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| WHO LEADERSHIP BOARD Richard Luhning (Chair) President, Arkril Enterprises, Director, Petroleum Industry Technology Institute (PITI) Richard Rodgers Eric Lloyd John Clark Bob Mitchell Rich Kerr Dave Devenny Roger Bailey Roger Smith Ron Kratochvil Dick Peter Bill Graham David Lynch Sieghard Wanke Steven Dew Len Bruton Martin Kirk Michael Boorman Donald Lawton Gordon Moore |
NOVEMBER 1999 - ISSUE 1 Back to COURSE main menu WHAT WHAT IS COURSE? COURSE is a new (1999) initiative between the energy resources industry, Alberta universities and Alberta government to increase and focus the amount of fundamental research being conducted at Universities in Alberta related to the energy resources industry.
Funding is provided by the Ministry of Alberta Innovation and Science through the Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority (AOSTRA). An undertaking has been provided to the COURSE Leadership Board that there will be a substantial phased increase in the availability of funding support for university research projects which have direct Industry involvement and interest. The funding of the research projects at the universities will be selected and administered by COURSE. COLLABORATION AND COORDINATION Stimulated by COURSE, a joint venture has been formed between the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary, with AOSTRA funding for startup, called PITI – Petroleum Industry Technology Institute. PITI manages the COURSE initiative. PITI will also promote increased collaboration between the two universities to provide combined teams of researchers to service energy resources industry research needs. Offices have been established at both universities for COURSE and PITI. Richard Luhning is the Director of PITI and the Chair of the COURSE Leadership Board. WHEN COURSE began operations in March 1999 with rapid start-up as follows:
MEMBERSHIP
If you are interested in becoming a COURSE member or in receiving this newsletter, please fill out the "Membership/Newsletter Fax Back" form near the bottom of this page and fax it to Richard Luhning at 403 289-1988. HOW COURSE does not have preset rules for industry participation in COURSE funded projects. The general guidelines for industry participation are as follows:
NEW PROJECTS COURSE STARTS $2.6 MILLION 15 new projects started, and COURSE received 59 applications for funding
at the first competition in June 1999. Fifteen projects with a total value of $2.6 million
were selected to begin in September 1999 at Alberta universities. COURSE provided $1.5
million in funding, industry provided $657,000, with the remaining $443,000 from NSERC,
work-in-kind and other sources. This represents the largest number of cooperative oil The 15 new projects are described to the below. If the reader wants more information on a specific project – fax Richard Luhning at COURSE (403) 289-1988, with your name, phone and fax numbers, or contact the researcher directly. ENVIRONMENTAL Gas Plant Remediation Remediation strategies will be developed and tested for in situ degradation of amine and glycol contamination at a former sour-gas plant site. Furthermore, non-invasive geophysical techniques will be evaluated for monitoring remediation progress. Contact: Dr. Carl Mendoza, A Technique to Identify and Quantify NMHC and Aerosol Emissions from Individual Oil and Gas Reservoirs A new technique is available to measure aerosol content in oil and gas, which may provide a method to identify the source of fugitive emissions for more rapid and definite identification. Contact: Dr. A.L. Norman, SEISMIC/EXPLORATION Seismic Velocity Imaging of the Steen River Crater: Technique Development for Exploring Crater Reservoirs The project will investigate the properties of the Steen River Crater, largest in Alberta and currently producing oil and gas, to assist in the search for other craters. Contact: Assoc. Prof. Alan
Hildebrand, UPGRADING Bio-upgrading for Heavy Crude Quality Improvement Biological upgrading of heavy oil will be investigated with selected fungi and bacteria collected from field operations and grown in the laboratory. Contact: Dr. Murray R. Gray, CONVENTIONAL OIL/GAS & EOR Increasing Gas/Oil Recovery from Naturally Fractured Reservoirs with Water Coning Problems: Process Understanding and Field Applications Water coning causes excessive water production in oil and gas wells, which accelerate in naturally fractured reservoirs. The project will investigate the basic physical mechanisms of the water coning. Contact: Dr. Mehran
Pooladi-Darvish, PLANT OPERATIONS Mitigation of Harmonic Distortions in Oilfield Electrical Distribution Systems The use of variable frequency drive motors (typically pump jacks) cause the generation of harmonic currents which can damage electronic controls and exceed national standards for harmonics in power systems. The project will measure the effect in the field and develop a predictive model to control the problem. Contact: Dr. Wilsun Xu, Development of a Novel Hardfacing Material System for the Oil Sands Industry: Pseudoelastic Composites with Nanostructured Reinforcing Particles Wear is a major factor in the oil sands industry. The project will investigate the development of a new hardfacing material system using pseudoplastic titanium/nickel alloy combined with ceramic particles. Contact: Dr. Dongyang Li, IN SITU OIL SANDS Investigation of Interfacial Mass-Transfer Mechanisms in the VAPEX Process for Heavy Oil Recovery VAPEX is a non-thermal method, which uses dissolved solvents to reduce bitumen viscosity for production. The rate of dissolving of the solvents and the mass transfer mechanisms are a major factor in the process operation. Contact: Dr. Brij B. Maini, SLURRY PIPELINES Online Slurry Air-content Determination and Analysis (OSADA) Technology for Oil Sands Development Air entrainment in oil sands slurry (hydrotransport) lines impacts the performance of the system. The project will investigate the modelling, design and analysis method for on-line air-content measurement. Contact: Dr. J. Szymanski and
