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April 2004 - Issue 29 | |||||||||
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P-talk Newsletter Back to Menu PDF (240 KB) 2004 05 12 HM |
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PTAC News New Member www.ptac.org |
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In this issue . . . Drilling Drilling Innovators Launch the Minimizing Drilling Peaks and Valleys Forum and Poster Session Eco-efficient and GHG Technology Energy Conservation and Air Emissions Case Studies Forum Slated for June 15, 2004 Ottawa Announces New Incentive to Capture and Store Carbon Environment 2005 Call for Applications for ERAC Research Funding Soil and Groundwater Forum – March 23-24, 2004 Fundamental Research Nova Scotia Launches Energy Research and Development Forum and Web Site Health and Safety Infrared Driving Safety Demonstration Project Results Released Natural Gas Production Shallow Gas Well Technology Request for Proposals Oil Sands Information Technology to Boost Efficiency of Traditional Oil Sands Mining with New Research Chair R&D Funding PTAC Hosts National Research Council IRAP Advisor Upcoming Forum and Poster
Session In late November 2003, producers met to form the Drilling
Innovators Advisory Group (DIAG) to address industry needs in drilling
research and technology and to provide direction on potential new drilling
technology projects and related initiatives. Producers indicated through their survey responses that the top three technical drilling challenges were minimizing drilling peaks and valleys by extending the winter drilling season, public safety while drilling critical sour gas wells near densely populated areas, and reducing the drilling footprint using lightweight equipment. PTAC is inviting presentations and proposals to participate in the Minimizing Drilling Peaks and Valleys Forum scheduled for May 27, 2004. The focus of this event will be to identify ways to balance drilling activity throughout the year using new technology, adopting new company strategies or new government incentives. Forum participants will be offered the following opportunities:
You are welcome to email recommendations for additional topics, potential speakers, or your 150-word abstract to Arlene Merling of PTAC at amerling@ptac.org. Your proposed presentation should show how your solution solved a producer end user’s problem – a genuine case study is required. Authors will be notified of their papers' selection in late April. Paper proposals will be evaluated by the Planning Committee on the basis of their technical contribution, originality, timeliness, and applicability to the theme of the forum. Conference partnerships and a limited number of poster
presentation spaces are available. Registration details will be available on
PTAC’s web site in early May. For information on how to participate as a presenter, partner or poster session participant, please contact – Arlene Merling co-efficient and GHG Technology
Forum Rescheduled Presentations for this forum will include completed case studies or success stories in energy conservation or air emission reduction in the upstream oil and gas industry. Of particular interest are presentations that highlight new technologies or practices which resulted in economical reductions in energy and emission intensity. Additional presentations are welcome on, but not limited to, the following topics:
For more information on participating in this forum, please review the call for presentations posted on the PTAC web site at http://www.ptac.org/techeetf.html or contact –
Ralf Aggarwal
Spurring Innovative Ways to Reduce Emissions A $15 million incentive program will provide financial support to CO2 capture and storage projects. This program is intended to stimulate the growth of a Canadian CO2 capture and storage industry. Incentive funding will be used to support projects that demonstrate CO2-based enhanced resource recovery in small-scale commercial settings, and to help abate the costs of CO2 capture and storage. To be eligible, a firm must operate a project that injects CO2 from a Canadian source into a geological formation for storage and/or disposal in Canada, and demonstrate reasonable economic need for the project, (i.e. a rate of return below the industry standard of 10 to 15 percent). A single recipient can receive a maximum contribution of $5 million over the two-year program period. Eligible expenditures are defined as up to 50 percent of the cost of capital equipment and all other direct expenses required for capturing, compressing, transporting and injecting CO2. To see the news release and backgrounder, please visit this link: www.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/media/newsreleases/2004/2004-X2_e.htm.
