Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada’s easternmost province, is a wild place. It is home to massive mountain ranges, endless bogs, more black flies than can be properly considered necessary, and a few people too. The province has a land area a tad bigger than Germany’s, but a population a few thousand short of Luxembourg’s. The island of Newfoundland is so far east that it has its own time zone. For the most part, the people live on the coasts, on the Labrador mainland and the island of Newfoundland. More than half of them live in proximity to the capital, St. John’s, much closer to London than to Los Angeles. And the province is booming. Royalties from offshore oil projects have been mainlined into the economy, and the provincial college system is churning out trades’ workers at unprecedented rates. Things are good. But newly elected Premier Kathy Dunderdale isn’t sitting on her laurels—there is, she says, work to be done. Dunderdale is the first woman to hold the premiership of the province, a development that is both profoundly exciting and perfectly normal. Gender barely played a role in the election politics or her party’s decisive victory, but Dunderdale wants to tackle issues of gender head on. “It’s always important to have women at the table,” she says, “when you’re talking making decisions about anything that affects their lives. In governance that is particularly important.” Dunderdale’s approach is essentially pragmatic. It is her contention that the issues of women are really the issues of sustaining community, “When you don’t have a balance in society, you are going to have social justice issues,” she says. “To have a healthy community, you have to have that kind of balance—That kind of inclusion.” Take, for instance, the development of Hibernia— the largest of Newfoundland’s offshore projects. Dunderdale relates how women make up only 0.04 per cent of the tradespeople, a number that she says is almost unquantifiable.” So we had one of the biggest economic generators this province has ever seen, and women were shut out. And it’s because nobody put a particular lens on it… And I don’t say that was in any kind of a deliberate way; it was done because women weren’t at the table.”

But that was then

Gender equity and diversity is a specific requirement for new projects coming online. Dunderdale calls this level of progress groundbreaking, but it wasn’t achieved through anything revolutionary.”We went at it in a very measured, a very particular way,” she says. “You have to be very clear on what your goals and objectives are; you have to be reasonable in terms of your expectations about when you might be able to achieve them.” Before she was premier, Dunderdale was the minister of Natural Resources, and her expectations on that front bear a striking resemblance towards her work on gender issues. Motivated by the desire to build community, she sees the province’s energy future as bright, with groundbreaking development eminently achievable through a series of steps both reasonable and measured. “When we came in 2003,” she says, “the major principle that we ran on, the major plan in our platform, was that natural resources were going to be developed to the benefit of the people of the province. And that still remains the central piece of who we are, and what we’re about.” On the one hand, that means major upgrades to infrastructure. On the other hand, it means giving the major players something they need. And the biggest thing that the government has been asked for, she says, is clarity. Big corporations want to know what the rules are and what the conditions for development will be. They want to know what they’re getting into. The government’s answer to that question is the province’s first ever energy plan, published in 2007. “Here it is,” says Dunderdale. “This is all the clarity that you have been requesting.”

The provincial energy plan makes a number of things abundantly clear

First and foremost, Newfoundland and Labrador, through the actions of its Crown Corporation, Nalcor, intends to position itself as a major player in the North American energy market. Like any other major corporation, Nalcor can act to maximize profits. But in this case, its sole shareholder is the provincial government—so Nalcor, theoretically, is acting not only to maximize profits, but also to produce the greatest benefit for the provincial population.

It is, thus hardly surprising that in the introduction to the energy plan, then Natural Resources Minister Dunderdale wrote: ”We believe we now have the best plan for the future development of our energy resources that achieves our two objectives —economic self-reliance and environmental sustainability,” It goes farther than that. The central idea of the energy plan is that Newfoundland and Labrador is an “Energy Warehouse,” that is, not only will the province be self-sufficient, it will be an exporter of fuel and energy—using power to power the economy.

The plan is deceptively simple: blessed with both substantial oil reserves and huge potential for renewable energy development, the province will pursue both avenues simultaneously. Nalcor will spearhead the exploration and development of known and unknown non-renewable resources, in the Jeanne d’Arc Basin on the Grand Banks and elsewhere, notably, in Labrador.

“[In fifteen years] I anticipate that exploration initiatives and programs will have resulted in significant discoveries in our offshore,” says Ed Martin, Nalcor president and CEO. “The subsequent projects will either be online or under construction depending on the scale, thereby, sustaining activity levels in the province and offshore production levels.” Production on existing oil and gas reserves is set to trend downward after 2015, which could very easily spell doom for dreams of a mixed approach.

However, Nalcor is banking on the development of reserves as yet undiscovered.” I expect a resurgence in offshore with three or four more projects being identified,” says Martin. “In order to further the development of these projects, the government will take a more active role in the industry, funding and distributing exploration data, taking on more risk with a revamped royalty system, and ultimately holding a stake in every new project. But even as the province is championing oil and gas development, it will take the royalties garnered from those project to fund the development of clean, green energy solutions: hydro, wind, and other.”

