2015 Annual Report Mission
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2015 annual report Mission Our mission is to facilitate innovation, collaborative research and technology development, demonstration and deployment for a responsible Canadian hydrocarbon energy industry. 2 Vision Our vision is to help Canada become a global hydrocarbon energy technology leader. PTAC Technology Areas Manage Environmental Impacts • Air Quality • Alternative Energy Improve Oil and Gas Recovery • Ecological • CO2 Enhanced Hydrocarbon Recovery • Emission Reduction / Eco-Efficiency • Coalbed Methane, Shale Gas, Tight Gas, Gas Hydrates, • Energy Efficiency and other Unconventional Gas • Resource Access • Conventional Heavy Oil, Cold Heavy Oil Production with • Soil and Groundwater Sands • Water • Conventional Oil and Gas Recovery • Wellsite Abandonment • Development of Arctic Resources • Development of Remote Resources Additional PTAC Technical Areas • Enhanced Heavy Oil Recovery • e-Business • Enhanced Oil and Gas Recovery • Genomics • Enhanced Oil Sands Recovery • Geomatics • Emerging Technologies to Recover Oil Sands from Deposits • Geosciences with Existing Zero Recovery • Health and Safety • Tight Oil, Shale Oil, and other Unconventional Oil • Instrumentation/Measurement • Nano Technology Reduce Capital, Operating, and G&A Costs • Operations • Automation • Photonics • Capital Cost Optimization • Production Engineering • Cost Reduction Using Emerging Drilling and Completion • Remote Sensing Technologies • Reservoir Engineering • Cost Reduction Using Surface Facilities • Security • Eco-Efficiency and Energy Efficiencyechnologies T • Telecommunications • Reduce Operating Costs Related to Energy and Chemical Consumption PTAC Networks • Technologies to Reduce Waste Energy • Alberta Upstream Petroleum Research Fund • Clean Bitumen Technology Action Plan Improve Value-Added Products • Phoenix Network • Gasification • Pipeline Network • Hydrocarbon Upgrading • Pipeline Technology Action Plan • Hydrogen Generation • Remote Sensing Network • Integration Petrochemicals, Refining, and alue-AddedV • Resource Emission Management Technology Action Plan Opportunities • Support for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises • Pipeline Transportation • Technology for Emissions Reductions and Eco-Efficiency • Transportation • Tight Oil and Gas Innovation Network Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada Message from the Board 3 2015 was a monumental year for PTAC. We launched 59 new research and development projects, the most collaborative research projects launched in any year since our inception in 1996. Enthusiastic support for these new projects proves that our industry recognizes the critical need for collaborative innovation and technology development to tackle the challenges of today’s difficult Canadian oil and gas climate. The PTAC collaborative model was developed during and for hard technologies over the past twelve years. TEREE’s legacy continues times in our industry, and has proven effective throughout twenty with two new projects launched in 2015, and more planned for the years of shifting markets. Our members and our industry have reaped coming year. the many benefits of pooling resources in pursuit of innovative R&D projects which have reduced costs, improved safety, mitigated The increased recovery benefits from tight oil and shale gas deposits environmental impact, increased production and reserves, created using combined horizontal drilling and multi-stage hydraulic new value-added opportunities, and assisted in the maintenance of fracturing are undeniable. However, application of the technology in our industry’s social license to operate. Working together, we are formations throughout North America has raised significant concern overcoming current challenges and securing our industry’s future by over environmental impacts, and has triggered regulatory reviews developing technologies that reduce both cost and the environmental in numerous international jurisdictions. PTAC formed the Tight footprint. Oil and Gas Innovation Network (TOGIN) in 2015 to articulate the challenges associated with multi-stage hydraulic fracturing, and PTAC’s longstanding Alberta Upstream Petroleum Research Fund identify technology solutions using the PTAC collaborative model. (AUPRF) program and Technology for Emissions Reduction and Eco- TOGIN’s vison is to create the lowest environmental footprint Efficiency (TEREE) program both clearly demonstrate the successful possible and minimize negative social impacts, all while establishing combination of environmental responsibility and corporate financial the best economic performance for Tight Oil and Shale Gas success. The varied research and technology development projects operations throughout Western Canada. Numerous organizations made possible through AUPRF and TEREE have benefitted industry have already secured their spot in TOGIN, representing producers, with an outstanding number of completed projects that deliver federal and provincial governments, service and supply companies, practical results. 