More information on this incentive is available at
www.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/media/newsreleases/2004/2004-X2_e.htm
or contact – Environment Call for Funding Applications The petroleum industry plays an important role in sponsoring environmental research in Canada. The upstream oil and gas industry has a long record of initiating and funding studies that offer practical, cost-effective solutions to environmental issues. The Environmental Research Advisory Council (ERAC) is seeking applications for the 2005 funding cycle for projects that are of focused interest to industry. ERAC is part of the upstream oil and gas industry's Board Industry Initiatives (BII) fund. BII funds are generated through an Alberta well levy, collected on behalf of The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) and Small Explorers and Producers Association of Canada (SEPAC) by the Energy and Utilities Board (EUB). The selection of projects for funding follows a close examination by a panel comprised of three Governors of CAPP and a Director of SEPAC. The selection criteria ensures the projects funded have an Alberta focus and that the Broad Industry Initiative (BII) funding mechanism is not the only source of funding for each initiative. In 2004, ERAC funded over $1 million in environmental research projects. CAPP’s 2005 priorities are to identify cost-effective ways to meet the following goals:
PTAC has been contracted to facilitate this program and is neutral in the ERAC process. ERAC funds are distributed with direction from CAPP and SEPAC as part of their commitment to improving environmental, safety and health performance of their member's operations. To be approved for funding, projects must provide science-based solutions to current and emerging environmental issues that are critical to the industry. This fund is for research projects only, not technology development. The deadline for applications is May 28, 2004, and the application form is available online at www.ptac.org/links/eracappl04.html. For more information on this process, read the following document: Framework and Process Model for Collaborative Environmental Research and Technology Development (R&D) in the Western Canadian Oil and Gas Industry on the PTAC web site at www.ptac.org/links/dl/erac0201p.pdf.
For more information, please contact – Successful Forum In addition to two full days of industry and government presentations, 16 projects were featured at the poster session. To view the presentations and the poster abstracts, please visit PTAC’s web site at www.ptac.org/techenvf.html. For more information, please contact – Fundamental Research Upcoming Forum An Energy Research and Development (R&D) Forum is slated for May 13-14, 2004 at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia Department of Energy and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (Nova Scotia), with support from Petroleum Research Atlantic Canada (PRAC), are sponsoring the Energy R&D Forum as a means to advance another major component of its Energy Strategy. The Energy R&D Forum will bring together researchers, industry and government to explore research underway today in the broad field of energy R&D that applies to Nova Scotia and the opportunities for research in the future. The foundation of a successful forum will be the linkages, partnerships and sharing of ideas that will emerge from this two-day event. In addition, a new energy-related research and development web site has been released. The site (www.energyresearch.ca) provides a database with information on researchers in Nova Scotia and their area of study. More than 100 researchers have registered already, making the site a valuable tool for quickly connecting to a large group of experts. The energy sector faces many challenges and many of the solutions will come through research and development. From climate change to offshore energy growth to electricity, renewable energy and conservation, the Energy R&D Forum will identify ways to work together, become more competitive, and build our capacity to develop state-of-the-art research and development. To register, or for more information, visit the Energy R&D
Forum web site online at
www.energyresearch.ca/forum2004 or contact – Health and Safety
Field Test Results The technology tested offered an 11 degree field of view;
however, participants felt that a 30 to 45 degree field of view was needed.