“ Of course, hydroelectricity from our rivers is a cornerstone of our renewable, long-term future,” says Martin. The most obvious source of hydroelectricity in Newfoundland and Labrador is the Churchill Falls generation facility. The river was dammed in the mid- 20th century, but the lion’s share of the benefits have gone to Hydro Quebec. This deal, which many in Newfoundland and Labrador see as highway robbery on the part of the Quebecers, has led to continued tensions between the two provinces.

Nalcor is currently pushing forward on the development of the Lower Churchill River, and there is every indication that the project will go ahead, despite a number of major stumbling blocks. First and foremost of which is the fact that Nalcor still has no good way to get its power to market. The route through Quebec is prohibited by politics, and the route to Nova Scotia is made difficult by having to cross the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Neither of these are impossible, but both suggest that when Nalcor is able to get its power to market, it will do so at above market rates or the province will be operating at a loss.

Premier Dunderdale is well aware of the potential difficulties

“Right now, we’re an isolated system,” she says. “It’s no good having all this energy if you can’t get it out of here. We need energy for our own use, and that’s the primary objective we’re dealing with in Muskrat Falls [in the first phase of the Lower Churchill Development]. But in terms of building, or rebuilding our economic base on renewable … we have to hook to the grid in this country and in this continent.” And continued from page 33 Ed Martin 34 WINTER 2011 as to the notion of cost? The premier may well have tipped her hand. “We have the best wind regimes in North America,” she says. “And we talk about [developing] 5000 MW in Labrador…there’s far more than that, that we can develop. [But] you can’t bottle up wind. So you build a big reservoir, and when it rains and rains and rains, you fill your reservoir right up to the brim. Essentially, the role of hydro development will be to smooth out the valleys in abundant, but intermittent sources, like wind, solar, and perhaps wave technology. That’s why the development of the Lower Churchill is so important, because it adds such a value to every other renewable that we have, and that we can go into the market place, at a very competitive price to sell our wares. So we’ve got a hungry market. We’ve got an excellent product. We’ve got reliability, and we’ve got lower cost,” explains Dunderdale. The authors of the energy plan project that oil production (of undiscovered resources) will peak in the late 2030s. If in that time, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador has been able to leverage their one- Sustainability for our kids time game into an industry that is clean, green, and renewable for the remainder of the foreseeable future, they’ll be in a pretty good place. As governments and consumers start mandating clean energy and forward thinking, Newfoundland and Labrador has set itself down a path that is looking pretty good.

Ed Martin

“In addition to economic viability, environmental sustainability is key in the screening of these alternatives,” says Martin. “We have a significant innovation path to follow.” This isn’t just a turn of phrase. Dunderdale offered that great things can be accomplished with clear goals and achievable benchmarks. Phase one of the energy innovation plan was completed in 2010. Phase two starts early this year.

It was not given to you by your parents. It was loaned to you by your children. – Kenyan proverb

by: Lauren Rooney (President), Jodie Hansen (Director Marketing),  Dominik Rozwadowski (Director Events), James Douglas (VP Networking Dinner),  Kali Taylor (President, Student Energy)

Momentum in the sustainability movement continues to surge as generations of youth demand a brighter future than the one presented. The Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy Students’ Association (ISEEESA) encourages students to engage and be part of the solutions to our global energy and environmental challenges.

ISEEESA’s pursuit of a holistic understanding of issues around energy, the environment and the economy has created a foundation for students to enter this arena and apply their wealth of enthusiasm, while building a solid and useful knowledge base that will be instrumental in transitioning into their careers.

What is ISEEESA?

“ISEEESA is all about providing students with unique professional development and learning opportunities in the areas of energy, environment and economy,” says Lauren Rooney, president of the organization. She has been in the role for two years and is the driving force behind ISEEESA’s success and future growth.

It all started in 2006 when ISEEESA was founded by a group of keen University of Calgary students led by Mark Blackwell, a first-year commerce student at the time. “We saw the need for a student-run initiative that could objectively explore the issues around the 3 E’s and play a part in defining the future for ourselves, not just have it happen to us.”

ISEEESA works diligently with its parent organization, the Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy (ISEEE), which provides the research insights, systems analysis and the graduates that inform crucial investment and policy decisions by industry and government, in the transition to a more sustainable energy system. This unique working relationship has been beneficial for both organizations, as it has opened a new channel for reaching students while leveraging the strength and expertise of the successful institute, including its research, experience, faculty and staff.

Being a student-run and student-led initiative, ISEEESA’s vision is to provide students with professional development and educational opportunities that foster the growing movement of obtaining a cleaner energy supply, healthy environment, and efficient economy. ISEEESA does this by partnering with stakeholders from industry, academia, government and non-governmental organizations to create initiatives that present a holistic and pragmatic perspective on global issues surrounding the 3 E’s. These initiatives offer engaged students a portfolio of opportunities to further their pursuit of careers in the energy industry or related sectors, and ultimately to contribute to a sustainable future. The integrated approach taken by ISEEESA is unique, interdisciplinary and focused around the following guiding principles on each of the 3 E’s:

ENERGY: The world’s population continues to grow and industrialize, resulting in an increased need for energy. Our unrelenting demand for fossil fuels needs to be addressed, and the opportunities to exploit cleaner resources explored. Without such actions, the global community risks further damaging the environment and increasing uncertainty for a stable economy.

