The Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada is seeking new and better ways to develop Western Canadaıs conventional fields. A Calgary-based group has been formed to help ensure the long-term viability of a conventional petroleum industry that, not long ago, appeared destined for a permanent decline. The Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada (PTAC) was launched last spring to encourage the somewhat novel idea of collaboratively developing technology in Canadaıs conventional upstream oil industry. It all started over breakfast two years ago. The Vice Presidents Breakfast Club ‹ an informal monthly gathering of operations and productions executives in Calgaryıs oilpatch ‹ identified a steady drop in the research and development of technology aimed at improving production from Western Canadaıs conventional petroleum fields. ³Governments were cutting back, the majors were pulling out and the juniors were essentially not doing any research,² says Allan Kiernan, P.Eng., a PTAC board member and vice-president of production with Prime West Energy Trust. ³As well, if someone came to you with an idea, you often wouldnıt know if it was a good idea or if there were several parallel projects being developed independently. Because you didnıt know which projects to fund, you didnıt fund any.² That was a dangerous trend if Canadaıs conventional oil industry wanted to remain competitive with other, worldwide petroleum fields. ³We think the future competitiveness of the conventional industry will be dependent on new technology,² says PTAC President Eric Lloyd. ³It has made the difference in the last 10 years.² Indeed, the recent development of technologies, such as horizontal drilling, has helped revive a conventional petroleum industry that many were preparing to write off. Contrary to predictions of a continuous decline of the mature Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, the production of natural gas has instead increased while that of conventional oil has remained fairly constant. Given the further development of such things as enhanced recovery, says Mr. Lloyd, that trend should continue, considering less than 20 per cent of the original oil in place in conventinal reservoirs is considered to have been recovered.

The best way to jump-start this critical technology research, PTACıs founders feel, is through collaboration. PTACıs role is to provide a structure that brings together stakeholders ‹ including oil and gas producers, service and supply companies, government departments, universities and individuals (among them inventors) ‹ to identify research projects and pool the resources needed to carry out those projects and apply the results. This should streamline the often lengthy and cumbersome process of moving a project from concept to commercialization. But a collaborative approach will only work if the various players in a highly competitive industry relinquish the long-cherished belief that innovations should be kept secret. ³In the past, the industry felt that keeping their ideas proprietary was strategic,² says Mr. Lloyd. ³Now what is strategic is the application of ideas. Todayıs successful companies are those that are fleet of foot in applying technology to create value. In any event, you canıt keep an idea secret once itıs in operation.² PTAC has already attracted more than 45 members, principally oil companies, service suppliers and research providers, which have contributed to the allianceıs initial annual budget of $270,000. Albertaıs Department of Energy has committed in-kind office space and support services over three years, to a maximum of $100,000. While PTAC, a not-for-profit organization, will encourage and facilitate the collaborative process, it will not conduct direct research. Instead, member companies will support projects of specific interest to them. One of PTACıs first tasks was to establish eight technical subcommittees, covering such topics as production and processing of natural gas and reservoir recovery. Each subcommittee now is working to identify specific problems and find research projects to solve them. The first projects under PTACıs umbrella should be under way in the coming months. One of a series of articles on techncial societies and trade organizations in which APEGGA members play an active role.