Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada continues to gain recognition as the industry's prime facilitator for collaborative research and development of petroleum technology.

 "All sorts of people beat a path to our door with initiatives that they are looking to move forward," Eric Lloyd, president of PTAC, said at the group's annual general meeting. "We do what we can to facilitate those, when it makes sense for the industry and our members."

PTAC added a record 33 members in 1999 and currently boasts 135. The membership includes 29 oil and gas companies that account for about 60% of Canada's conventional production.

In 1999, PTAC hosted a record 31 technology information sessions attended by approximately 1,000 people, sponsored six workshops and forums, and issued 10 requests for proposals.

The alliance also facilitated the launch of 26 projects valued at $4.5 million. Since its inception in 1996, PTAC has facilitated 52 projects worth about $11 million. 

Of those, 18 projects have been completed and the results have been reported, although a number of the project results are proprietary to those members who paid for them.

One significant technology that was launched through PTAC is called VAPEX. An announcement is expected soon on a multi-million dollar pilot in Alberta. The successful piloting of this technology has the potential to provide an economic and greenhouse gas-friendly method of increasing bitumen and heavy oil production and reserves, noted Lloyd.

The pilot, he added, is a direct outcome of phases one and two of the VAPEX project, which were initiated through PTAC in 1998/99. These projects had 26 funding participants in total and 14 R&D suppliers.

"PTAC -- with well over 100 members and a contact list that's pushing up towards 3,000 people -- is one of the most important organizations for providing a forum to launch joint research and development initiatives," noted guest speaker Richard Luhning, chair of Coordination of University Research for Synergy and Effectiveness (COURSE).

PTAC played a key role during 1999 in the founding of COURSE, a new mechanism for funding fundamental energy related research in Alberta, which resulted in 15 new university projects initiated at the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary.

Luhning said there are three key success factors in launching joint industry R&D initiatives: a solid project proposal; the respected tradition of industry joint projects that is in the petroleum industry; and providing an organized proposal to the right audience.

As for other PTAC initiatives during 1999, Lloyd said a "significant milestone" for the group was its entry into a formal agreement with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers on an environmental R&D framework and process model for the upstream industry.

"We are now being compensated for, and are the recognized facilitator ... for environmental R&D in the industry," noted Lloyd. "We believe this will provide a number of benefits to a multitude of stakeholders."

PTAC's environmental subcommittee is its largest single technical area, with over $3.5 million in projects launched.

PTAC also moved beyond its traditional mandate of accelerating collaborative research in the conventional petroleum industry by facilitating an e-commerce initiative. The group published a business case document on e-commerce, created an e-procurement standards working group and recently issued a draft of standards.

A session on e-commerce and Internet applications in the oil and gas industry will be hosted by PTAC in late May or early June, prior to the World Petroleum Congress.

"We're really trying to accelerate the deployment of e-commerce technology in the oil and gas industry and maximize the benefit to all the stakeholders," explained Lloyd.

This year, PTAC expects to see new initiatives in: flaring; greenhouse gas and fugitive emissions; human, ecological and human health; heavy oil artificial lift; enhanced oil recovery; downhole technologies, particularly those directed towards gas; and fundamental drilling research.

Lloyd said PTAC will host in May a fundamental drilling research workshop. "Out of that, we hope to see fundamental research that is considered the most important for Western Canada identified and eventually funded and performed."

This year, PTAC will formulate an R&D priorities list strategy document for the Western Canadian industry, based on input from its members. The first two technical areas are environmental and drilling.

PTAC has also set a goal for the year of launching 25 projects for an aggregate value of $5 million.

Recently, PTAC's board of directors voted to enter into negotiations with the Gas Research Institute on a formal technology transfer function, that would be funded through FERC and GRI. "It would be focused -- if we're successful in our negotiations and the agreement -- on natural gas technologies for Western Canada," said Lloyd. 

"It has the potential to allow PTAC to facilitate far more commercialization of natural gas technologies that remain uncommercialized or have not penetrated the market in Canada," he said.