Technology (AI, Big Data etc.) is disrupting traditional energy at an alarming pace. The innovation agenda must be embraced to ensure we continue to deliver breakthroughs to hit our climate targets and for operational growth to secure and safeguard revenues. This all is necessitated by having secure or more predictable policies in place, pipelines of next generation talent and the right vision and leadership to continue to disrupt like no other sector.

ATCO Gas and Pipelines Ltd., through partnership with Emissions Reduction Alberta has undertaken a pilot project within the city of Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta to blend up to 20% hydrogen into a portion of the City’s existing natural gas distribution utility grid. This project aims to demonstrate that blending hydrogen into the natural gas distribution system is a feasible and sensible solution to decarbonization, especially within jurisdictions with extreme climates, such as Alberta’s. The project includes localized hydrogen production, storage, blending and distribution to approximately 2100 customers. As of the date of commissioning (October 26th, 2022), this project delivers the highest blend of hydrogen to the most customers in North America. This project involved the design, procurement, construction, and commissioning of high (4,000 kPa) and intermediate (550 kPa) pressure pure hydrogen and blended gas piping systems. Due to lagging industry guidance in the form of normative codes and standards related to hydrogen piping systems, ATCO established project specific design requirements and philosophies. ATCO proactively undertook a wide scale Organizational Change Management (OCM) process, ensuring that challenges within all areas of the natural gas utility business that would be impacted by introducing hydrogen were understood and thoroughly solutioned prior to commissioning. This effort will allow ATCO to execute on future blending projects rapidly. Additionally, ATCO was committed to extensive engagement with impacted customers, and the public to ensure that customers, regulators, and governmental bodies were comfortable with the scope of the pilot project prior to commissioning. This presentation examines the strategy, planning, and execution that ATCO undertook related to design, construction, corporate MOC and public engagement to make the Fort Saskatchewan Hydrogen Blending project a success.

Calscan Solutions has developed a cost-effective, innovative solution to mitigate methane emissions along with other dangerous gases, optimize operations, and reduce the carbon footprint of oil and gas producers. To reduce emissions and meet the government goals, Calscan provides is a safe, simple, economical solution to eliminate emissions from existing (brown field) well sites. True plug and play. We eliminate the use of fuel gas and pneumatics. We even supply the power if needed. Due to the effectiveness on brownfield applications. Using this solution on Greenfield applications is even simpler if implemented at the engineering stage. With the ability to comply to the variety of electrical safety codes, meet the most severe environmental conditions, and be simple and easy to install on new or existing valves without interrupting operations the decision to use electric controls and electric actuators is an easy one. We are electrifying the oil field. Producers have always wanted to eliminate emissions. In 2010 Calscan Solutions developed a Solar Electric Control System for a producer to prevent emissions and sour / wet gas from interfering with the function of pneumatic devices on well sites. The goal was to enhance safety, optimize operations, reduce the time and cost associated with maintaining pneumatic devices. The Control system completely replaces all pneumatically powered devices on a well site or on a production site with electric controls and can be implemented in nearly every situation. The solution enhances safety, saves maintenance costs and as an additional benefit, ensures zero gas emissions by replacing pneumatic devices with electric which means methane gas that would have previously been lost into thin air is now a valuable commodity retained for sale. Being focused primarily on actuation in low-power solar and fuel cell applications, many existing and or remote sites can be easily upgraded to be emission compliant. If utility power exists, there is very little or no impact to the power consumption and can eliminate the need for air compressors required for pneumatic devices. Calscan Solutions has currently done around 700 well sites with 2500 electric actuators. We are currently the standard for several producers, and we currently have over 200 Brownfield and Greenfield well sites booked for 2023. • Zero emissions for the life of the site • Full compliance with regulations • Fits on existing valves and existing controls • Patented Fail-Safe Option on all actuators • Safer operating conditions for field personnel by eliminating venting of methane and other dangerous emissions i.e. H2S, benzenes, light toluene’s, • Eliminate maintenance issues from pneumatic devices and actuators using wet/sour/dirty fuel gas. • Easy wellsite optimization using Artificial Intelligence.

Technology (AI, Big Data etc.) is disrupting traditional energy at an alarming pace. The innovation agenda must be embraced to ensure we continue to deliver breakthroughs to hit our climate targets and for operational growth to secure and safeguard revenues. This all is necessitated by having secure or more predictable policies in place, pipelines of next generation talent and the right vision and leadership to continue to disrupt like no other sector.

The world today produces over 90 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of hydrogen, almost all from steam methane reforming (SMR) that is as dirty as coal-fired power generation. Electrolysis from renewable energy is much cleaner but also higher cost and consumes huge amounts of fresh water (14-18 t/t H2), making it impractical in solar-rich but water-poor areas. Enhanced Hydrogen Recovery™ (EHR™) technology can produce the “greenest blue” hydrogen with lower carbon intensity than green hydrogen from hydropower and minimal fresh water, at a cost that’s less than half the cost of hydrogen from SMRs. EHR™ produces hydrogen-rich syngas from ultra-deep coal and brine in-situ and re-injects associated CO2 back into the same deep seam for permanent geological sequestration, turning coal ‘from a source to a sink’ of CO2. EHR™ symbiotically integrates proven underground coal gasification with injection of supercritical CO2 to mobilize saline water contained in the coal matrix into the low pressure reaction zone for enhanced hydrogen recovery. The CO2 that comes to the surface is captured and reinjected back into the pore space created by extracting water and gasses from the coal matrix for adsorption on the coal increasing permanence of sequestration. This process all takes place on-site without costly transportation using cogenerated low-carbon, low-cost energy for compression. This syngas is efficiently processed into low-cost, low-carbon hydrogen at surface and can be used directly (heat, power, transportation), or processed further to produce the ‘greenest blue’ ammonia, methanol, and other chemicals critical to decarbonizing difficult industries. By reconfiguring our underground layout, we can sequester huge amounts of CO2 from other sources like coal-fired power plants, cement plants, and steel mills. Cvictus can also reconfigure the technology to directly inject flue gas, skipping the need for energy intensive carbon capture at the stack. EHR™ technology can help decarbonize the oil and gas industry (e.g., decarbonization of natural gas supplies, bitumen/petroleum upgrading and petrochemicals) and establish a new method for CO2 sequestration with advantages in cost and efficiency. The first EHR™ plant is in development for initial commercial production of 7 t/d of clean hydrogen from stranded hydrocarbons east of Red Deer, Alberta operational by 2024, followed closely by a second project in Wyoming. The initial hydrogen plant will solidify EHR™ claims to be the ‘greenest blue’ hydrogen by having real world realizations of GHG emissions, land use, and water use to pave the way for global scale up. EHR™ provides a way for North America and others, especially China, India and developing countries, to use their huge coal reserves cleanly.

