Oil recovery processes use flow control devices (FCDs) to ensure uniforms flow of fluids with minimized potential for well failure. These devices operate by restricting the flow through nozzles causing its velocity and pressure to significantly change. For the flow to keep its momentum, its pressure has to drop which unfortunately increases the likelihood of local well failure to occur. In this research, the performance of various nozzle types will be tested to investigate the effect of geometry on the pressure drop.

The use of ionic liquids (ILs) in enhanced oil recovery is considered a new and promising technology as it has never been tested in any pilot plant or reservoir field. ILs are very similar to surfactants as they help reduce the interfacial tension, change the wettability of the reservoir, and some have strong viscous effect, all essential factors in recovering more heavy oil. The technology can also be used for medium and light oil recoveries with other kinds of ionic liquids.

The general objective of this research is to understand the geology of the Clearwater Formation in a region of Alberta where new oil and gas reserves have been discovered. The research will include detailed mapping throughout the region to understand where the best oil and gas resources are. This area is especially interesting as enhance production techniques, such as using steam injection or fracking the reservoir are not needed to produce the resources.

Mitigating climate change will need to decrease the demand on fossil fuels and developing low carbon fuels. Co-processing biogenic feedstocks in existing oil refineries could provide significant amount of low carbon fuels as well as displacing the demand on fossil fuels. The proposed research work with an oil refinery who is commercialising co-processing oleochemical feedstocks in their facility.

Pipelines have significantly contributed to the Canadian energy industry and overall economy. Specifically, nearly 60% of energy consumed in Canada comprises of oil and gas delivered through pipelines. However, in pipeline steel, many failures were caused by cracks during pipeline operation. The proposed research project aims at developing a reliable and effective tool to predict fatigue crack growth under cyclic fatigue loading.

Mapping of pipelines and tanks is the first step toward providing an inspection service. Until now, this has been a manual process that is very time and resource consuming. The research proposed would allow for an unmanned vehicle to map the area without the need for humans. It will result in the creation of a hardware and software platform that can be used to map an enclosed space efficiently and accurately. The approach taken will allow for upgradeability as new technology emerges. ROSEN Group is the partner organization for this group.

One of the most vital challenges within the mining and oil sands industries is management of water impacted by resource extraction. Semi-passive biological treatment systems (PTSs) treat water close to the source of contamination and often prevent contamination from occurring in the first place, making them suitable options for management of water impacted by resource extraction. These biological treatment systems require minimal or no chemicals and energy input and minimal ongoing management and care. Therefore, semi-passive biological treatment systems are ideal for closure scenarios.

Geographic location of a pipeline is important information for pipeline maintenance and fault detection. Usually, the geographic location of a pipeline on the ground can be measured directly with global positioning system (GPS) technology, but it is much difficult to determine the geographic position of an inaccessible underground pipeline in a city. In this research, a new geographic mapping methodology is proposed for small-diameter gas pipelines in a city.

The use of fossil fuels for energy has led to the significant emission of greenhouse gases from the stationary and automobile sources. Methane (CH4) is an abundant source of fuel found in large quantities in natural gas reserves or produced synthetically is an alternative fuel for motor vehicles, large track transportation, marine application because of its low carbon emission per energy produced. However, methane is a potent green house gas and needs to be fully converted to CO2 to prevent its release into the atmosphere.

Petroleum coke (PC) is a by-product of the extraction of crude oil from the Oil Sands in northern Alberta and has been shown to effectively remove total acid-extractable organics from oil sands process-affected water. This treatment may also lead to an increase in some heavy metals in the treated water and it is important to distinguish between coke-derived elements and those found naturally. The objective of the project is to develop an understanding of the sources and sinks of vanadium and molybdenum in the petroleum coke treated water in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region.