New Technology Magazine

Success of associative polymer flood pilot could spread technique throughout Alberta

In the southeastern part of Alberta, Calgary-based oil producer Cenovus Energy Inc. has been successfully squeezing out oil using polymer floods for some
time now.

And now it’s preparing to tackle more challenging reservoirs in the Suffield, Alta., area, where a pilot project is set to kick off later this year. In April, Cenovus received Alberta government support for its Alkali
Surfactant Associative Polymer Flood project in the Suffield Main Sand conventional reservoir at Canadian Forces Base Suffield, near Medicine Hat, Alta.

Company changes the way capital projects are executed by transforming the workflow

There is a full-service terminal west of Drayton Valley, Alta., that should be in operation right now but, plagued by delays like so many engineering pro-
jects are, it isn’t.

Instead, it’s awaiting construction drawings and now due to be completed in November.

Magnetic flux leakage offers quality in-line inspection for pipeline operators

Electromagnetism is one of the four fundamental forces of physics. After gravity, it is the force responsible for almost all phenomena in existence. It binds electrons in orbit around atomic nuclei, it governs the processes of chemistry—and the measurement of magnetism through a ferromagnetic surface is a nifty way to monitor metal degradation and other anomalies in oil and gas pipelines.

Pipeline monitoring solution leverages fibre optic sensing platform and proprietary algorithms

It’s a pipeline company’s worst nightmare. There’s a report of an oily sheen on a river under which one of its crude oil pipelines runs. It’s obviously a leak, and the urgent questions for the operator are where is that leak and for how long has oil been seeping into
the river?

Satellite monitoring offers high-tech means of preventing third-party damage to pipelines

A backhoe and a lack of information can create a lot of damage. In Burnaby, B.C., for example, an excavator working on a sewage line struck Kinder Morgan Canada’s Trans Mountain Pipeline—which carries Alberta crude—in 2007, causing a 250,000-litre spill. Oil spewed onto nearby homes and properties, and some 70,000 litres drained into Burrard Inlet, leading to a $15-million cleanup.