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“Desirable” is not a word historically associated with heavy oil, but in the last year the commodity has become increasingly more appealing as realized prices come closer and closer to that of benchmark light crudes. Just three years ago producers were working with differentials of 42 per cent, but in 2008 the spread averaged 28 per cent, narrowing further to an average of 17 per cent in 2009 and 13 per cent this January.

Soheil Asgarpour has a PhD in mechanical engineering and studied business leadership at prestigious Yale University, but despite this impressive educational background he takes anything but an academic, ivory-tower approach to problem-solving. This is why he helped found Calgary-based Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada (PTAC) 14 years ago, and also why he sees PTAC’s latest, perhaps most ambitious, initiative as so vital, since it strikes at the heart of the future of Canada’s fossil fuel industry.

When British writer Rudyard Kipling visited the southeastern Alberta city of Medicine Hat in 1907, he famously commented that “this part of the country seems to have all hell for a basement,” referring to the area’s prodigious natural gas resources lighting the streets and heating the homes and factories of the prairie city.

To say that Ken Brown specializes in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) would be an understatement. Known as one of the grandfathers of the Weyburn CO2 EOR project in Saskatchewan—one of the largest of its kind in the world—Brown estimates that he has been involved in projects representing a total of about eight billion barrels of original oil in place.

As an oil producer, Saskatchewan seems to have it all. The Bakken light oil trend is a play of frenzied activity. So is Cenovus Energy’s carbon injection enhanced oil recovery operation at Weyburn (the world’s largest carbon capture and storage facility). But the province’s meat and potatoes—conventional heavy-crude production in the Lloydminster and Kindersley areas—are hidden behind these high-profile developments. Saskatchewan’s first 2010 land sale tells the story clearly, if one digs deeply into the numbers.

This summer, post-secondary students Jordan Voss and Stephanie Baird are going to work for Devon Canada. They’re not technical people, but the roles they are training for represent a key part of the industry—disciplines that are evolving as the way energy companies do business adapts to a changing environment. Voss and Baird are approaching their respective halfway points in the inaugural offering of SAIT Polytechnic’s energy asset management (EAM) program, the first diploma of its kind in North America.

Clark Luhning

“Oilsands mining is already more greenhouse gas intense [than] conventional production. In situ is going to increase that range even more. At a time the world is talking about transition to a low-carbon future, in-situ is taking us in the opposite direction.” — Simon Dyer, oilsands program director, Pembina Institute, Edmonton Sun, Mar. 17.

Ivanhoe Energy is closing the gap between being an early-stage developer and an oilsands producer, making headway on its proposed 20,000-barrel-per-day Tamarack integrated project. Right now Alberta’s oilsands may be filled with operators looking to capitalize on narrow heavy oil differentials and be long on bitumen, but not Ivanhoe—an upgrader features prominently in its near-term plans. The company says its steadfast view and unique technology allow it to take this approach.

Claes Palmgren has been around the heavy oil and oilsands industry for more than 20 years, but his enthusiasm for its evolving technologies equals that of anyone half his age who is just starting a career. Over two decades his fascination has been revved by experience with applied research and technology, pilot program development, and applications in the field.

The Alberta government looks to be addressing a number of my concerns about its energy-related savings. On March 11, it released the report, Energizing Investment, the result of the long-awaited competitiveness review. While I commend Premier Ed Stelmach for making much needed changes, more can be done. The report focuses on attracting new investment to the province and includes royalty rate reductions, which I applaud. While these are positive developments, one must keep in mind that investors have long memories, and this type of constant tinkering is counterproductive.