at $15 billion. In 1998, this sector represented 1% of GDP and industry revenues were estimated at $5.4 billion of which $3 billion was generated from exports. According to analysis by Industry Canada, a growth of 12 to 13% in Canadian exports is anticipated over the next five years.
The oil and gas equipment and services sector in Canada employs over 51,000 people. For this sector, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are dominant in geological exploration, drilling, firefighting and emergency control services on oil fields, instrumentation and control servicing, valve servicing, pipeline integrity inspection, oil spill control and remediation of environmentally damaged areas.
Definition of sector in the GATS
The classification system that is used in the GATS by most WTO members, divides Oil and Gas Services into the following five categories:
- Technical testing and analysis services, including quality control and inspection;
- Services incidental to mining;
- Toll-refining services - oil;
- Related scientific and technical consulting services;
- Pipeline transport of fuel.
What We Heard in Previous Consultations
Priority Markets
The National Trade Team Canada - Oil and Gas Equipment and Services - identified the first tier markets as priority markets. The second tier represented markets where Canadian corporations were involved already and the third tier ones were other markets of potential highlighted because of natural resources available.
First tier: United States, Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, China, Brazil, United Arab Emirates, Russian Federation, Kazakstan, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Algeria.
Second tier: United Kingdom, Libya, Australia, Indonesia, India, Norway, Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Qatar.
Third tier: Cuba, Bolivia, Colombia, Iraq, Kuwait, Nigeria, Oman, Guatemala, Turkey.
Market Access Barriers
Obstacles to trade identified in past consultations have included the following:
- Absence of transparency for regulations and licensing (e.g. India, Russian fed., Venezuela);
- Restrictions on the temporary entry and stay of energy services managers, professionals and experts;
- Restrictions on the entry of equipment / tools;
- Restrictions on the repatriation of profits (e.g. Cuba, Venezuela, Russian fed.);
- Import and export restrictions (Russian fed., Venezuela, Argentina);
- Discrimination in favour of suppliers from other countries (Venezuela, Russian fed., Australia);
- Arbitrary application of regulations (e.g. Russian fed., China, Mexico);
- Arbitrary business and licensing requirements (India, Indonesia).
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