Alberta's Petroleum Industry and the Conservation Board

Richard G. Kuhn is an assistant professor of geography at the University
of Guelph.

In 1938, the Alberta government created the Petroleum and Natural Gas
Conservation Board to ensure that the province’s resources were
developed to best serve the public interest. Known today as the Energy
Resources Conservation Board, this organization has not only contributed
to the development of Alberta’s petroleum industry, it has also
influenced energy politics and policy at the national level.

This book is a scholarly account of the history of the conservation
board from its inception until 1961. As David Breen notes, too many
histories of the Alberta petroleum industry have focused on the
dramatic—the roughnecks and scandals that are part of any large-scale
enterprise. What was lacking was a comprehensive analysis of the key
role played by the regulators in shaping the industry. Breen has
fulfilled this task admirably.

The book begins with a review of the essential geological, engineering,
and legal concepts and follows this with a discussion of the U.S.
experience from which early petroleum and natural gas conservation
emerged. Two general historical periods are then examined: the discovery
phase of petroleum development, which led to the 1938 legislation that
established the conservation board; and the regulatory foundations and
actions of the board up to 1961. Detailed appendices, a glossary of
major terms, and detailed notes and references are provided at the end
of this highly learned account of the conservation board, its key
players, and their influence in the political and regulatory arenas.