Canadian Association Of Petroleum Producers (CAPP)

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, or CAPP, is a trade organization whose members operate petroleum and natural gas interests in Canada. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers lobbies the Canadian government on issues relating to the environment, regulations and production and exploitation of oil and gas fields. The members of CAPP control 80 percent of the petroleum production in Canada.

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, or CAPP, was formed in 1992 from the combination of several different organizations, including the Canadian Petroleum Association (CPA), The Alberta Oil Operators' Association and the Independent Petroleum Association of Canada (IPAC). The official position statement of the CAPP is that it “provides a unified voice for the upstream petroleum industry.” Members of the CAPP control 80 percent of the upstream petroleum industry in Canada. The Canadian oil and natural gas industry produces approximately $110 billion every year.

The CAPP has been involved in several high-profile controversies, including backing the Keystone XL pipeline and promoting hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

The Keystone XL pipeline is a $7 billion project expanding a pipeline that cuts across North America through Canada and the United States to deliver oil from oil fields in Alberta all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. Proponents of the pipeline claim that it is a cost-efficient way to access and deliver oil to be processed and made available to sell. Opponents of the pipeline include environmental organizations that are concerned about the harmful effects of the construction of the pipeline as well as of leaks from the operation of the pipeline, Native American and First Nations people whose land is disproportionately being annexed to host the pipeline and groups committed to economic equity for nations that do not have access to crude oil and are victims of price inflation from oil-rich nations.

Fracking is the process of forcing pressurized chemicals and water into water tables and aquifers to access underground oil reserves. Proponents of fracking claim that it is a relatively harmless way to access valuable underground reserves of oil without having to drill through the surface of the earth and set up wells. Opponents of fracking point to environmental studies that find that the chemicals and contaminated water run into the aquifers and water tables and further contaminate groundwater, making it dangerous for humans and animals to consume the groundwater and for crops to be grown in these areas.