Behind every new technology, behind every new process, and behind every new product is a massive amount of research. It is with this understanding that the federal and provincial governments jointly invested over $1.7 million in the Saskatchewan Research Council’s (SRC) new Pipe Flow Technology Centre.
“The new facility has high pressure, high temperature applications, which can be used for transport and extraction technologies that are used in the Saskatchewan oil fields,” said Craig Murray, vice president of mining and minerals for the SRC. “Saskatchewan has a lot of heavy oil and they have some technology now that can help boost well or oil field performance.”
The new research facility will enable the SRC to test conditions with volatile materials such as light and heavy crude oil and natural gas. These materials are highly flammable thus require special equipment for storage and handling, which the new facility can accommodate. Since the research centre works under contracts, they can also do other tests with materials such as slurry.
According to Murray, most of the SRC’s work is done in the mining sector and so many of the contracts are performed and tested on behalf of their clients. The work will help with oil recovery, reduce operating costs, and improve processes, said a government news release.
“The easiest way to think about it is it allows us to test and research technologies that are used in heavy oil recovery,” said Murray. “Everyone benefits in oil production, and this helps to increase the production of oil in a cost effective manner.”
The new facility will be called the Shook-Gillies High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) Test Facility, so named for Dr. Clifton Shook and Dr. Randall Gillies. Both of the doctors were innovators in slurry testing and research and were major contributors to SRC’s Pipe Flow Technology Centre over the past 55 years.
The $1.73 million invested by the federal and provincial governments came via the Canada-Saskatchewan Western Economic Partnership Agreement. Aside from that, the SRC put forward another $1.46 million.
“Congratulations to the Saskatchewan Research Council on the completion of the expansion of the Pipe Flow Technology Centre,” said Michelle Rempel, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification. “Our government’s investment in the upgraded centre will result in economic benefits through job creation, increased productivity, and technological advancements in the oil and gas industry.”