ENVIRONMENT: The engines of the global economy and the pursuit of natural resources to fuel energy demand have had a large impact on the natural balances of this planet. As we move forward, we require sustainable innovations that can allow for us to achieve growth without sacrificing the environment.

ECONOMY: Market forces continue to dictate the allocation of resources in developed and emerging economies. These forces will be critical in developing the energy sources of the future and determining how the world’s growing population impacts the environment.

A sustainable future hinges on achieving a balance between the 3 E’s, an idea central to ISEEESA, its mission and endeavors.

What does ISEEESA do?

In essence, ISEEESA provides a platform for students and professionals to come together and engage in a dialogue about finding relevant, costeffective solutions for the emerging “real-world” issues facing energy, the environment and the economy.

ISEEESA strives to be interdisciplinary. The executive team consists of 20-diverse students who come from a variety of campuses and disciplines, including business, engineering, law, and environmental and social sciences. This diversity of backgrounds comprising ISEEESA is the foundation for enabling the organization to provide well-rounded programs for learning about the different facets of the energy industry and related sectors, and better prepares students for work within a multidisciplinary environment. The nature of the energy industry requires the emerging generation of graduates to be adaptable, able, and willing to leverage diverse workplace backgrounds and experiences. Increasingly, employers are also expecting graduates to be able to work knowledgably with disciplines besides their own. In realizing this goal, ISEEESA provides initiatives where students have the opportunity to learn, collaborate and network.

ISEEESA’s academic and event portfolios act as a conduit between students and stakeholders. The team strives to realize synergies between members and the community through high-impact programs and events both in and out of a classroom setting. Since ISEEESA’s inception, students have had the opportunity to gain first-hand experience at several energy facilities in Alberta, including the oil sands, wind farms, solar communities and hydroelectric projects. This experiential learning, combined with the opportunities to engage in critical dialogue with peers and industry professionals, results in an integrated framework that students and professionals can use as a foundation to cultivate knowledge and inspire higher thinking.

The Energy, Environment, and Economy Development Program (E3DP) is ISEEESA’s flagship and most successful academic program. E3DP aims to educate students on a wide range of critical issues including industry operations, climate change, and energy markets Three educational seminars are supplemented by a mentorship program, case competition, simulated carbon trading, and a newly added stock-trading simulation. This program provides collaborative sessions where the speakers build off of each other, providing opportunities for students and presenters to discuss critical issues and current events. This program attracts high-caliber speakers from industry and academia. The attendees are top students from postsecondary institutions across Calgary, and they formally apply for their spot in E3DP to demonstrate their commitment. In just three years, the program has doubled in size, with more than 80 applicants applying per year from postsecondary institutions across Calgary.

ISEEESA’s annual Networking Dinner is the most anticipated event of the year, where students, industry, academia and government come together to learn from the featured keynote speaker about a specific issue of concern to not only Alberta, but also the global community as a whole. Students are able to develop their networking skills and gain perspective from some of Canada’s most prominent industry leaders, while industry has an opportunity to gain access to an array of exceptional students who will undoubtedly have an impact on the industry’s future. This year’s Networking Dinner will be held on February 29, 2012, and for the first time will have a silent auction with the proceeds going to the non-profit organization Light Up the World.

ISEEESA’s achievements to date can be attributed to the tenacity and passion of its past and current executive teams. A number of exceptional alumni have already experienced professional success, and have created long-lasting partnerships for ISEEESA within the industry. ISEEESA has fostered a culture of innovation, which has led to several notable projects that continue to grow.

Self-proclaimed “EnerNerd” Kali Taylor leads Student Energy, a global not-for-profit organization that focuses on inspiring students around the world to contribute to a sustainable energy future. The organization began as a single event run within ISEEESA, The International Student Energy Summit (ISES). “ISES began as a simple idea between a group of students in the ISEEESA office and has now reached global proportions,” Taylor explains. ISES is a global biennial forum that focuses on sustainable resource management and the role that students will play in defining the future of energy development. Both ISES 2009 Calgary and 2011 Vancouver brought together over 350 students from over 30 different countries and showcased today’s top energy leaders as speakers. The organization is now in the process of selecting the location for ISES 2013 and has applications from 12 universities on four continents. “Students are future researchers, country leaders, and CEOs. It is important that they are engaged with the energy industry early on; so that they can apply the knowledge they gain in their university years to the challenges facing society. Student Energy and ISEEESA allow students to do just that, and there has never been a more important time for organizations like these,” Taylor says.

