About 18,000 visitors attended the three-day GO-EXPO Gas and Oil Exposition and Canadian International Petroleum Conference, which wrapped up last week in Calgary.
That’s about 2,000 fewer than expected due to some international cancellations, especially from Venezuela and Libya, said Justin O’Connor, marketing manager with show organizer, dmg world media.
“For some of the international audience, there was a concern about having to travel through Toronto to the show because of SARS.”
Nevertheless, exhibitors at the show – which focused on new technologies for the oil and gas industry – “had nothing but positive comments,” O’Connor said.
Wireless technologies appear to be gaining ground – or rather, gaining the airwaves – in the oilpatch, especially for monitoring of remote wells and potentially hazardous sites.
“Companies don’t want their employees driving out to wellsites to monitor,” because of potential risks and labour costs, said Jeff Catherwood, technical sales representative for Microhard Systems Inc. in Calgary.
Microhard’s products range from small wireless modems to large Ethernet units that can withstand temperatures of -40 to +75 degrees Celsius. The units are deployed in thousands of locations across North and South America, Asia, Australia and Europe, Catherwood said.
Another Calgary wireless player getting good international reception is Bluewave Antenna Systems Ltd., whose durable UHF and VHF antennas are used by oil and gas companies for critical communications, and by the RCMP and the Canadian Coast Guard.
Scott Can Industries Ltd. of Edmonton makes catalytic gas infrared explosion-proof heaters, used by the oilpatch anywhere there’s a risk of fire or hazardous or explosive vapours, said engineering technician Blair Glass. The highly efficient heaters, ranging in size from about 15 centimetres square to two metres high, are rated at 2,000 to 72,000 BTUs.
Global Thermoelectric Inc. of Calgary is better known for its solid oxide fuel-cell research and development. But the company’s money-making technology is rugged, stainless-steel thermoelectric generators. They run on natural gas or propane and create 15 to 550 watts of electricity – depending on their size – from heat.
When it comes to oilpatch information, Evista Technologies Inc. of Calgary has developed a centralized database and software tools that enable companies to manage their environmental compliance and regulatory requirements. The system is used in Alberta’s oilsands, the U.S. and the Middle East, said Evista’s Kenn Cutts.
Energy Navigator Inc. of Calgary displayed two software packages that allow companies to evaluate their oil and gas reserves, forecast production and cash flow, and manage capital costs. More than 50 companies use the technology, said company president Boyd Russell.
AMEC Training & Development Services, an international consulting firm, showcased a computerized training program that enables a company’s employees to operate a simulated version of the specific control system in that company’s plant.
Michele Hinkl, a consultant for Bear Slashing Ltd. of Bonnyville northeast of St. Paul, waxed eloquent about how Bear’s mulching machines clear a wellsite, access road or seismic line and leave behind nothing but a path of tiny woodchips.
Not to be outdone, Command Equipment Ltd. of Edmonton pulled me aside to show me their range of mulchers, including a compact machine that can cut a seismic line just 1.75 metres wide – essentially replacing an entire crew wielding chainsaws.
“It’s economically feasible, environmentally friendly and safe,” said Andy Cicoria, manager of geophysical services at Lorrnel Consultants of Calgary, which has been using Command’s machines for about five years.
Cicoria’s description is a pretty good way to sum up a lot of the technologies at this year’s GO-EXPO.
