Canada has a long history of
petroleum innovation and inventions. Kerosene was
developed by Abraham Gesner from New Brunswick in
the 1860s. In the 20th century, progress in the oil
and gas field can be attributed to inventions. Many
innovations were team efforts,
such as Dr. Karl Clark’s bitumen recovery process
and Dr. Florin Esanu ceramic composite for the
prevention of corrosion in oilfield equipment.
Today, inventors are usually
associated with or are provided funding within a research
institute. The National Research Council (NRC)
is a Government of Canada organization. Its mandate
is centred on undertaking, assisting, or promoting
scientific and industrial research in different
fields of importance to Canada. It funds initiatives
in many areas including environmental and
sustainable development, manufacturing, and fuel
cell technologies. Currently, the NRC Institute for
Chemical Process and Environmental Technology (NRC-ICPET)
is developing bitumen and heavy oil processing
fundamentals, in collaboration with Syncrude Canada
Ltd. and the University of Petroleum in Beijing,
People's Republic of China.
This project is typical in that
educational institutions, government, and industry
work together. Another example is Imperial Oil’s
Research and Technology Development Centre at the
University of Calgary; it is a world class facility.
Their focus is on developing and enhancing current
technology in the recovery of bitumen from Alberta’s
oil sands, thereby making the process more
economical.
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