ISEEESA’s involvement in other initiatives such as the U.S. Department of Energy’s international Solar Decathlon, along with various national and international conferences and competitions, gives students the opportunity to develop their professional skills and begin their own initiatives for making real change in the industry.

Looking Forward The changing landscape of energy continues to inspire ISEEESA to expand its programs and encompass other vital areas of the energy system, including geopolitics, science, innovation, new technology, regulation, policy and security. This year, ISEEESA announced the addition of a new event to its portfolio: an inaugural International Case Competition, planned for March 2012. ISEEESA will create a solution-driven case linked to the 3 E’s with partner organizations, and will host the competition in an online, interactive setting.

ISEEESA embodies the enthusiasm and keen interest of the student community and adds diversity to the globe’s energy future. Six years after its creation, ISEEESA has seen considerable growth and development, while staying true to its core values. As the organization gains momentum, the reach of ISEEESA’s message spreads to more and more students. In realizing the significance of the role ISEEESA plays, the organization strives to continually explore new opportunities for students to flourish and to shape their own future, in a world loaned to us by our children.

by: Samantha Martin

If these structures could talk…

The history of a city, the energy within a structure, the deep colours of a landscape’s mood often can’t be expressed by the written word or even by a photograph, but rather find their voice in the portrayal of an artist’s thoughts.

Dynamic Newfoundland artist, Keli-Ann Pye- Beshara takes an unexpected, new angle on traditional structures, sceneries and life in her acrylic representations.

Her work is instantly recognizable and mysterious in the same moment. She spends time exploring with her husband and muse, Brent Beshara, driving and hiking across the countryside, lingering on the interesting angles, fine details and intriguing views. 

She began her career in unique expression at a young age, lending her drawings great detail and finding inspiration in her surroundings. “I liked to draw itty bitty details of anything,” she says. “I loved drawing plates of food and drawing every little pea. Mom said I was the only kid drawing eyelashes and lips on my people while other kids were doing dots for eyes.” A visual artist since 1990 with a fine arts degree from Memorial University, Pye-Beshara is known for her whimsical representations of historic sites, Canadian architecture and vibrant landscapes, all weaving a story through each brush stroke and unexpected angle.

As she paints, she mixes most of her acrylic shades from primary colours and tends to water them down to get a “wash” effect, and to push the boundaries further, encouraging drips of paint within her art. “In my career, I have used lots of other mediums, but acrylic gives me the response I like—dries fast, easy clean up, flat colour,” says Pye-Beshara.

Although she painted for years on the rectangular canvases and textured paper at her disposal, Pye- Beshara has been painting outside the confines of canvas for the past couple of years, launching her plywood cut-out style with a selection of life-sized rooftops and boat hulls. “It’s my new, ‘exciting to me,’ medium,” she says, her friendly, brown eyes filled with contagious energy. “Once I broke away from canvas and paper, it just opened up a whole new world.”

Recently, Pye-Beshara shook the iconic view of St. John’s out of the box and splashed the cityscape onto a 14-foot plywood canvas for all to watch. She set up shop in the city’s Delta Hotel lobby and spent eight days mixing shades of musty yellow and shadowy blue in front of a rotating audience of hotel guests and local visitors.

As the audience watched the layers converge and the downtown they thought they knew burst forth with vibrancy and life, the social artist fielded questions, aiming to educate viewers on the artistic process while they enjoyed the show.

Pye-Beshara takes these leaps of bravery and bares her artistic process to the public in the hopes of exposing viewers to her work, meeting interesting, new people and giving those interested in art an experience in real time. The work now hangs at the front desk of the Delta Hotel, greeting locals and visitors with a true East Coast spirit.

However, painting in public isn’t her only social endeavour. This modern-day talent has used social media to her best advantage and devotes time each day to upload progress reports from her home studio, often with accompanying photography of her latest masterpiece.

“It’s my way of still being in a collective artist studio like I have been in the past,” she says of this limitless, new market. “It’s my virtual studio, so I always have feedback and an audience with fresh eyes.” She adds that her fantastic network of fellow artists as well as art appreciators gives her multiple sources of input.

Because of the availability of an online customer base, Pye-Beshara is able to sell all of her own originals without the need of a gallery. “I also like hearing the opinions and stories of people who aren’t in the art world,” she says. “It’s fresh and beautiful.”

Beyond online, Pye-Beshara sells prints of her originals and takes on commissioned pieces, never leaving a client any less than thrilled. Her cultural prints and cards can be found in shops throughout Newfoundland. So, the next time you find yourself smiling back at a piece of art, like it’s a good friend you haven’t seen in a while, you may just have Pye- Beshara to thank. www.keli-annpye-beshara.ca

by: Sheena Fleming

Where are the women? This was the question asked some twenty years ago when Newfoundland and Labrador was having its first oil boom back in the Hibernia days. At that time, in the early 1990s, less than 2 per cent of Newfoundland and Labrador women were employed in the natural resource sector in nontraditional trades and technology roles.