It is sometimes said Data is the new oil", and whilst data will never match the raw material value of oil as a resource, it does provide a game-changing asset that can positively improve every industry sector. Bringing the insights data has to offer into the Energy sector can affect every phase of the industry, from discovery, through extraction, transport and delivery, and every step of the process in between. However, the IT segment is famous for its unapproachable complexity, Clouds, Artificial Intelligence, Deep Learning, Block Chains, Observability, IoT, and many more technology buzz-words confuse and mystify what is otherwise an invaluable tool set. The most important thing to know is, from the smallest sensor on a device inside a plant, through to the excessive data flowing from your IT and OT management systems, or from physical security devices, wireless localization and tracking systems, all of the data your organization captures is like a gold-mine. It is just a matter of knowing how to find it. This session will outline some real world examples of how the Data within every Energy provider can be utilized to unlock otherwise unseen information from within your operational environment. By capturing, normalizing and pooling all of your data, while potentially augmenting it with new sensors, monitoring and data sources, you can create a Data Lake from which these new insights can be extracted. Using both customized sophisticated data mining tools, as well as a rapidly growing pool of off-the-shelf "low/no code" data analytics systems, we will demonstrate some of the amazing discoveries that can be made from otherwise uninteresting information. This session will leave you with a practical path to leveraging all of the data, both big and small, within your organization to provide insights and visibility that will cost-effectively improve many aspects of your business operations.

Human society is facing a global carbon-climate crisis. We are emitting more CO2 and other GHGs than the Earth’s forests, oceans, and other natural systems can absorb. The consequences are increasingly evident, well documented, and dire. To fight the challenge ahead, we must move quickly to retool the carbon-based global economy of the past 150 years. Svante offers companies in emissions-intensive industries a viable way to capture large-scale CO2 emissions from existing infrastructure, either for safe storage or to be used for further industrial use in a closed loop. With the ability to capture CO2 directly from industrial sources at less than half the capital cost of existing solutions, Svante makes industrial-scale carbon capture a reality. Svante’s technology is currently being deployed in the field at pilot plant-scale by industry leaders in the energy and cement manufacturing sectors. The CO2MENT Pilot Plant Project ? a partnership between Lafarge (Holcim) and TOTAL Energies ?" is operating a 1 tonne per day (TPD) plant in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada that will re-inject captured CO2 into concrete, while the construction and commissioning of a 30 TPD demonstration plant was completed in 2019 at an industrial facility in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, Canada. A 25 TPD demonstration plant.

Turlock Irrigation District (TID) was the first irrigation district established in California. It has continued to operate for more than 130 years as a non-profit irrigation water and electric service, focused on good stewardship of its resources and on providing a high level of customer satisfaction. As part of its mission, TID has embarked on a project to accelerate post-fault electric service restoration by automating fault file data collection, fault analysis and issuing of notifications to TID departments involved in service restoration. Prior to this project, TID technicians manually retrieved fault data by using protection relay vendor-specific software and then forwarding the information to engineering for analysis. Some relays permitted remote data connection, while others required driving to site to collect the data. Following project deployment, the demands on TID staff time and resources were reduced and the outage response time was reduced. As a secondary objective, the deployed system improves cybersecurity of TID’s substation IEDs by: • Enhancing protection against unauthorized connection to intelligent grid devices • Eliminate the need for technicians to manually manage device passwords • Provide version management and version verification for device configurations and settings The project has allowed TID to realize further productivity enhancements while also proactively implementing levels of cybersecurity that exceed the requirements of current NERC CIP regulations. This enhances their current grid integrity and places them in a good position as CIP regulations are expanded in the future to cover a wider range of devices. This paper describes project business drivers, project implementation and summarizes benefits realized as a consequence of the implementation.

The Leadership Spotlight series will feature the industry's foremost business leaders and influencers in an engaging and inspirational talk about the future of energy and technology. The session will provide a TED style talk with a Q&A session to follow.

Speaker to be announced.

