Corporate Vision May 2017

42 CORPORATE VISION / May 2017 , Turnstone Strategy Inc. provides guidance on oil and gas pricing trends through its ground- breaking Systems approach and cyclical methodology. We speak to founders Gil Dawson and Duncan Robertson about the company’s inception and what it has to offer in the wake of it being awarded the title of Best Independent Energy Consultancy – Alberta. Uncovering Hidden Value It was the early 1990s and Gil Dawson, a geophysicist, was working with Amoco Corporation as a production manager overseeing a complex offshore oil joint venture project in the North Sea. During his five-year tenure, he watched his employer build two offshore production facilities at the top of the industry’s cost cycle only to bring them on line and into production at the bottom of the revenue cycle. Frustrated by a lack of reliable commodity price forecasting, Dawson’s search for a solution began to sow the seeds for what would become one of the most unique energy consulting firms in North America. Thousands of kilometres away in Calgary Alberta, Duncan Robertson, a geologist, was working with Petro Canada, one of Canada’s largest energy companies, as director of research, technology development and technical services. In 1996, he left Petro Canada to run a small oil and gas company and launch a management consulting firm. A year later Dawson and Robertson found themselves working together as consultants under the umbrella of KPMG LLP’s energy advisory practice. Over the course of the next year they began to build common ground on a new way of looking at how to predict the ups and downs of crude oil and natural gas pricing trends. In 1999, they established the energy advisory practice SBM Inc. and in 2014 changed the name to Turnstone Strategy Inc. Dawson, with his dedicated approach to analysing huge volumes of data and information, and years of experience in technical, managerial and consulting roles in exploration and production, and Robertson, with years of experience in strategic planning, change management and technology management, pooled their expertise to create the methodology, analytical tools, and techniques that underpins the foundation of their business today - the Cyclical System’s Approach. “We don’t believe there has ever been a more important time to understand price trends in the global oil and gas industry then today. We are seeing increasing volatility. Understanding what is fact and what is only ‘noise’ about where energy prices are going and why, is vital information in order to understand where and how to invest, and how to plan your business activities,” says Robertson. Turnstone Strategies’ approach to crude oil and natural gas price trend shifts is ground breaking. The goal is to use meticulous research and analysis to provide clients with advice and information on what part of the commodity cycle they are in – whether supply is rising and demand is declining or vice versa -- what strategies and tactics they should employ to realise sufficient returns on their investment, where to make the best investment, and how to protect existing investments. Unlike many of its competitors, Turnstone Strategy provides independent advice; it is not selling anything. The firm focuses on what’s known as cyclical arbitrage – that is taking advantage of commodity price differences between two or more markets so clients can get a significant return on their investment over recurring commodity cycles. “Having worked in the oil and gas industry for years, we have experienced the harsh sting of bad data and information first hand. We are unapologetically passionate and proud of providing the best, most complete and most objective, independent analysis possible regarding commodity price trends,” says Robertson. What sets Turnstone Strategy apart is its methodology that identifies and times the commodity supply and demand cycles and their effect on commodity prices. It also integrates what Turnstone calls ‘Sentiment’ which is the Market’s view of future fundamentals as imbedded into today’s price, and how it impacts oil and gas price volatility. “Sentiment is vitally important because it’s what the markets can act on – it’s about human behaviour, what people are thinking and feeling about where the energy industry and prices are going, what they think will be the supply and demand for oil and gas, and can ignore the actual fundamentals of supply and demand to predict prices,” says Dawson. CB170018