Collaboration key to enhanced oil recovery. (Technology).

Promising new research projects centred in Saskatchewan are developing new ways to tap millions of barrels of oil that can't be recovered using conventional oil recovery methods. Typically, 50 to 70 per cent of the resource remains in the ground after an oil field has been exploited--and recovery rates for heavy oil can be as low as one per cent. Consequently, thousands of oil wells in the province could eventually be abandoned with large amounts of oil still in the ground.

Though potentially lucrative, the technological innovation required to recover this oil is usually well beyond the capacity of any one company or organization. Broadly based collaboration has been identified as a key to innovation in this sector, and the Petroleum Technology Research Centre (PTRC), a kind of virtual research institute housed at the Regina Research Park, was established to focus R and D partnerships. With minimal staff and facilities, PTRC functions as a catalyst, bringing together the resources required to solve problems and exploit opportunities in the industry.

One PTRC initiative, the $42-million Weyburn [CO.sub.2] Monitoring and Storage Project, involves 20 separate R and D providers from Canada, the U.S., Japan and Europe. It is a unique partnership model for the petroleum industry, involving business, government and the research community in a project with global implications.

EnCana Resources has undertaken the largest oil recovery project in Canada by injecting [CO.sub.2] into the Williston Basin oil field near Weyburn. Over the life of the project, it is expected [CO.sub.2] injection will yield an additional 130 million barrels of oil. But the Weyburn project is particularly interesting because of its potential to address a critical environmental problem.

It is expected that the Weyburn project will store 14 million tonnes of [CO.sub.2] over its lifespan. Applying this method of enhanced oil recovery to the oil fields of southeastern Saskatchewan would consume the stack emissions of [CO.sub.2] from the Boundary Dam Power Plant for the next 50 years. Broadly applied around the world, [CO.sub.2] injection would make an important contribution to the reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions.

[CO.sub.2] injection, already widely used in the United States, is new to Canada. And as one of only two projects worldwide specifically studying [CO.sub.2] storage, the Weyburn project is expected to be crucial in establishing international protocols for underground [CO.sub.2] storage, making Saskatchewan a world leader in this area.

The Weyburn project is one of several in which PTRC is promoting a collaborative approach. Vapex III is another multi-partner, multi-client collaboration, which holds great promise for recovering Saskatchewan's heavy oil. The Vapex partnership involves the injection of solvents, primarily ethane and propane, into heavy oil deposits in the Lloydminster area to produce additional oil.

Partnerships such as these ensure that publicly funded research programs are focused, pertinent and on target with industry priorities. Historically, much fundamental research has languished in institutes and universities without practical application. The PTRC partnership is built on the assumption that research should flow into the economy and that close collaboration between the corporate and research sectors speeds the pace of innovation.

Collaboration is not without challenges, however. A partnership of this kind is a meeting of distinct organizational cultures, with diverse traditions and values. Business, which is accustomed to a competitive approach, has to become more flexible and co-operative. The university, which places a strong value on academic freedom, must adapt to modern project management techniques that require the delivery of commercial research products in a timely way.

The PTRC model is also a new approach for government. Saskatchewan Industry and Resources and Natural Resources Canada have responded admirably to this challenge, championing R and D in this promising field. Government leadership has created an opportunity that fosters prosperity while providing innovative solutions to some of the world's most challenging resource and environmental problems.

Patrick Jamieson is the Director of the Energy Branch at the Saskatchewan Research Council.