Intro: Process facility operators are continuously faced with a multitude of operational considerations such as, minimizing environmental footprint, adapting to changing market requirements and honoring equipment limitations. All while maximizing plant throughput and driving reductions to opex and capex. Data collected by automation systems can address these issues in numerous ways, however much of this information remains underutilized. We will present a new edge-based automation tool that is built to have the flexibility to address operational challenges by deploying well established fluid modeling capabilities within existing control eco systems. We will detail the configuration of the tool and how it helped in addressing operation issues, in a variety of applications. There will be a special focus on a representative gas processing facility, comparing a utilizing enhanced control scheme with a conventional one. Methods, Procedures, Process Enhancing operational decisions with knowledge of fluid behaviour is common practice when looking at safe and reliable operations, as is, having control systems regularly adjusting the process to avoid operational issues. The solution takes advantage of information already measured within the facility and deploys this information within the existing automation system. Empowering the already present control system with optimization capabilities, including reducing operational costs, preventing downtime, and improving production. Analyzing the operational challenges of a facility and the potential benefits of deploying the solution will be illustrated using a gas processing example built into a rigorous process simulation. Results, Observations and Conclusions Case study results will be presented to demonstrate the overall results and application of the solution. A reference case will be used to take a closer look at the potential benefits between conventional and enhanced control strategies as well as examine the deployment in more detail. Novel/Additive Information Fluid knowledge can improve and optimize the operation of a facility. However, there are limited options to provide this in a robust and continuous way. This presentation will detail how this new solution can empower the existing automation system in line with established deployment methods and incorporate fluid behaviour into an edge-based automation system. This solution is suitable for a multitude of applications and can adapted to new and existing requirements within the processing industry.

Interest and momentum surrounding hydrogen has grown in recent years, but the idea of using hydrogen as an energy source is not new – it has come in and out of fashion since the 1970’s. Yet, despite decades of interest and research, there are still many obstacles to overcome for the hydrogen market to scale-up. This discussion will tackle what growth and development in production, transportation, storage, and end-use will look like in the short to near- and long-term future.

Objective/Scope: High-resolution acoustic imaging technology has been developed and deployed to locate and, with sub-millimetric resolution, produce 3D images of wellbore obstructions, restrictions, and damage in real time. Using this valuable information, operating companies can accelerate their downhole investigation and subsequent remediation operation timeline to reduce costs and well downtime. This presentation highlights the details of this novel, fluid agnostic, technology, and, through a series of case studies, showcases how it was used to locate, image, and dimension three unique downhole events. The case studies shown include; a sheared wireline cable, parted casing, and drilling collision event. Methods, Procedures, Process: Through a series of field case studies, this presentation details how a precisely controlled, multi-degree-of-freedom, forward-facing imaging probe was used to detail multiple casing obstruction and damage situations in real time. Legacy technologies deployed to complete such investigations include cameras, calipers, and lead impression block devices. Due to a lack of resolution, the limited capabilities of each technology, and restrictive downhole condition requirements, these devices are unable to accurately detect and detail such downhole blockages and restrictions. The proprietary forward-facing probe head design allows this technology to collect real-time, dimensionally accurate images of anything in front, beside, or behind the convex imaging probe head. This allows spatially accurate 3D visualizations of the downhole obstructions and blockages to be reconstructed and viewed for operating companies to make informed decisions. Results, Observations, Conclusions: The technology's sub-millimetric resolution and three-dimensional data successfully produced dimensionally accurate and detailed images in each scenario, overcoming traditional challenges such as limited resolution and fluid clarity. In addition to producing real-time 3D images for operating companies in the field, an advanced visualization software was developed and applied to provide each company with an interactive 3D visualization platform. This 3D platform allowed the operating companies to capture additional views, measurements, and visualizations of each feature imaged. Using this information, each operating company more efficiently planned and executed its subsequent fishing and casing remediation activities, decreasing costs and increasing operational efficiency. Novel/Additive Information: This high-resolution acoustic imaging technology allows operators to locate and produce dimensionally accurate images of downhole features in real-time, and at resolutions surpassing legacy technologies. Its unique probe design, multi-degree-of-freedom capabilities, and advanced imaging software have helped operating companies collect downhole information faster and more reliably than ever before. With these technological advancements and proven results, operators can now be confident in their ability to investigate downhole obstructions and restrictions.

CO2 capture and storage (CCS) from power and industrial point sources has been long understood to be uniquely valuable to a carbon-neutral and sustainable energy future. However, relative to the rate of commercial deployment that has been proposed by, inter alia, the IPCC and IEA, actual deployment has long lagged behind. Recently, however, there are signs that this is changing. The global pipeline of CCS projects is growing at an impressive rate, with the number of projects under development increasing to 244 Mtpa by September 2022, a 44 per cent increase from the previous year. Importantly, the significant social and economic value of CCS is being increasingly recognised in terms of the retention and creation of high value jobs across all levels of the economy. Similarly, its contribution to both energy security and sustainability has become increasingly recognised in recent years. The combination of these factors has led to increasing levels of public support in many jurisdictions. The implications of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the United States have already stimulated substantial commercial interest in the development and deployment of new projects. In Canada, the combination of a generous investment tax credit (ITC) and a federally-backed carbon tax, set to increase to CA $170/t by 2030 is having a similar effect. Finally, the UK’s combination of legislated net zero commitment, approach of government-backed contract for difference (CfD) revenue stabilisation approach, and grant funding aimed at decarbonising the UK’s industrial clusters has also led to the development of several cluster plans, which are currently advancing at pace. Similar narratives can be developed around the world, with many regions and governments pursuing the development of CCS. However, this landscape must also be viewed in the broader context of the history of CCS. For a variety of reasons, it remains a fact that more projects have failed than have succeeded. The reasons for these outcomes are varied and complex ? a complex mixture of technical, engineering, economic, financial, and political mishaps have led to multiple failures. Therefore, if the current pipeline of projects are to maximise their chances of success, it is imperative that lessons are learned from previous experience. Thus, in this contribution, we reflect on the experiences from a range of previous CCS projects, both successes and failures, in the power and industrial sectors and from multiple jurisdictions around the world. From this experience, we attempt to derive a set of lessons learned, distinguishing between the various power and industrial sectors with whom we have worked. We also propose and prioritise a set of questions that potential project developers must ask in order to maximise the chances of a successful project.