Another exciting camp WRDC offers is camp GLOW—Group Learning for Outgoing Women. Camp GLOW, a joint initiative with the Marine Institute, is an amazing opportunity for young girls to learn about firefighting and empowerment. Women will develop the confidence and leadership skills to pursue their dreams or to explore a possible career change. The women work in confined spaces, put on all the firefighting gear and actually fight fires!

OTT — Orientation to Trades and Technology (OTT) is a program designed to give women practical experience in natural-resource-based industries. OTT raises the awareness that high-paying jobs in the natural resource industries are attainable for women. Women, ages 19 and over, are welcome to apply to the OTT program. More information on the OTT eligibility and entrance requirements can be found on WRDC’s website.

The women working with WRDC are passionate, enthusiastic and motivated to help other women. I left my meeting feeling their passion and commitment to the women of our province; they truly want to see women succeed. There is a strong focus on the continuity of WRDC’s “lifecycle” approach, where girls can go on to work in industry and, years later, come back to WRDC and mentor other women. WRDC is continually seeking great mentors. We’re looking for women who are working in the natural resource sector who can become involved and share their wisdom, experiences and expertise. Mentorship exposes girls and women to the great opportunities in trades and technology—If they can see a successful woman working in these careers, they believe they can do it too!

For more information on WRDC’s programs and services, please visit www.wrdc.nf.ca

They say that having grandchildren is a life-altering experience, even more profound than having our own children. Perhaps, at such a milestone, we reflect on our mortality, and begin to look at who we are and how we might make a difference in the world. This, coupled with an innate sense of responsibility to the next generation, becomes paramount in our later years.

This was certainly the case for Darsell Karringten, Alberta-born entrepreneur and now, “Granddad.” After many years of success in Canadian business, and whole-heartedly inspired by the birth of his grandson, Darsell searched for answers to some life-altering questions: There’s a big world out there; what part of it am I responsible for? How can I ensure Darien (my grandson) has a world that’s healthy and safe to live in? How can I make a difference?

Troubled by pollution and the environmental damage caused by a world dependent on energy consumption, Darsell was determined to improve the environmental impact of energy processes. Like many great inventors, Darsell awoke one day with the overwhelming desire to put pen to paper, compelled by a vision he’d had the night before. Darsell sketched out what would become the world’s cleanest burner technology. From there, it was a matter of pulling an inspired and hardworking team together, one that shared his drive for a cleaner world, one fuelled by the idea of leaving a legacy for generations to come. Together, they conceptualized a new path to sustainability and engineered their vision to reality— That was four years ago.

Today, the Absolute Combustion International Inc (A.C.I.) team includes the likes of Robindra Mohar, Vice President of Marketing; Koleya Karringten, Director continued on page 24 of Social Media (and Darsell’s daughter); and Brent Garossino, who is the co-driver behind A.C.I.’s research and development department. Darsell can quickly list more than a dozen other people and companies who helped bring A.C.I. to this stage of development.

It is now ready for market, and the oil and gas industry stands to reap multiple benefits from A.C.I.’s Absolute Extreme Burner™ system. The A.C.I. system can be retro-fit into existing technologies, such as separators and treaters, to replace old and inefficient burners with a new realm of innovation that delivers an unparalleled level of consistent and reliable combustion performance.

Darsell beams with enthusiasm as he defines the revolutionary technology. He believes the energy industry will be the greatest benefactors because of its unprecedented efficiency. It offers the lowest emissions, highest heat transfer (in a fire-tube), lot maintenance and minimal flame impingement. To top it all off, this invention has been engineered to block the effects of externa, unpredictable force, such as weather, elevation, barometric pressure and drastic temperature changes.

Then the A.C.I. team takes an active role in ensuring that the technology integrates smoothly into existing systems that utilize burner technology. Amid the arranging of field tests and trials, A.C.I. made it a priority to interview heavy-oil producers interested in sending a clear message of making a strong contribution to a cleaner, greener future. The energy entrepreneur might be asking: How can I get involved? Is this an application for my company that will really make the difference to our bottom line? Will this make a difference regarding our carbon and emissions footprint? The answer is simply —YES.

And for the global investor, the answers are clear: The oil-sands development houses the second-largest oil reserves on the planet, second only to Saudi Arabia. North America will naturally utilize the oil-sands as one of the most powerful drivers of our current fossil-fuel economies. Currently, oil and gas are the two hottest commodities in the world, making the oil sands and the companies who make it “work” promising prospects.

So, what’s this all about?

True innovation is not a modification, a tweak or an add-on; it is an entirely new solution for the needs at hand. Innovation means new thought when a new vantage point infiltrates and changes the way we live our daily lives. Today, the iPhone is an innovation. Similarly, the Absolute Combustion Burner will change the way the world works. Thanks to A.C.I., we have stumbled upon the world’s most environmentally friendly burner solutions with the least ecological impact.

