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R ob Morgan’s introduction to the energy business was a summer job in the Lloydminster region in 1985, when the University of Saskatchewan chemical engineering student got up close and messy with heavy oil production at the wellhead. “My work boots got very dirty very quickly. That’s the joke about working in heavy oil around Lloydminster. Once it’s on your boots, it never comes off,” says Morgan, a Saskatoon native. “Working in the field was great because you were hands on with absolutely everything. It was just a fabulous experience.” Oil stains on his steel-toed boots were not the only thing that stuck with Morgan, who spent the next four decades working
in industry before being named CEO of the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) in February 2025. Morgan wants to apply some of his hard-earned industry wisdom at the regulator following a 2024 review of the organization by a panel appointed by Premier Danielle Smith. The panel found a need to return the regulator to its original purpose: resource conservation; orderly but continued economic growth; protection of people, communities, assets and the environment; and regulatory independence. Returning the regulator to a form closer to its legacy roots will improve Alberta’s reputation as a stable, predictable,
Working in the field was great because you were hands on with absolutely everything ”
12 SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • VOL 25 ISSUE 4
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE 13
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