Interest and momentum surrounding hydrogen has grown in recent years, but the idea of using hydrogen as an energy source is not new – it has come in and out of fashion since the 1970’s. Yet, despite decades of interest and research, there are still many obstacles to overcome for the hydrogen market to scale-up. This discussion will tackle what growth and development in production, transportation, storage, and end-use will look like in the short to near- and long-term future.

Pipelines are a crucial part of the global effort to decarbonize the energy industry. While CO2 is a common component in the hydrocarbon mixtures produced in the oil and gas industry, it has significantly different properties when pumped as a standalone fluid in the supercritical state. Many materials used in the existing and newly constructed pipelines experience challenges when used for the supercritical CO2 service. Flexible steel pipe is the pipe technology that solves these challenges in pipeline construction, operation, maintenance, and risk management. This presentation will describe the distinct advantages of flexible steel pipe that enable fast, reliable, long-term, and safe construction of new pipelines and rehabilitation of the existing pipelines. The ability to repurpose the existing pipelines and convert them from a liability into a valuable and economically feasible network of CO2 pipelines is the primary advantage of flexible steel pipe. The excellent tensile capability of the product allows for pulling up to 2-3 km at a time which requires minimal excavation of the existing pipeline sections. The high-pressure capability and corrosion-resistant properties of the HDPE-based flexible steel pipe provide a brand-new pipeline with a pressure rating higher than the host pipe and a 20+ year design life. The ability to install flexible steel pipe with minimum resources reduces the Right-Of-Way requirements and simplifies the installation of the new pipelines to the CO2 emitters historically not connected to the energy pipeline network. The longer spoolable flexible steel pipe sections require less equipment and personnel for pipe deployment which makes the construction safer. The composite structure of the flexible steel pipe addresses the risk of rapid crack propagation pertinent to carbon steel pipelines and minimizes the risk of catastrophic pipeline failure in case of a leak. The simplified integrity management for the technology significantly reduces the operating expenditure for the project and reduces the chance of human error during pipeline inspection and maintenance. The presence of the designated annulus space in the flexible steel pipe presents the opportunity to verify the integrity of the pipeline on demand or run real-time annulus pressure monitoring for leak detection. The simplified integrity management requirements and the inherent leak-detection capability further de-risk the CCUS operations for the owner, the communities, and the environment. During the presentation, we will review several case studies that demonstrate the advantages of flexible steel pipe technology and the benefits realized by the operators.

This presentation discusses how an energy management information system (EMIS) can be deployed at your site to predict and monitor energy use, quickly identify abnormal consumption events, and drive down net energy consumption. An EMIS is a tool that combines machine learning with process engineering and operation knowledge to create accurate energy consumption predictions based on current operating conditions. By comparing actual live consumption rates against expected consumption rates and quickly highlighting major deviations, an EMIS helps your operation to significantly reduce excess consumption events that result in cost overruns and risk high emissions. We present a full EMIS implementation methodology, from energy measurement gap assessment to advanced data analytics, to modern cloud-based dashboard deployment for enterprise energy monitoring and management. If implemented properly, an effective EMIS solution has been shown to reduce large industrial energy consumption rates by 5-8%. We lay out the design criteria, functionality, features, and foundational improvements required to facilitate successful EMIS deployment to achieve results in this range. In addition to a working EMIS solution and its implementation methodology, we present Canadian industrial use cases, including real examples of identified issues leading to direct cost savings for industrial facilities. Moreover, we show how EMIS tools and techniques can be expanded beyond energy consumption to include critical cost drivers such as reagent consumption, water use, emissions and more. To maximize benefit to the end users, we present a practical framework for implementation of a working solution with improved visibility of data to various stake holders at site, corporate offices, and remote workstations. We also highlight how the solution can be tailored to fit a wide range of relevant processes and facilities.

As per Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 2022 report on Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Canada's total GHG emissions in 2020 were 672 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. The transportation sector accounts for 24% of the total emissions. Between 1990 and 2020, GHG emissions from the transportation sector grew by 32%. This growth was mostly driven by increases from freight and light trucks, as per the report. It is abundantly clear that decarbonizing the medium-and heavy-duty transportation sector will significantly propel Canada’s drive towards its net-zero goals. HTEC, Canada’s leading clean hydrogen solutions company, helps medium and heavy-duty transportation transition towards a low carbon future through hydrogen powered vehicle supply solutions and adoption support. This presentation will outline the environmental case for hydrogen adoption by the medium- and heavy-duty transportation sector including the application of FCEV, its financial viability, and the working legitimacy of transitioning Canadian fleets to hydrogen. HTEC has been working on several projects in varied capacities to support this transition. Alberta-based AZETEC project features the development of two long-range fuel cell electric trucks (FCET) for operation between Edmonton and Calgary. HTEC is providing fuel supply solutions, including a compression and purification system: HTEC’s PowerCube modular storage system and PowerFill high-volume gas transfer module, enabling the heavy-duty transportation market’s move towards a low-carbon future. The presentation will also discuss how HTEC completed Zero Emissions Bus (ZEB) rollout plans for three transit agencies in California: SunLine Transit, Golden Empire Transit (GET), and Fresno Area Express (FAX). Each plan incorporated a mix of fuel cell and battery electric buses that ensure the agencies will be able to maintain their current level of service while minimizing the transition cost. Current geopolitics and climate agreements is accelerating the commitment and enthusiasm for this transition. HTEC’s modeling and analysis shows that the future of the medium- and heavy-duty transportation sector will need to be reliant on hydrogen to achieve our net-zero goals.