Participants also felt the distance range was more than adequate and could
be reduced if necessary to gain a wider field of view. Infrared driving
safety technology suppliers should contact PTAC when they have wider field
of view technology available for demonstration. One operator reported that the technology prevented a head-on collision with another vehicle during the demonstration period. Another noted that the technology provided longer reaction time on several occasions to avoid wildlife. Some operators found the technology worked in fog, while one found it did not. Several operators commented that it would be beneficial if the technology provided a non-distracting audible tone when the unit sensed warm objects. Company representatives are also interested in ensuring that this technology is integrated with other new technologies and current systems that are provided to vehicle drivers. The participants agreed this project was a valuable exercise and decided to create a PTAC facilitated Driving Safety Working Group with a focus on technology, innovation and sharing of experience and best practices. The next meeting is scheduled for May 18, 2004. For more information on the JIP, please visit PTAC’s web site at www.ptac.org/techhasf.html. For information please contact – Natural Gas Production New RFP Shallow Gas Well Technology Request for Proposals PTAC formulated and distributed a Request for Proposals (RFPs) for Shallow Gas Well Technology to Lift Liquids (2004-NG-01) as a direct result of the Enhanced Gas Producer Technology Working Group meeting held on March 3, 2004. The needs outlined in the RFP were identified as priorities for the oil and gas industry in 2004. It has been determined that Western Canadian natural gas producers have considerable unrealized production and reserves due to produced water associated with shallow gas wells. To resolve this loss, producers are looking for cost effective technologies to lift produced water in wells. RFP 2004-NG-01 was released March 17, 2004 and asked potential funders and suppliers to submit an Expression of Interest Form by the end of March. Visit www.ptac.org/techgasr.html to view updates as well as specific conditions and requirements.
For more information on these RFPs, please contact – Oil Sands
New Research Chair A five-year Research Chair employing information and communications technology to improve oil sands mining was established by the federal government at the University of Alberta (U of A) in early April. The research team will be led by Dr. Hong Zhang, a computing science professor at the U of A, who was awarded an NSERC/iCORE Syncrude/Matrikon Industrial Research Chair in Intelligent Sensing Systems. Several challenges in oil sands mining will be tackled by using information and communications technologies to remotely monitor and improve the performance of oils sands operations. A 40 megabits-per-second optical network will stream live video footage from the Syncrude mine in Fort McMurray into a lab on the third floor of Athabasca Hall at the U of A. There, researchers will analyze oil sands fragments to develop accurate measurement of their sizes so that equipment can be improved to produce less waste. Modelling of other mining activities to improve efficiency is also planned. The remote monitoring of equipment will also identify problems before they occur. The $2.25 million research chair funding breakdown is as follows: NSERC, now operating under the new name of Science and Engineering Research Canada, is contributing $800,000. The Alberta government, through the Alberta Informatics Circle of Research Excellence (iCORE) is contributing $750,000. The U of A is contributing $100,000, Syncrude is contributing $500,000, and Matrikon is contributing $250,000.
For more information, contact –
Sandra Halme
Glenn Guenther R&D Funding
PTAC Hosts IRAP Advisor On April 1, 2004, PTAC entered into an agreement to host Don Towson, an Industrial Technology Advisor (ITA) with the National Research Council's Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP).
As a key enabler within Canada's innovation system, NRC-IRAP provides Canadian SMEs with value-added technological and business advice, financial assistance and a range of other innovation assistance. For more information on IRAP, please contact – PTAC News
Contest Winner Thanks to everyone who entered the Name the Environmental Contaminants of Concern contest in the last electronic issue of P-talk. Answers were contained in the Soil and Groundwater Forum invitation posted at www.ptac.org/techenvf.html. The winner of the coveted PTAC stainless steel water bottle is: Angie Viloria. Congratulations, Angie, your prize will be mailed to you.
Arlene Merling Director, Operations
New Members Service and Supply Company
www.ptac.org
PTAC Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada Facilitating Innovation, Technology Transfer, and Collaborative Research and Development (R&D) in the Upstream Oil and Gas Industry PTAC is a not-for-profit association governed by a volunteer board of directors made up of representatives from producers, service and supply companies, research and educational institutions, inventors and government. P-talk publishes eight issues per year – alternating electronic with hard copy issues and is available through PTAC. If you would prefer not to receive the hard copy, please contact Lorie Frei of PTAC.Material may be reprinted without permission but credit would be appreciated. Contact UsPTAC 500 Fifth Avenue S.W. Calgary Alberta T2P 3L5 www.ptac.org info@ptac.org fax: (403) 920-0054
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