300 AUPRF projects have been successfully academia, and research providers. The network’s primary project is completed since inception of the program in 1998. The results of the development of the Tight Oil and Shale Gas Innovation Roadmap these practical, science-based studies have helped drive best practices to identify key challenges and opportunities related to this relatively to the field and shape policy and regulations for the sustainable new area of production. In addition to the roadmap, the network development of Alberta’s oil and gas resources. also launched several other projects in 2015 including mapping of the unconventional Duvernay and Bakken plays, development of a In 2015, the AUPRF program launched 41 new projects that address novel water treatment to remove pollutants from completions water high-priority environmental and social issues pertinent to Alberta’s in multi-stage hydraulic fracturing, and an evaluation of an innovative oil and gas industry. The program itself received outstanding support surface treatment and well stimulant for tight oil and shale gas from industry in 2015. More than 90% of Alberta producers opted operations. to contribute their fair share of the voluntary fund collection for the AUPRF program, once again proving the critical value of this Although the launch of new projects is always very exciting, their program to industry. The 2015 collection was the highest received to successful completion is even more so. PTAC completed twenty- date, and would not have been possible without the endorsement of seven collaborative research and development projects in 2015, the boards of both the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers providing industry with new information, recommendations, and (CAPP), and the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada technologies. These projects addressed diverse challenges in a (EPAC), as well as the Deputy Ministers of the Alberta Department of variety of industry production areas, ranging from the evaluation Energy and Alberta Environment and Parks. of technologies to reduce methane venting in Cold Heavy Oil Production with Sands (CHOPS), to the exploration of the PTAC’s TEREE committee was established in 2003 to address the decomposition of pipe coating materials, to addressing venting growing issue of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the Canadian from suspended and abandoned well sites. Although these hydrocarbon energy industry. Since that time, the international projects spanned several of PTAC’s technology areas, they share discourse on climate change and GHG emissions has continued many common goals, such as improved efficiency, cost reduction, to gain momentum in living rooms, board rooms, parliament, and increased recovery, and generating value-added opportunities, all social media. Since 2003, 28 projects have been funded through while reducing industry’s environmental impact. PTAC’s TEREE committee. The majority of PTAC’s TEREE projects have explored new techniques, technologies, and improvements PTAC has facilitated numerous projects related to air quality and to current procedures through field testing and pilot projects. This emissions reduction over the past two decades, but in 2015 we practical focus has led to the commercialization of several new were recognized on the international stage with an unprecedented 2015 Annual Report 4 partnership. The United Nations Environmental Programme’s reduce emissions in field operations – two through changes to glycol (UNEP) Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) executed an dehydrators, and another exploring the use of solar power. In concert agreement with PTAC, launching the ‘Accelerating Methane and with improving environmental performance, improving operations Black Carbon Reductions from Oil and Natural Gas Production while reducing costs remains central to all PTAC’s collaborative Project’, wherein PTAC is responsible for the component on research projects. In 2016, PTAC will launch a network focused on ‘Technology Demonstration and Evaluation for the Recovery of ‘Optimization of Steam Oil Ratio for SAGD Operations’ that will aim Hydrocarbon Liquids’. This project is working to identify where to reduce both costs and GHG emissions in oil sands and heavy oil venting and flaring of natural gas rich in volatile organic compounds operations. This network developed out of a 2015 technology project (VOCs) occurs, and to identify cost-effective opportunities to reduce measuring steam quality downhole in conjunction with cognitive Short-Lived Climate Pollutant