University of Calgary researchers moved closer today toward transforming Alberta’s oilsands industry by greatly reducing its environment footprint, with a new research facility that opened on campus.
        The In Situ Energy Centre’s new facility will enable researchers to test projects aimed at more cleanly and cost-effectively unlocking energy from Alberta’s vast oilsands resources that are too deep to be mined from the surface.
        “Our research is focused on reducing the environmental footprint of oilsands production by enhancing the upgrading of bitumen directly in the reservoir,” said Pedro Pereira Almao, professor in the Schulich School of Engineering and director of the In Situ Energy Centre.
        “This next-generation technology, called in situ upgrading, will significantly reduce the consumption of natural gas, the emissions from burning this gas, and the fresh water used by existing oilsands recovery and production technologies,” he said.
        Calgary Centre MP Lee Richardson, representing the federal government, and Alberta Environment Minister Rob Renner joined U of C executive, researchers and invited guests in officially opening the new facility, located in an expansion on the northwest corner of the Schulich School.
        “Science and technology will be key as we move forward to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions,” said Jim Prentice, federal Minister of the Environment. “I congratulate the University of Calgary on this new facility, which will enable researchers to focus on next-generation technology aimed at reducing Alberta’s oilsands environmental footprint.”
        “Cleaner energy development is no longer an option – it’s a necessity,” said Rob Renner, Minister of Alberta Environment. “This new research facility will help to advance Alberta’s ongoing role as a responsible global energy supplier.”

        The U of C, through a joint initiative led by the Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy (ISEEE) and the Schulich School of Engineering, received more than $9.3 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation for the new multidisciplinary research facility.

        The In Situ Energy Centre has also received significant funding from the provincial government, through Alberta Innovates, and from ISEEE.
        “These expanded research facilities will enhance the work of our researchers from a variety of disciplines who are working on some of society’s most pressing problems related to energy and the environment,”said Warren Veale, Interim President of the University of Calgary. “These research projects are collaborations between researchers, government and industry that aim to provide real-world solutions to
issues like climate change.”
        Pereira Almao leads a team of U of C engineers, geoscientists and chemists working to upgrade tar-like bitumen into higher-quality heavy oil directly in the underground reservoir, which would significantly reduce the upgrading required when the bitumen is pumped to the surface. The ultimate goal is to virtually eliminate the use of natural gas and fresh water in the bitumen extraction and upgrading processes.
        “We are known as the green engineering school in the heart of the oilpatch, because of this kind of research leadership,” said Elizabeth Cannon, Dean of the Schulich School of Engineering. “We arestrong by any global standard in chemical and petroleum research, and the imperative now is to help energy companies find solutions that reduce the impact of the oilsands on the environment.”
        “This new facility will help an innovative group of researchers get closer to the ‘holy grail’ of oilsands energy development: the cost-effective recovery of energy from oilsands with a fraction of the environmental footprint,” said David Layzell, ISEEE’s Executive Director and Chair of the management board for the In Situ Energy Centre.
        In addition to federal and provincial funding, the U of C’s in situ upgrading research program has
attracted support from industry, including Shell Canada, Total Canada, Nexen Inc., Repsol and
ConocoPhillps.