Texas-based ConocoPhillips announced last year they were restructuring their labor force and anticipated a 20-25% reduction in overall workers.

Now, given the nature of energy policy impacts to private industry, where do you think a major oil-gas company would first consider cutting jobs.  Common sense would tell you, the first regions to be reviewed would be those regions hostile to the exploitation of the product the corporation brings to market.

Thus, reductions in workforce and operational capacity are not only determined by contract leasing, but also by the regulatory environment that surrounds the business. Add the political hostility to the business sector at issue and you end up with a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Advance anti-oil/gas policy and you get less oil/gas business investment.

Oct 26 (Reuters) – ConocoPhillips has informed its staff of a reduction ​to its workforce in Canada, a ‌spokesperson for the oil and gas producer said on Monday. The reduction includes employees and ​contractors and is set to take ​place on Tuesday, the spokesperson added.

However, the ⁠Houston, Texas-based company did not disclose ​how many jobs were affected. ConocoPhillips has ​about 9,900 employees globally, according to its 2025 annual report.

“We routinely review our organization to align ​with our long-term strategy, operate safely ​and efficiently, and remain well-positioned for future opportunities,” the ‌spokesperson ⁠said. (more)

While there are many ideological factors involved in the ‘western’ political opposition to the Russian Federation as a nation, I am of the opinion that one of the significant facets is the scale and scope of Russia’s oil/gas development.

For three decades the “globalist west” have been pushing a climate change agenda under various catch-names, manipulative narratives and false claims.  From “global warming” to “build back better” the entire construct was based on a fraudulent premise of planet saving.

The real objective of the ‘climate change’ movement was to create an overarching thesis that justified a small number of elite power centers to manage a larger global population.

From that perspective the promotion of climate change as a religious belief system takes on a new dimension.

Overlay OPEC+, and specifically an energy powerhouse like the Russian Federation that refuses to be controlled by those western elites, and suddenly the scale of vitriol toward Russia makes sense.

As an example, we often hear of how the various “western” nations as a group stopped financing, building and growing oil refining capacity (ie. gasoline). However, what is never discussed is now Russia never participated in that agenda.

Factually, Russia took the opposite approach and expanded their refining capabilities…. thinking, as a leadership nation independent from western finance, that refined product demand would not diminish as fast as the ‘western elites’ were claiming it would.

Put that aspect into the discussion and the exploits of Zelenskyy against Russian refining capacity takes on a larger perspective.

The same ‘western elites’ who organized the justification for economic control around ‘clean energy’ are the same ‘western elites’ supporting Zelenskyy’s targeting operation of Russian refineries.