As Darsell says, “The applications for our burner technology are endless. The first practical applications for the Absolute Extreme Burner™ was in a waste-plastic recycling company with results that outperformed all expectations. Other applications currently being researched and developed are— heavy oil production for separators and treaters, asphalt production and kilns for brick and cement, along with separators and treaters.”

Darsell is excited about the future and explains, “Solving the questions of the energy industry and finding unique and customized solutions is a really interesting game for us. But most of all, making a positive impact on the planet and all inhabitants, well, it’s what we live for.”

A.C.I. was founded with humanitarian intentions, fuelled by responsible actions and inspired by ecological sustainability; the A.C.I. burner is a solution to the heavy-oil and waste-management industries.

Like all good ideas that come to the world, they start with a spark of inspiration. Those that actually serve the world and make a difference contribute to our future, creating lasting legacies. So, to those who are inspired, but unsure of their spark, use Darsell as an example. Can you change the world? Absolutely. To see how A.C.I. might conduct field tests with your company, or to read about specific figures and tested results, please review: www.absolutecombustion.com

SAGD Breakthrough in Burner Technology

Since the reservoir concept of Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) was developed at the University of Calgary by Roger Butler in the 1980s, the oil industry has successfully completed many acclaimed projects utilizing the technique.

Piloting reservoir performance and facility designs in the 1980s and 1990s set the stage for commercial plans and expansions. Today, many projects totalling billions of dollars are planned well into the future.

The economics of SAGD projects are successfully based on a controlled-staged expansion of production phases, which lend themselves to the “pay as you go” philosophy, suitable for small as well as large companies. Typically, 25,000 BPD to 50,000 BPD expansion phases are planned with now wellestablished facility designs repeated in the ongoing expansion phases. While this expansion continues, no strikingly new developments have been introduced to the facility designs, which have the ability to significantly move the needle for project economics.

Today, we now have such a breakthrough! It is well known that the major cost of operating a SAGD project is the energy cost of generating the steam. This recurring cost can exceed 50 per cent of the total operating costs of the project and can also pose significant risks if fuel prices should escalate.

“The oil producers and steam generation equipment manufacturers who embrace this combustion efficiency technology will be the future leaders in significantly reducing the energy costs in a SAGD revolution.” - Fred Shaw

Absolute Combustion Technology International (A.C.I.) has now patented, successfully tested and has industry standard approvals in place for a revolutionary combustion system. Adoption of this technology will change the evolution of SAGD technology into a revolution of efficiency.

A dramatic boost in combustion efficiency along with a major reduction of NOx emissions briefly tells the story of this new “Vortex Combustion” technology. Many test results making a comparison of combustion efficiencies of A.C.I.’s technology with all existing industry standards show that an unmistakable breakthrough has occurred. Actual controlled test results are shown in the attached two tables which compare the new technology with all established efficiency and combustion temperature data. A.C.I. technology stands unmistakably above the others.

The leaders in SAGD developments will be the lowest-cost producers. The oil producers and steam-generation equipment manufacturers who embrace this combustion-efficiencytechnology breakthrough will be the future leaders in significantly reducing the energy costs in a SAGD revolution.

by Marsha Friedman.

You don’t have to tell Kevin Reilly, entertainment president of Fox Broadcasting Company, that social media is a good way to market new shows. He already knows.

At the MIPCOM show, a TV and entertainment conference and market held in Cannes, France, every year, Reilly said the network is using social media to build awareness of new shows with tremendous success. Reilly gushed over how social media has made shows hits like Glee and New Girl, almost before they even hit the airwaves.

“In a connected world in which individuals have the ability to choose from the best of TV past and present, more and more, the audience will rely on filtering mechanisms and social networks to navigate and inform their choices,” he told the crowd in his keynote speech:

“There is a reason that Facebook just kicked social TV into high gear. As one blogger said: ‘When people start consuming content through Facebook, it enables a new world of friend-to-friend discovery that is potentially worth more than any promo campaign on the planet.’ In other words, better than any network today can provide.”

I read his speech on deadline.com <http:// deadline.com> ; by the way, it’s a great site to keep track of what is going on in the film, TV and media businesses. Their coverage of the social media explosion, which has included several similar speeches about social media (from the announcement of Yahoo! doing a Web-only TV series to the expansion of Facebook’s strategic deals with, well, just about everyone), is another demonstration of social media no longer being a trend. It’s now clearly part of the foundation of the media. Don’t look now, but TV, radio, print and online just moved one chair down to make room for social media at the grown-ups table.

Think about what Fox has just done. For their new hit comedy New Girl, Fox pre-released an episode on iTunes and VOD, before the pilot was even aired on TV—and they scored 2-million downloads. Reilly also said that another one of their hit shows, Glee, was the guinea pig for social media. First, they streamed the show on HULU.com <http://HULU.com> before they aired it, and all of the songs from the show’s musical numbers were released on iTunes, to provide fodder for social media followers.

