3 minute read
Williston Basin Petroleum Conference pivots to feature all subsurface possibilities
2019 booth at the conference. 2019 conference from the front.
It’s coming on three years since Regina hosted the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference. Normally, Saskatchewan takes over hosting the event on odd-numbered years (the last occurred pre-pandemic in May of 2019), with even numbered years hosted in Bismarck by the North Dakota Petroleum Council (NDPC).
That routine was disrupted in a major way when North Dakota faced hosting its version of the WBPC just as the pandemic began to have a big impact in 2020. Through discussions with the Canadian organizers – the PTRC and the Government of Saskatchewan – it was decided NDPC would forgo a conference in 2020. In exchange for Canada agreeing to move the ND event to May of 2021, the regular alternation between countries changed. Even numbered years are now when Saskatchewan hosts, with odd numbered moving to North Dakota.
Timing is not the only thing that’s transitioned for the WBPC. May 17 to 18, 2022 will see the event focus more strongly on all the sources of energy in the earth – from the potential for geothermal from reservoirs Canada and the United States, to the burgeoning lithium extraction industry in Saskatchewan, to CO2 storage to help mitigate emissions in oil and gas, and, finally to identifying and exploiting other subsurface commodities like helium and hydrogen. “In the past, the Williston Basin Conference has had some papers and technical presentations looking at these other commodities,” noted Melinda Yurkowski, assistant chief geologist at the Saskatchewan Geological Survey. “But this upcoming event will have complete sessions dedicated to many of these subsurface sources of energy and materials.”
“Of course we will also be focusing strongly on oil and gas, considering their importance in the Basin as a whole,” said Erik Nickel, director of operations at the PTRC. “But we are also cognizant of the environmental, social and governance issues that many energy companies are facing. We want the WBPC to help address those.”
The trade show component of the 2022 Saskatchewan version of the conference is looking for companies with innovative technologies in a wide array of areas. Oilfield emissions improvements like Methane reductions, CO2 capture and storage technologies, commodity extraction technologies – all will be of interest to attendees.
A call for papers is coming in December 2021 (deadline likely late January 2022) and registration at the WBPC website should also begin in December. Visit https://wbpc.ca for more details.
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