In the past 100 years, the
technology associated with the petroleum industry
has changed the lives of Canadians. As a large
producer, Canada has capitalized on the opportunity
to develop the industry through research and
innovation.
The inventions and innovations
made by Canadians have impacted on the oil sector
throughout the world. Kerosene,
developed by New Brunswick geologist,
Abraham Gesner, lit up the world when it was first
distilled from coal and later petroleum. With this
invention, the groundwork was laid for the Canadian
petroleum refining industry and the production of
petrochemicals.
The humble beginnings of the North American oil
industry owe much to James Miller Williams, a
carriage maker from Hamilton who fortuitously
switched occupations to oil entrepreneur when he
discovered significant amounts of crude oil deep
within the earth’s crust. His idea of digging deeper
to extract more oil launched the first petroleum
company in North America and he is often credited
with early innovations in oil extraction. His
techniques of drilling have been modified over the
years, but it is his research and introduction of
new technologies that were at the beginning of more
major advancements.
Perhaps the reason Canadians have been world
leaders in petroleum advancements is inherent in the
challenge of extracting oil reserves from our large
and diverse land mass. The differences in extracting oil,
bitumen and natural gas, and the area which contains the
reserves, (whether it is the frozen north or the
Atlantic Ocean), pose interesting problems to
developing Canada’s oil resources. History has
proven that Canadians have a knack for invention and
technological advancements. Through research and development,
industry members have found ways of extracting oil
in a cold climate, improving the health and
safety of workers, and reducing environmentally harmful waste.
But this work is never complete and as we expand our
knowledge of the environment and the
inter-dependence of ecosystems, the industry will
need to address new and emerging challenges.
The technology section of this website examines the
science that is involved in exploring and extracting
Canada’s petroleum resources, as well as refining
those resources and creating petrochemicals. This section will also
take a closer look at the inventive spirit that
Canadian petroleum pioneers have shown, and examine
the issues surrounding technological advancement.
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