But this is the real telling quote from the speech: “The series premiered as a bona fide hit, which I am certain would not have been the case had we marketed it in a more traditional way.”

My point? Simple. If you’re using social media for your business today, that’s good. My advice would be to make sure you are doing everything you can within reason to capitalize on the marketing opportunities it provides.

And if you’re not using social media, you need to start now. It’s where everyone is conversing, sharing information, referring favorite books, products and services, and researching their next purchase. It’s where you need to be.

To be the leaders in the energy industry by providing quality and excellence in our services, backed up by solid and innovative engineering— that’s the mission of FourQuest Energy. While many companies have similar missions, it’s very few that actually fulfill on it, in the way that FourQuest Energy has.

Karl Gannon, Vice-President of Sales and Marketing at FourQuest Energy explains their success like this, “FourQuest has actually achieved an annual growth in excess of 100 per cent since inception, even during the 2008/2009 recession. Our full-time compliment of personnel has grown from four to over 160 full-time staff in three and half years of operations; this number is continually increasing due to our fast and aggressive growth plan. Consequentially, our recruitment drive is constant worldwide. We currently have operational facilities in Canada, United Arab Emirates and Kazakhstan with intended expansion into Asia, Russia, USA and Latin America over the next few years. Our revenue for FY2011 will be in the region of $33 Million.”

The success and foundation of FourQuest is found in its four directors, who have extensive international experience in the pre-commissioning and turnaround services field. These visionaries include: Nik Grgic, President; Karl Gannon, Vice-President of Sales and Marketing; Zoran Bajic, Vice-President of Engineering; and Dave Wilson, Vice-President of Special Projects. These four business savvy minds worked in the energy industry from the ground up and understood not only client needs, but the fundamentals of success in the energy industry.

The directors all determined that the precommissioning field was sorely lacking in engineering support, and they engineered procedures based on real engineering calculations. Taking this into their business model, they architected FourQuest to fulfill on the following seven key objectives:

• Quality of products and services and financial soundness.
• Employee attraction and retention.
• Quality of Management.
• Development of new markets and innovation.
• Corporate reputation management.
• Reduction of expenses.
• Acquisition, merger and divestiture.

Today, FourQuest Energy enjoys the challenges of fulfilling on major contracts with the majority of the major oil companies in the last three years and more importantly has been awarded a significant portion of work by word of mouth from previous contracts. FourQuest has also been nominated as a finalist (Energy Services) for the Ernst and Young (Prairies) 2011 Entrepreneur of the Year.

Nik Grgic, the President of FourQuest, explains success in this way: “To start a company from zero and grow it to the current annual revenue in excess of $33M, we heavily relied on the hard work and entrepreneurial spirit of our key people. In order to sustain and properly manage our growth, we are prioritizing the implementation of a proper organizational structure. This means establishing and empowering new managers to oversee our growth and still maintain a “yes, we can” attitude. In order to maintain the highest level of satisfaction from our clients, we have implemented the ISO 9001 quality standard system.”

FourQuest Strategy

The FourQuest strategy is to grow the company predominantly in oil-producing and refining countries. Their founding region is the CNAR (Canada and North America) with the vast majority of the work in Canada. FourQuest is now planning on moving into the U.S. and MECR (Middle East and Caspian Region), to become fully operational by the spring of 2010. Further development is planned for the FER (Far East Region), EAR (Europe Africa Region) and the SAR (South America Region) with the intention of all regions being fully operational within the next 5 years.

Karl attributes their success to their team. He says, “Every service company would like to say they have the best and most technologically superior equipment; however, coming from an international operational background myself, I can say with complete clarity that some of the best work scopes I ever completed were executed with equipment that was far from being the best, and yet achieved optimum results because of the team I was working with. What we have accepted as a company is that we have to frequently take paradigm shifts with regards to recruitment methods to get the people we want. We also have to accept that the likelihood of getting an exact fit ‘off the shelf’ are more remote, emphasizing the need for strong support, training and commitment after they are employed.”

Karl looks into the future to ensure the success of today. He says, “In an industry that is booming again, it is easy to lose focus, a ‘bird in the hand’ so to speak. Setting your targets and goals well in advance and keeping to them is paramount. I frequently say to my team that you should always be thinking at least two years in advance; if you are thinking about strategies for the here and now, you are too late.”

Nik describes the culture of FourQuest as progressive, “Management does not ask employees to do anything that they (management) either wouldn’t do themselves or actually didn’t already do. This applies to any aspect of our business from sales targets, to hard work in the field, to working on challenging engineering procedures.

Dave Wilson, Vice-President of Special Projects

Karl Gannon, Vice-President of Sales and Marketing

Zoran Bajic, P. Chem., M. Eng. Vice-President of Engineering

Nik Grgic, P. Eng. President

Keltic’s owner, Noel Mullins, believes, “The company’s success can be attributed to several key principles: professionalism, respect, service and, most importantly, staff. Mr. Mullins believes that all of his employees represent Keltic, from the drivers to the administration, and he has worked tirelessly to ensure they all can be proud of the company they helped build.”