Distributed fiber optic sensing (DFOS) continues to gain momentum in pipeline industry adoption as major producers and midstreamers become increasingly familiar with the technology. While initial deployment of DFOS has often focused on its well-known role as an effective tool for advanced leak detection, growing end-user experience with its capabilities coupled with advancements in sensor design and machine learning have opened the door to a wide range of new value-added applications which deliver data more oriented to comprehensive pipeline integrity management and direct operational support. This presentation will describe the advancements in fiber optic sensing that have enabled its growth in the pipeline sector, with case studies highlighting recent collaborations with major North American operators focused on novel applications beyond traditional leak detection. Evolution of sensor designs and system architecture to dramatically improve fidelity and enable integrated measurement of acoustics, temperature, and strain/vibration over long distances without performance degradation will be discussed, as well as the parallel development of machine learning algorithms and application strategies that provide the requisite analytical horsepower for these true ‘Big Data’ applications. Multiple case studies will be reviewed to showcase real world application of DFOS in support of pipeline integrity management, with a focus on Hifi’s collaboration with North American operators to leverage acoustics and real time or cumulative strain/vibration measurements to address operational challenges and overcome the limitations of incumbent monitoring practices. The innovative use of cumulative strain measurements will be a focal point as these have proven extremely valuable in supporting a wide range of monitoring applications such as slope stability and ground subsidence, while also providing direct operational support via other points of measured strain including a variety of pigging-related activities. Specifically, we will detail innovative applications of DFOS with Suncor Energy (the use of pig-induced strain signatures to support successful remediation of pipeline ovality issues), Husky Midstream (leveraging cumulative strain analysis to detect and effectively corroborate geohazard risks in support of strategic planning for an existing HCA pipeline) and a major North American midstreamer (development of the Deep Fake digital verification tool to leverage advanced machine learning software for remote auditing of DFOS system performance in real time) to highlight the expanding utility of this rapidly evolving technology and its significant potential to support robust pipeline integrity programs while delivering direct operational savings for asset owners and managers.

Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) is the process of capturing carbon dioxide from anthropogenic sources, compressing, transporting, and storing it permanently in depleted oil and gas fields, deep saline formations, or other suitable formations. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and International Energy Association (IEA) estimate that CCS needs to scale up from current 35 million tonnes per year (MTA) to about 8 gigatonnes per year (GTA) by 2050. Such a substantial scale-up in short amount of time requires effective use of lessons learned from the past CCS projects. This talk primarily focusses on subsurface lessons learned from a number of CO2 storage projects currently in operation worldwide. The learnings will be useful in safe and secure design of future CO2 storage projects. Since 1970s, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) has been used around the globe. In the past decade, the pipeline of CCS projects in development has increased substantially. In the past three years alone, the planned CCS capacity has nearly doubled. The on-going large-scale CO2 storage projects have demonstrated the overall feasibility of CO2 storage in a variety of geological settings and provided key operational insights necessary for scale-up. As the number of CCS projects increase, attention is increasingly turning to the identification of key SHE (Safety, Health, and Environmental) subsurface challenges associated with CO2 storage. There are two potential main SHE subsurface challenges with CO2 storage: (i) long term storage of CO2 with no leakage to the atmosphere and into drinking water zones, (ii) induced seismicity. When CO2 is injected into low permeability rocks, bottom-hole pressure in a well increases and such an increase in pressure could fracture caprock/seal and provide a conduit for CO2 to leak. The data from a CO2 storage project in Algeria will be used to explain such a failure mechanism and what could be done to prevent such a challenge in future. In another CO2 storage project in North Sea, bottom hole pressure increased more than anticipated due to subseismic faults. Careful analysis of monitoring data helped to activate a contingency plan, thereby successfully executing the project. In two on-going CO2 storage projects in Canada and US, low-level induced seismicity has been observed. In both these projects, CO2 is being injected into a permeable formation directly above a crystalline basement. Modifications to injection plan to minimize pressure increase in the basement appears to have mitigated induced seismicity challenges. Similar observations from a number of CO2 storage projects will be discussed to understand the underlying issues. Finally, technologies, methodologies, and workflows to identify solutions to mitigate the challenges will be discussed.

The Leadership Spotlight series will feature the industry's foremost business leaders and influencers in an engaging and inspirational talk about the future of energy and technology. The session will provide a TED style talk with a Q&A session to follow.

Speaker to be announced.

Learn how emerging digital technologies are helping the energy industry optimize safe field operations and streamline work execution to reduce both costs and risk. The energy industry continues to face relentless cost-cutting pressure and organizations are focusing on data-driven approaches and smart digital tools in the field to build efficiency, resiliency, and agility. This presentation will include two upstream cases studies that cover: * The transition from the traditional field worker to the digital field worker * Optimized maintenance scheduling and asset monitoring * Guided workflows from experienced field technicians * Advanced analytics best practices for maintenance. We will show quantifiable results that include improved safety performance, reduced asset downtime, higher reliability, and increased production volumes. We will also highlight how these results were achieved through the use of digital technologies including AI, IOT, analytics, dynamic scheduling, and mobility to reimagine operating models and reduce unplanned downtime.

