Innovation and collaboration at COSIA Summit

Five winners of a Travel Grant sponsored by Shell Canada Limited that allowed winners to attend the COSIA Innovation Summit in Banff. From left to right: Jessica Dongas, University of Calgary; Branwen Price, Dalhousie University; Alyssa Clarke, University of Alberta; James Mottershead, COSIA EPA Administrator – GHG & Water; Osvaldo Vega, University of British Columbia; and Siqing Yue, Queen’s University.

Five winners of a Travel Grant sponsored by Shell Canada Limited that allowed winners to attend the COSIA Innovation Summit in Banff. From left to right: Jessica Dongas, University of Calgary; Branwen Price, Dalhousie University; Alyssa Clarke, University of Alberta; James Mottershead, COSIA EPA Administrator – GHG & Water; Osvaldo Vega, University of British Columbia; and Siqing Yue, Queen’s University.

Author: Jessica Dongas
Jessica Dongas is a second year M.Sc. student at the University of Calgary within the Department of Geoscience. She is part of the Consortium for Research in Elastic Wave Exploration Seismology (CREWES) group under the supervision of Associate Director, Dr. Donald C. Lawton. Ms. Dongas wrote the following piece about her experience at the recent COSIA Innovation Summit in Banff.

My research involves the development of a baseline geostatic model of the CMC’s Field Research Station (FRS) in Newell County, Alberta. Currently under construction, the FRS will serve as testing grounds for both current and novel measurement, monitoring and verification (MMV) technologies that will be deployed to test the limitations and sensitivities of the equipment. Researchers from a variety of disciplines will be able to acquire and share data to collaborate on the challenges presented by Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions in order to find solutions to reduce CO2 emissions.

I was very fortunate to attend the Canada’s Oil Sand Innovation Alliance (COSIA) Innovation Summit, which was held at the Banff Springs Hotel on March 31 to April 2, 2015 in Banff, AB. Nominated by Dr. Don Lawton, I won a Travel Grant sponsored by Shell Canada Limited. The Travel Grant was a total of $1,500, which included full travel costs to Banff from Calgary, accommodation and meals for the duration of the conference, as well as conference registration for the total three days.

The COSIA Innovation Summit included presentations that covered the Alliance’s four Environmental Priority Areas (EPAs): Greenhouse Gases (GHG), Land, Tailings, and Water. I was able to attend presentations from all four areas and also participate in the the poster sessions that were held each day of the conference. Our team was successful in submitting an abstract for a poster presentation which focused on CMC’s Field Research Station and recent developments at the site. Over the three days, we had great turnout to our poster which created a lot of interesting conversations!

The conference itself was an amazing experience, full of excitement and buzz that filled each day. The collaboration and innovation of all 13 oil and gas industry partners for new technologies certainly was apparent. The research that has been completed for understanding mine tailings, dewatering, forest reclamation, and decreasing GHG emissions is extensive, and it looks promising for these pilot sites to become full scale in the near future. These developments made it appealing to want to be a part of the companies that share these goals!