Encana is a Canadian oil and gas company that’s seen its share of troubles in recent years, as oil and gas companies are wont to do. One of its wells in Colorado exploded last August, killing a worker. In 2009, the EPA found evidence that its fracking fluid was contaminating water in Wyoming. In December, we learned that Encana has a permit from the EPA to do a little aquifer polluting, prompting a bit of blowback for both company and agency.
Encana executives, therefore, will be forgiven for feeling a little frustrated. They’re just trying to drill up oil and gas and sell it at a profit while letting your lungs and the atmosphere incur the cost of the pollution, is that so wrong? So when a reporter asked executives a question they found insulting, one responded more colorfully than would be generally recommended. From Reuters:
Encana Corp, Canada’s largest natural gas producer, apologized on Thursday because one of its executives cursed after an analyst asked about whether new Canadian investment rules would prohibit its takeover by foreign state-owned entities.
When asked the question by Canaccord Genuity analyst Phil Skolnick, interim CEO Clayton Woitas said: “The answer would be no.” Then, in a whispered comment that was clearly audible on a replay of the call, someone can be heard saying, “fucking asshole.”
The good folks at Boing Boing got ahold of audio of the comment in question.
Clearly the company is obsessed with gas-filled orifices.
A fuckin’ gashole in Pennsylvania.
Of course, oil company executives being what they are, Encana is now trying to have the clip removed from the internet. From The Globe and Mail:
Encana, in its request, says:
“Encana is the copyright owner of the Recording. It was expressly stated at the outset of the Conference Call that ‘this conference call may not be recorded or rebroadcast without the express consent of Encana Corporation’,” the letter states.
“The Recording has been posted without Encana’s consent. The unauthorized use of this Recording clearly constitutes copyright infringement. … Encana views this matter extremely seriously and requests that you respond to the undersigned on or before the close of business on Friday, February 22, 2013, failing which, Encana will have no other recourse but to take all actions as may be available to it to protect its proprietary rights.”
Ha ha, oh, Encana. Clearly modern technology is not your strong suit. Demanding a clip be removed from the internet is basically equivalent to standing on top of a mountain and screaming HEY INTERNET, LISTEN TO THIS. So: Hey, internet! Listen to this audio clip, conveniently embedded above!
And, in fact, that request is basically the only reason we wrote this post. You know what members of the media are like, after all. Fucking assholes.