Solids Distribution in Hydrotransport Process The project will investigate the relationships between the solids level used in hydrotransport of mined oil sands and the bitumen/water froth separation process. Contact: K. Nandakumar, EXTRACTION Destabilization of Emulsified Water and Fine Solids Through Asphaltenes Precipitation The use of paraffinic diluent causes mined oil sands bitumen/water froth to separate rapidly. The project will investigate the kinetics and optimization of the method. Contact: Dr. Jacob Masliyah, OIL SANDS MINING Oil Sand Lump Size Estimation (LSE) by 3-D Sensing The size of oil sands "lumps" feeding into the mining hydro-transport system impact the performance. The project will investigate a means of measuring the lump size on-line to allow optimum performance. Contact: Dr. Hong Zhang, Particle Flow Modelling of Oil Sands Excavation Conventional shovel and truck mining equipment has difficulties with "sticky" oil sands and other properties, which the project will investigate to improve efficiency. Contact: Dr. Dwayne D. Tannant, TAILINGS PONDS Metallurgical Studies for the Production of Rutile Concentrate from Oil Sands Tailings Oil sands mining tailings contain valuable minerals; the project will investigate the separation of titanium minerals (rutile). Contact: Dr. Qi Liu, Role of Microbial Process on Sulfate-enriched Tailings Deposits Methane is generated by microorganisms in oil sands tailings, which may accelerate activity, by methods proposed to con-solidate the tailings with gypsum. The project will investigate the potential change in methane generation. Contact: Dr. Phillip M. Fedorak, FUNDING SUPPORT On September 9 and 10, 1999, in Edmonton and Calgary, COURSE held industry information meetings to present potential project applications which researchers were considering for the January 7, 2000 funding competition. The researchers are seeking industry/individual company input, advice and support for the projects to assist in preparing a successful application. The applications for the January 7, 2000 competition are not limited to the approximately 70 projects described. Additional applications are encouraged. Applicants are not limited in the number of applications or awards that may be provided. The projects presented were in the following areas: Type No. of Projects
The projects are summarized on the PTAC web site at www.ptac.org. The detailed descriptions and contacts for the researchers are available through the COURSE offices at University of Alberta and University of Calgary. Contact Richard Luhning, CALL FOR APPLICATIONS CALL FOR COURSE $2 MILLION FUNDING APPLICATIONS January 7, 2000 Deadline COURSE is calling for research proposal applications for the Year 2000 funding competition. Up to a maximum of $2,000,000 will be awarded as a portion of the costs of up to about 20-30 projects with the funding duration lasting up to a maximum of three years. Applicants will be informed of results by mid-March 2000. The COURSE award may vary from a minor share up to 100% of individual project costs. There is no limitation on the size of the project or number of participants in the projects. Applications must be from a Principal Researcher at an Alberta University. Applicants are not limited to a single application. An applicant may be provided with more than one award as a result of the competition. The prior awarding or having a current COURSE project award will not be considered as a factor in the evaluations. Application forms (based on NSERC 100 and 101) are available at the COURSE offices at University of Alberta and University of Calgary, through the COURSE Administrative Network representative in each department and will be mounted on the PTAC web site at www.ptac.org. See COURSE contacts on back for more information. APPLICATION SELECTION CRITERIA FACTORS POINTS* A. Importance to Alberta Energy Resources _____/20
B. Importance to Industry _____/20
C. Alignment with COURSE Principles _____/20
D. Quality of Application _____/40
E. Total Points (sum of A, B, C & D) _____/100 *Rating of 100 points is perfect, ranging down to 0 for totally unacceptable. SCOPE OF RESEARCH PROPOSALS
EVALUATION PANEL
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY A new concept for intellectual property is being put in place for projects with COURSE funding. The universities/researchers will have ownership of the technology with the right to license the technology to third parties and receive license fees. Any license issued for use in Alberta will be license fee free. NETWORKING ADMINISTRATIVE NETWORK AMONG A network has been formed among about 45 administrative assistants at university departments, member companies and COURSE to facilitate communication, information flow and contact generation. Each person in the network is provided with a COURSE operations information manual which will be periodically updated to provide on-site information for researchers and members. Contact the COURSE office for more information to join the network. FAX BACK Print and fax back this page to 403 289-1988 to receive
your membership information package, project information, and/or future newsletters. New
members will be featured in the next newsletter. Name _____________________________________________________ Company__________________________________________________ Address___________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ Fax_______________________ Phone_________________________ Email Address_____________________________________________ ____ Please send me membership information and newsletters. ____ Please send me information on projects proposed for January 2000 funding competition. ____ Please send me newsletters only at this time. ON COURSE Newsletter is published by COURSE – Coordination of University Research for Synergy and Effectiveness – to increase communication between industry, government and university research providers for energy resources. For further information please contact: Richard Luhning Brenda Brindza Beth Hill
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