The commitment to achieve NetZero by various levels of government and the majority of oil and gas industry majors has created a great opportunity for the technology industry to develop new and/or adopt existing technologies to make this possible. While the concepts are not difficult to imagine, raising investment and deployment of new technologies to achieve NetZero is much more difficult than many anticipated, especially for junior producers. In our presentation we will demonstrate with actual examples how the road to NetZero can possibly unravel, and in the process how it can diversify and strengthen our industry for years to come. Deployment of modern automation and optimization technology including true IIoT automation hardware and Machine Learning analytics, combined with electrification of the majority of upstream operations is key. This first step will achieve around 50% of the initial reduction in energy intensity and energy cost. As a result, average upstream operations will become near fully autonomous while being powered by more efficient equipment, fully automated and optimized. Once achieved, the next natural step is to replace the remainder of energy demand in upstream operations with on-site distributed renewable electricity generation thereby fully displacing direct emissions and the cost of powering upstream operations. We will demonstrate how this is possible without requiring more land or electrical infrastructure, and how to offset any abandonment liabilities with renewable power generating assets. The final step on the road to NetZero and eventually Net Positive upstream operations is to utilize existing wellsites scheduled for abandonment and remediation as distributed renewable energy generation facilities that supplement oil and gas revenue with renewable electricity revenue from the surplus electricity. Thus, not only lowering operating cost and making it more predictable, but ensuring the industry can maintain its share of the transportation and home heating markets regardless if they are powered by oil and gas or electricity. This path can ensure a just transition for the industry that has, for over a century, powered and enabled our society to grow and develop to what it is today.

As our world transitions to renewable energy, making an unpredictable energy source reliable proves challenging. One solution to this problem is battery storage technology, however, being able to scale this up provides its own challenges. Current lithium-based battery technology, while enabling higher energy density, it is currently experiencing supply issues with shortages and high prices. Sodium-ion technology offers a cheaper and more abundant solution. By quickly iterating at lab and pilot plant scale, Exergy has found solutions to some of these challenges for our client. In a series of case studies, we show what has been achieved by combining the latest advanced manufacturing software with additive manufacturing and agile engineering. This has helped our client prove their technology and quicken the time to scale up this game-changing technology. It has also unlocked future potential in other clients as additional case studies highlight the power of combining advanced software and manufacturing technologies by light weighting, increasing performance, and improving efficiencies. In particular, the use of advanced software enabled Exergy to create a lightweight and more efficient manifold, more compact and more efficient heat exchanger and explore new heat sink geometries that uses biomimicry. As part of this presentation, illustrative workflows for the design of advanced lattice structures will be demonstrated. In particular, the breadth of options in terms of lattice types, and the flexibility with which lattice designs can be modified to suit end-user applications will be described in detail.

Learning Objectives: Discuss how combustion solutions make methane emissions reduction achievable for midstream companies; identify challenges and concerns as midstream companies evaluate and implement technologies; summarize outcomes of implementation based on case studies with midstream companies. Abstract: Midstream companies are looking to reduce their baseline emissions. As federal and provincial regulations are becoming increasingly stringent. Companies are searching for available opportunities and deploying tested technologies, to help them reduce their overall emissions. Incineration solutions are simple and provide easily deployable opportunities for companies looking to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, but we wanted to see the viability and applicability of using incineration for pipeline blowdowns, purging lines, odorizing lines, pickling lines, pigging and pipeline maintenance. We worked with a midstream company to see if there were challenges and hurdles, they faced when they are implementing this technology. This presentation will address their concerns or challenges around integration, cost of utilizing the technology versus continuing without and address what implementation of the technology looks like from the vendors perspective through case studies. This findings from these case studies could have very real and direct implications to midstream companies and this presentation will cover where incineration best served their emissions reductions objectives as well as when a pairing of incineration and other technologies was needed to meet emissions reduction objectives. From this presentation companies will be able to make informed decisions when implementing methane emission reduction strategies as part of their operations.

Anthropogenic methane emissions are a serious contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing atmospheric methane levels through the development of new sinks or eliminating methane sources will delay warming thresholds, reduce peak temperatures, and improve air quality by reducing the surface ozone concentration. One significant source of fugitive anthropogenic methane emissions comes from Alberta’s Athabasca oil sands region (AOSR), contributing to both the local and global environmental footprint of oil sands mining in Canada. In particular, methane is emitted due to the methanogenic biodegradation of residual diluent (naphtha and paraffins) from froth treatment tailings that are deposited in tailings ponds. Due to the size of the active methane bubbling zones in the treatment tailings, a conventional methane capture system like those used in agricultural and municipal wastewater applications is infeasible and an alternative method is required.  A promising solution uses floating photocatalyst beads, marketed by H2nanO as SolarPass, which can form a semi-permeable floating reactive barrier (FRB), previously demonstrated to limit sulfide and VOC emissions. Once deployed on the pond surface, the FRB provides two treatment modalities: first, the dense FRB layer effectively intercepts methane, VOCs, and reduced sulfur compounds (RSCs) at the water surface, similar to the function of a textile membrane; and second, the photocatalytic function within the FRB passively oxidizes the emission compounds under natural sunlight and transforms methane and VOCs into carbon dioxide, and RSCs into sulfate ? this reactivity imparts a treatment effect to eliminate the source of the emissions in the water, beyond what is possible with conventional inert barriers. Continuing to develop new FRB applications, H2nanO recently validated its SolarPass technology at the bench-scale (2 L) and pilot-scale (500 L) for the passive treatment of aqueous methane emissions. Using the FRB technology, methane emissions were effectively reduced by up to 78% and 90% at the bench and pilot-scale respectively. Methane emissions intercepted by the layer were photocatalytically converted into dissolved non-volatile bicarbonate (and other aqueous oxygenates). Further demonstrating the capabilities of the FRB system, pilot-scale results demonstrated the retention and containment of both dissolved methane as well as methane bubbles in the aqueous phase. As a standalone process or part of a larger treatment system, SolarPass is a promising low-cost platform for the passive treatment and capture of odor emissions from aqueous sources. Under natural sunlight conditions, H2nanO’s FRB technology effectively mitigated methane emissions from an aqueous source. These results demonstrate the scalability of the technology and its readiness for further deployment to help decarbonize tailings ponds and other aqueous source emissions.

