STEPS Research Program

Weyburn - Midale
CO2 Monitoring

JIVE Project

Aquistore Program

STEPS Research Program

Pushing the boundaries of technology

Projects in PTRC's STEPS Business-Led Network of Centres of Excellence Program are focussed on three main research priorities.  These priority areas have the research reviewed and approved by individual Technical Advisory Groups made up of industry representatives who play important roles in shaping the STEPS research program. 

AREAS OF RESEARCH

STEPS will focus on:

  1. Proven Economic Resources (Bitumen and Heavy Oil) with research in:
    • Heavy Oil (Post) Cold Production
    • Enhanced Waterflooding
    • Solvent Vapour Extraction
    • Gas Flooding (miscible / immiscible)
    • Improving Heavy Oil Predictability
    • Characterizing Saskatchewan's Oil Sands Deposits
    • Developing and Adapting Exsiting Subsurface Recovery Technologies (in-situ recovery improvements)
    • Field Demonstrations of Promising New Technologies

Technical Advisory Group for Bitumen and Heavy Oil

  1. Enabling Technologies for Future Resource Assets
    • Details of research projects  TBA  

 

  1. Light / Conventional Oil
    • Details of research projects TBA

Technical Advisory Groups for both Enabling Technologies and Light Oil are in the process of formation.

Research results are confidential to program funders and participants. If you are interested in participating in the STEPS BL-NCE as an industry sponsor, please click on the Industry Focused link to the left.

 

BUILDING CANADIAN CAPACITY IN ENERGY RD&D

By virtue of the PTRC’s well-established network of national and international research organizations, STEPS is optimally positioned to ensure that the challenging capacity-building objectives of the network are met.  The different centres of excellence working under the STEPS umbrella will be focal points for students across Canada and around the world, focussing on graduate or undergraduate world-class education and training in hydrocarbon energy and systems development.

Research in the STEPS network is currently provided by the Saskatchewan Research Council, the University of Regina, and the University of Calgary.  It is expected the number of research organizations in STEPS will expand to most major petroleum engineering universities and research councils in Canada and the world, arising from the 2010-2011 Request for Proposals.