Keltic’s new facility in Newfoundland has upwards of 100,000 square feet available of heated-indoor floor space. In addition, it has a modern three-tier racking to further expand their capabilities, 24-foot ceilings, wide grade level doors for over-dimensional indoor storage, crane service and an outdoor drop facility. The facility is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and staffed with fully certified, Newfoundland-based employees. A fleet of Keltic equipment, including dry, reefer and flatbed services can be scheduled for daily runs to the Avalon Peninsula, ensuring that consistent service is always provided.

David Montgomery, Director of Special Projects for Keltic, says, “We are expanding in new and creative ways. The range and scope of our capabilities is growing as industry grows and has new and unique demands. This year saw operation capabilities growing to meet market demands—everything from unloading and storing transformers, electrical components, generators up to 100 ft. long, 16 ft. wide and 14 ft. tall. As well, we are having great success with our stackable freight division and our pick and pack operations. One of the most unique projects we did was the preventative maintenance program for industrial equipment that is stored long term. We now have a team of people dedicated to storage and maintenance of equipment—a whole other level of business.” 

“It is our belief that integrating the Newfoundland facility with our satellite-tracked fleet of trucks, our ocean and air professionals, and our outstanding logistics and freight-management divisions will help establish Keltic as the premier go-to provider in the Newfoundland market. Having a facility this large within several hours of Bull Arm, Long Harbour and St. John’s will definitely be considered an asset as Newfoundland moves forward with several large-scale projects,” says David.

Keltic is in an exponential growth mode. In September of 2010, Keltic was named as one of four transportation carriers for the Vale Inco Long Harbour Processing Plant. Keltic was extremely proud to be awarded such an exciting project and takes pride in being the only mainland-based carrier selected to work along side its Newfoundland counterparts. Other project successes include contracts in the area of project planning, over-dimensional storage and heavy- lift capacity.

David says, “We are really proud of our team, our growth and our diversity. Exponential growth is not an easy game, but our success in Newfoundland, and overall in Canada, has proven it to be well worth the effort.”

Keltic’s corporate head office in Moncton, New Brunswick

The leading organisations bring expertise and solutions from a wide range of areas which includes air capture, biochar, bio-energy with carbon capture and storage, enhanced weathering on land, and land management. It is hoped that by finding different ways of collaborating with these organisations, VEC will provide them with new levels of support whilst advancing the entire concept of carbon negativity and recycling, as well as achieving further traction in the climate change debate.

At the 2011, Global Clean Energy Congress in Calgary, Virgin Earth Challenge announced a group of leading organisations that it will be working with to take the challenge forward.

After a diligent technical review process covering more than 2,600 submissions, the VEC has identified 11 leading organisations as its current shortlist.

by: Tanya Alexander 

Over the 10-year life-span of College of the North Atlantic-Qatar (CNA-Q), some 1,200 Canadians and their families have come to Qatar to work with us – this number is equivalent to the population of some communities in Newfoundland and Labrador! And a community it is—of people sharing this unique experience, helping to make this project a success, while developing a global mindset that will broaden their horizons and open doors for them and their children for the rest of their lives.

Since opening its doors in 2002, CNA-Q has gone from initial student enrollment of 300 to 3,000 and from a staff complement of 50 to nearly 700 and has expanded to add a number of programs custom designed for the needs of the State of Qatar.

Today, CNA-Q is the State of Qatar’s foremost technological institute and one of its largest post- secondary institutions. CNA-Q offers internationally recognized programs in the areas of Business Studies, Engineering Technology, Health Sciences, Information Technology, and Language Studies & Academics. Additional training opportunities are available through the Corporate Training and Continuing Education department, the campus’ Security Academy, the Centre for Banking and Financial Studies, a technician preparatory program and an entrepreneurship center. 

CNA-Q’s infrastructure combines cutting-edge architecture, advanced technology and beauty that incorporates student lounges, swimming pools, cafés, libraries, classrooms, laboratories, auditoriums and luscious courtyards.

The campus celebrates the multiculturalism of its student body through such events as Global Village, where the music, cuisine, art and dance of over 30 nationalities come together in a two-day extravaganza of sight and sound.

The sharing of cultures has become even more reciprocal with the advent of student exchange between CNA and CNA-Q. Students have the opportunity to visit each other’s campus and experience first-hand a diverse culture while continuing their studies.

The ripple effect of this project is beyond measure. The benefits to the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and Canada, are staggering and far-reaching. It also brings very real benefits to this progressive country such as long-term economic diversification and sustainability.

With the collective strength of Newfoundland and Labrador’s and the State of Qatar’s burgeoning industries in oil and gas and other developing industries, and driven by the capability of training the necessary labour forces, this partnership has seen each region through to an era of unprecedented growth and prosperity.