The energy sector is dealing with a growing number of external challenges while undergoing a fundamental transformation ? the energy transition. For the foreseeable future, this on-going balancing act is likely to be the norm for the sector. Grid operators and regulators should be hard at work identifying solutions to ensure lights stay on at an affordable cost. Demand side management (DSM) is evolving rapidly as computing power and internet access expand. The energy transition makes the electrical grid more intermittent and decentralized. Maintaining a reliable and resilient system require more flexible resources. Energy storage is nowadays top of mind when talking about grid flexibility and is an expensive alternative when factoring the full extent of investment required to access services. Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings (GEB) is an emerging flexibility source that may solve some of the key impediments of classic form of storage. The US Department of Energy (DOE) recently released a national blueprint for GEBs deployment finding a tremendous opportunity in tapping in the embedded flexibility of the build environment. Distributed Energy Resources (DER) are small scale storage or power generation technologies that be used to enhance the existing, traditional power system. Using new technologies, GEBs are being transformed into thermal batteries that provide grid flexibility. Some of these technologies being deployed today are powered by artificial intelligence (AI) in commercial buildings across North America and Europe, opening the door to load flexibility. Commercial buildings such as stand-alone retail stores, malls, schools, hotel and/or office towers consume 45 times the energy of residential homes and sit in areas where the grid is often congested, difficult to expand and where generation solutions are not an option. Commercial buildings also have different load profiles increasing their potential contribution to the grid. These attributes are quite appealing in the context of the energy transition and the need for flexibility. Commercial GEBs are existing assets that optimize existing infrastructure or defer the deployment of new ones (and resulting capital expenditures), important elements to consider in the larger context of controlling the overall cost of delivering clean and reliable power to end-users. Nicolas Bossé, Chief Energy Transition Officer at BrainBox AI, peers into the near future by transforming the AI-enabled GEB into thermal battery and have them support a just and equitable energy transition by providing grid flexibility beyond the individual building and scales at a city or regional level. Attendees will leave with an understanding of how existing infrastructure are critical assets that can be tapped for a successful energy transition on electrical grid.

Almost every energy company is struggling to fill all their field work positions while energy transition realities threaten to change the skills landscape in the future. In this round table discussion, we will explore how technology can make new recruits more effective, and how it sets up the current workforce for the transitions that lie ahead. Secure connected worker strategies may be part of the puzzle and skills aware workflow may also help. We will hear from experts who know the technology and practitioners who are struggling with the day-to-day challenges, and we would love to have your input as well. Please join the discussion.

The presentation will review developments around Canadian climate policy and impacts on Canada’s oil sands sector. Specifically, I will focus on policy proposals aimed at aligning oil and gas sector greenhouse gas emissions with Canada’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP), including “best-in-class” emissions guidance for future projects and oil and gas sector emissions caps. On the industry front, I will review evolving strategies to achieve long-term production growth as well as the transformational role for carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the sector’s decarbonization. In addition to a policy review, the analysis will utilize Rystad Energy’s proprietary databases. The analysis of “best-in-class” guidelines will use modeling and benchmarking capabilities from EmissionsCube to highlight the scale of emissions alignment required for new oil sands projects. The presentation will also feature data from Upstream Cube to underline oil sands companies’ evolving operational strategies for incremental bitumen production. Additionally, EmissionsCube and CCUSCube will be used to compare potential “business as usual” emissions against Pathways Alliance and ERP targets, as well as to frame Canada’s CCS potential within a global context. The potential impact of federal climate policy cannot be overemphasized, as the ERP envisions a 42% reduction in petroleum sector emissions by 2030 compared to 2019 levels. Under “best-in-class” emissions guidance, new oil sands projects requiring a federal impact assessment must demonstrate competitiveness with the lowest-emitting onshore oil projects globally. For context, median oil sands emissions intensity in 2020 stood at nearly 70 kilograms (kg) of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) per boe ? the highest globally ?" versus 25th percentile emissions intensity of less than 10 kg of CO2e for global onshore oil projects. Meanwhile, the federal government is set to clarify emissions caps in early 2023, which could include a cap-and-trade system or stricter carbon pricing. From an industry perspective, recent “best-in-class” guidance has reinforced a transition away from large expansions towards incremental brownfield capacity additions. In other cases, the guidance has made further consolidation and inorganic reserves replacement more alluring. Yet, there is no easy way around emissions caps. Should regulators maintain strict adherence to ERP timelines, the onus will fall on speedy deployment of a CCS system in Alberta with at least 8.5 million tonnes per annum of capacity by 2030. As such, the opportunities for CCS in the oil sands are massive, and Canada could account for upwards of 20% of cumulative global capture demand between 2025 and 2030. Our asset-level modeling of production, emissions, and CCS demand will provide stakeholders with a concise, yet empirically robust overview of policy risks, emissions reduction requirements, and CCS development opportunities in the oil sands sector. As such, we aim to better concretize the implications of fast-evolving policy developments for one of Canada’s most important industries.

It is undeniable that the world is in a climate change crisis, and the need for action is more than pressing - it’s vital. Nations around the world are increasing their use of renewable sources to meet their targets for CO2 emissions. One country seeking to invest in more renewable resources is Brazil, specifically with one of its largest energy companies, Elera Renováveis, which works to generate electricity from renewable resources. With over 44 hydroelectric plants, 19 wind farms, and eight miles of perimeter to cover, it’s easy to understand the security challenges of such a large-scale facility. At peak capacity, the solar farm’s acreage is equivalent to more than 800 football fields, generating nearly 360 megawatts of power ?" serving the electricity needs of nearly a quarter million homes. However, the more sustainable our critical infrastructure has become, the more vital it is to ensure it’s protected and able to provide essential services to area businesses and residents. A sprawling solar farm presents its own unique challenges, and ensuring the security of solar farms, power grids, water plants, etc. is vital to business’ functions, resident wellbeing, and the livelihoods of many. In this presentation, Joe Morgan, Segment Development Manager - Critical Infrastructure at Axis Communications will review the challenges Elera Renováveis faced, and how they overcame skepticism with innovation. The audience will gain an understanding of what it takes to secure large critical infrastructure facilities, such as solar farms, and how to take it a step further. Not only by protecting the perimeter, but by maximizing their investments to streamline processes.

