CALGARY — Alberta's energy watchdog has chosen a former oil and gas company CEO as its new boss.
Rob Morgan, who most recently led Strathcona Resources Ltd., is to take the helm starting Tuesday, the Alberta Energy Regulator said in a release Thursday.
Morgan is an engineer with four decades of oil and gas industry experience, the AER said.
The regulator said Premier Danielle Smith's United Conservative Party government has set a goal of increasing oil and gas production and accessing new markets, and the AER has a key role in that.
It said Morgan brings industry experience, skills and knowledge to help the AER "turn the page."
There has been criticism that the AER has too cosy a relationship with the industry to effectively oversee it.
But AER board chair Duncan Au told reporters the regulator's goal, set out in legislation, is to spur economic development in a responsible and efficient way.
"Somebody of Rob Morgan's stature in terms of how he spent his entire career — 40-plus years in the industry — is somebody that we need running the helm of the AER … to ensure that we meet the aspirational goals that the premier of Alberta has publicly stated to increase production in this province for all Albertans' benefit."
Morgan added that he has the expertise necessary.
"Being in an industry that I think has really demonstrated an increasing desire to work with the concerns of Albertans, whatever they may be, I think ultimately leads to a regulator that will be aligned with industry and development as well as people who might have concerns from that perspective."
The AER has also come under scrutiny for how it informed the public and local First Nations about the release of millions of litres of oilsands wastewater from Imperial Oil's Kearl mine in northern Alberta in 2022.
Morgan told reporters he knows the regulator has had a "strained" relationship with some Indigenous communities and that he'll look at ways to improve it.
"It's important for me to really understand all the issues," he said.
"There's always two sides to every story and I think it's very important to understand all the aspects before moving too quickly in a certain direction."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 13, 2025.
Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press
