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Oil executives duped by impostors
calgary.ctv.ca
jsh
POSTED AT 5:44 PM Thursday, June 14
A bizarre incident occurred at the Go-Expo Energy Conference at Stampede Park on Thursday.
Organizers, and hundreds of Alberta oil and gas executives, got duped.
They expected a major announcement from a key player in the U.S.
oil industry, but what they got was a major hoax from a group known
around the world for stirring up trouble.
Attendees paid 50 dollars a head to hear a speech from the
National Petroleum Council, a group that also advises the White House
on oil and gas matters.
It was rumoured a new joint energy policy from the Canadian and American governments was coming.
Attendees say at first, the speech just seemed odd.
When the speaker began to talk about 'vivoleum', a renewable energy source nobody had ever heard of, red flags started to go up.
When the speaker and a colleague asked the audience to light
candles in memories of a deceased Exxon workers attendees and
organizers realized they'd been had.
The men weren't members of the Petroleum Council, but members
of The Yes Men, an anti-globalization activist group that travels the
world pulling pranks at corporate events.
They were featured in an award-winning documentary three years ago.
Go-Expo organizers didn't find them entertaining and neither did the security guards who threw them out.
Organizers apologized for the incident saying they were
approached by what they thought was a reputable company offering
speakers from the Petroleum Council.
The conference took them up on the offer, and after Thursday's
incident, they contacted the council directly and it confirmed it had
nothing to do with these men.
Photo courtesy of TheEnergyNews.com
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