Almost every energy company is struggling to fill all their field work positions while energy transition realities threaten to change the skills landscape in the future. In this round table discussion, we will explore how technology can make new recruits more effective, and how it sets up the current workforce for the transitions that lie ahead. Secure connected worker strategies may be part of the puzzle and skills aware workflow may also help. We will hear from experts who know the technology and practitioners who are struggling with the day-to-day challenges, and we would love to have your input as well. Please join the discussion.

The Leadership Spotlight series will feature the industry's foremost business leaders and influencers in an engaging and inspirational talk about the future of energy and technology. The session will provide a TED style talk with a Q&A session to follow.

Speaker to be announced.

There is a growing global consensus around the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050 to address climate change. Many countries, including Canada, are making investments in building out low carbon hydrogen infrastructure as a pathway to decarbonize power, heat, and transportation domestically and for export. Two likely methods for low carbon hydrogen production are via natural gas with carbon capture and storage and electrolysis of water with electricity generated from renewable energy, commonly referred to as blue and green, respectively. Currently, blue hydrogen is cheaper, but decreasing costs are expected to make green hydrogen competitive in the future. In Alberta, the possibility of creating blue hydrogen for export is an enticing opportunity because of the available carbon storage space and low natural gas costs. Despite this opportunity, there are gaps in the research for direct comparison between this hydrogen export pathway to other likely options. While several existing studies evaluate specific pathways, comparability across results requires harmonization of assumptions. This research addresses this gap through a technoeconomic analysis of two scenarios: blue hydrogen production in Alberta compared to green hydrogen production in Australia, with a final export target in Japan. Australia is currently considered one of the best options in providing hydrogen for export, making it a good example for comparison to see if Alberta blue hydrogen is viable. Japan is the export target because of its high local hydrogen production cost and declared intent to import hydrogen. This technoeconomic model was created in Python. The data required for both pathways were mainly found from Canadian and Australian government sources, as well as academic literature. The cost of each pathway is analyzed in the present as well as up to 2050 with sensitivity analyses to determine how external factors address competitiveness. For both pathways, this technoeconomic analysis includes the production of hydrogen and subsequent conversion to ammonia for transport. The ammonia is then transported by train to a port and then shipped to Japan for use. The full costs are included, and the biggest cost differences come from hydrogen production, train transportation distance, and policy differences between Canada and Australia. Overall, the costs of blue hydrogen export from Canada were found to be lower currently compared to green hydrogen export from Australia. However, this changes in the future, with the Australia pathway reaching lower costs by 2050. This suggests that blue hydrogen export from Alberta may not be able to economically compete in the long term with other options and may only be a short-term solution to immediate energy needs. This conclusion will depend on the policy choices of respective governments, as certain policies may be created to reduce costs in one of the pathways.

Surface Casing Vent Flows (SCVFs) are estimated to be contributing approximately 20% of fugitive emissions in Alberta. However, it has repeatedly been reported that methane emissions from SCVFs are underestimated. This is problematic for both the Government of Canada’s commitment to a 75% or greater reduction of oil and gas industry methane emissions from 2012 levels as well as producers striving to meet the reduction targets they have signalled to the markets and their stakeholders. Given their contribution to corporate, provincial and federal methane inventories, it is crucial that emissions from SCVFs are efficiently and effectively detected, quantified and mitigated. The ongoing research discussed in this paper is another contribution to the body of knowledge needed to effect meaningful and lasting methane emissions reductions. In addition to our research, this body of knowledge is growing from a number of federal and provincially funded initiatives. For example, the Government of Alberta has drawn on the Technology, Innovation, and Emissions Reduction Fund (TIER) to finance several grant programs including the Alberta Methane Emission Program (AMEP). Its objective is to enable methane emissions reductions in Alberta’s oil and gas industry, while supporting government regulatory revisions, cutting industry costs, and assuring best practices regarding methane detection and management. The ongoing research discussed in this paper broadly aligns with these objectives and highlights the importance of SCVFs in the pursuit of reducing methane emissions. Our research aims to characterize the spatial and temporal variations in occurrence and potential causes and sources of methane emissions by SCVFs in Alberta. Emission rates, frequencies of leakage, and wellbore characteristics are analyzed by applying descriptive and inferential statistical methods. This work is different from previously published studies by using the most recent Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) SCVF data set, analyzing and identifying more in-depth characteristics of SCVFs leaks based on their geographical locations. It is estimated that more than 460,000 wells have been licensed in Alberta, of these wells, over 15000 are reported to AER with SCVF leaks since 1970’s. From these reported SCVF leaks, 58% of the leaks are not quantified. The majority of the quantified leaks are suspended wells; however, this can vary regionally. For example, active or abandoned wells outweigh suspended wells in some regions in Alberta. In addition, it has been found that the emission rates are significantly different based on wellbore trajectories e.g., horizontal or vertical. In certain regions, such as Red Deer, the likelihood of a SCVF leak is doubled for horizontal wells compared to vertical wells. Our research demonstrates that spatiotemporal analysis of SCVF emissions is an important contributor to the understanding of the current state of methane emissions that will lead to development of better emissions mitigation strategies and reduction pathways.