Technology
A Sponge-Worthy Oil Spill
University-developed “super sponge” can sop up spilled oil for reuse later
Be it a pipeline, railcar, or tanker, the means of moving oil to market come with risks that a spill could happen. There are many technologies available to clean up spills, but not to salvage the oil… Read more
Shaking Things Up In Fox Creek
A new seismic monitoring station in Fox Creek helps experts monitor earthquakes more closely.
Just the thought of an earthquake leaves many Albertans quivering in their boots. It’s even harder to shake the thought if you’re a resident of Fox Creek, a small, earthquake-prone town nestled in… Read more
The Power of Water
Waterjet technology helps make well abandonments quicker, cheaper
Saving time? Yep. Saving money? Of course. Reducing the environmental impact? Absolutely. It's quite exciting when a technology checks all three of those boxes, especially when the business end of… Read more
Taking Geology to New Dimensions
AGS’s 3D geological models help evaluate Alberta’s oil and gas resources
Geological work is much more than geoscientists wielding their rock hammers for the purpose of academic study. As the Alberta Geological Survey (AGS) demonstrates, it’s also about using the latest… Read more
Eye in the Sky
How the AER is using drones to inspect oil and gas sites
It’s a bird, it’s a plane. Nope, it’s a drone. Aerial monitoring technology has changed the way the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) monitors oil and gas facilities for the better. It saves thousands… Read more
Keep it Moving in the Cold
How Alberta’s oil and gas industry copes with the cold
How cold is too cold? If you’re an oil and gas company operating in the oil sands in Northern Alberta, the answer will disappoint you. Regardless of how low the mercury dips on the thermometer,… Read more
No Smell, No Problem
How advancing technology makes monitoring methane more effective for the AER
The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) is typically not in the business of cool, but when you take a closer look at what we use to do our job a different kind of story emerges; one of the gizmos and… Read more
Making OneStop the Only Stop
New technology will help the AER be a more efficient and protective regulator
Decisions are required on oil and gas development approvals at every step. This can prove daunting for industry, the public, and the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER). In response, the AER has adopted… Read more
Modernizing a Moving Mountain’s Monitoring System
How the AGS went high-tech to upgrade Turtle Mountain’s early warning system
The mountain is moving. Likely a sentence you’d rather not hear, regardless of where you are in the world. But it’s a reality for residents of the Crowsnest Pass area in southwestern Alberta, where… Read more
This Little Piggy Went to Pipeline
Pigs aren’t only found on the farm; pipeline operators use pigs to keep lines free and clear.
Everyone knows that pigs will eat anything—that’s why farmers feed them slop. Pipeline pigs are no different, except that they don’t have cute, curly tails—they will clean up anything in their path.… Read more
