Environmental performance is about action.  Significant and real change is made at the grassroots level.  It is not mandated by bureaucrats or the activists who demonstrate on the steps of parliament.  Change must come from within. Our commitment to this is through working with producers and their engineering consultants to implement change at the grassroots level and always  strive towards improving environmental performance in their oil and gas operations.

As I have said before, being innovative and cutting edge is not a result.  It’s a culture, a state of mind or a way of being.  Innovation is a way of life and becomes most apparent when innovative companies are compared to those who are not.  One particular oil producer has included the Enviro Vault DuoVault™ in their operations as a way to stand out from the pack and demonstrate a willingness to be innovative regarding spill containment.

A little background…

The Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) is a quasi-judicial body responsible for regulating the Alberta oil and gas industry.  The ERCB regulates “Storage Requirements for the Upstream Petroleum Industry” through Directive 055 (D055) and released a discussion document in July 2009 as a way of proposing needed updates to D055.  The discussion document suggests that “the use of a tank as secondary containment or a tank-in-a-tank assembly is not categorized as a double-walled aboveground tank” under certain conditions.

The directive, and its proposed changes, could have a significant impact on oilfield operations.

From ideas to actions…

We conceived the DuoVault™; a “Tank-in-a-Tank” design created to, in our opinion, enable oil and gas producers to comply with Directive 055 and its anticipated changes.  Continuous, uninterrupted interstitial space, 110% secondary containment, spill containment, portability and freeze protection are a few characteristics of the DuoVault™.

The bottom line should be improving environmental performance.  A great idea is only that until action is taken.

We presented the  DuoVault™concept at a Technical Information session (TIS) hosted by the Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada (PTAC).  We were approached by several organizations and one engineering and consulting firm, in particular, introduced the concept to an oil producing client operating in the Christina Lake area.  Both organizations reviewed a few different options to meet the planned goals of the project.  They decided that the DuoVault™ was a good fit for their requirements.

Great expectations…

Producers can expect to continue developing Alberta’s natural resources responsibly by implementing innovative strategies benefiting the triple bottom line; People, Planet, Profit.  Portable alternatives like the DuoVault™ will contribute to the goals and objectives of their asset management requirements while still reducing the footprint and environmental impact of their operations.

Engineering consultants have another tool to add to their tool-box.  The DuoVault™ alternative provides another level of value to clients.

With the help of forward thinking organizations, we at Enviro Vault are committed to achieving real and sustainable change in this industry.

The triple bottom line (3BL) is common spoken among sustainability circles.  3BL is that intersection in businesses that strike a balance with people, planet and profit.  People are an often forgotten commitment with public discussion surrounding environmental issues in the oil and gas industry and the drive for low carbon economies.

CAWST is the Centre for Affordable Water  Sanitation and Technology and an organization we’re proud to have our own Gareth Evans involved in.  CAWST is a Canadian not-for-profit organization who offer engineering services for education, training and technical services in water sanitation for organizations who work in developing countries.

Some other information about CAWST:

Vision: a world where people have the opportunity to succeed because their basic water and sanitation needs have been met.

Mission: to provide technical training and consulting, and to act as a centre of expertise in water and sanitation for the poor in developing countries.

The need for clean water continues to grow.  According to CAWST, more than 4900 people die daily from waterborne illness and 90% are children under five while 884 million people do not have access to clean drinking water[1].  CAWST provides technical services for organizations working in these water starved areas.

Gareth Evans, a Project Engineer at Enviro Vault, has been volunteering his time and expertise with CAWST foralittle over the past two years.  He has committed time to attending information booths, providing education and promoting the organization.  The work that Gareth does with CAWST is a good example of considering the ‘People’ aspect of the 3BL.

Being innovative is a state of mind and culture that needs to be fostered.  You can probably think of many companies you would consider innovative.  We discussed a few in our last blog.  Think a little deeper about why they appear innovative.  Is it an innovative product released to a market?   Is it a person or group that has forward thinking ideas?  Or is it a process?  I would suggest that it is all three.

As a product, the Enviro Vault is unique.  It is an unconventional solution to conventional problems in the oilfield.  Environmental stewardship and operator safety are just a couple of hot buttons in the industry addressed by the Enviro Vault.  Spill containment, freeze protection and small environmental footprint are phrases commonly used in the same sentence as Enviro Vault.  The current design is also the blood line of other unconventional solutions like the DuoVault™, FloVault™ and ThermoVault™; each having its own characteristics and applications.  Most would agree that the end product is innovative.

A product on its own cannot be innovative.  These products begin as ideas from people.  Making them a reality requires a group of people.  Gareth Evans is one of these people at Enviro Vault.  Gareth explains that part of his role is enhancing Enviro Vault’s engineering and design capabilities.  Engineering, by nature, is anexercise in innovating.  Gareth has been trained to use SolidWorks™; a software package used in 3D computer aided design (CAD), design validation and product data management.  Speaking with Gareth revealed that adding the tools in SolidWorks™ is a significant event towards continuing design of Enviro Vault products.  He explained that he is able to build 3D models for clients to view as well as design simulation packages (using Finite Element Analysis). Innovative people and their skills are needed to create these products.

Lastly, innovative products and people need processes to support them.  Certainly using complicated design software is part of that process; the other part is using high-tech equipment in the production phase.  Enviro Vault has installed a robotic welder in its production facility.  The computer programmed welder is a significant part of the innovation process.  The welder’s precision and speed is unmatched by human hands (see video below) freeing up the time of its operators to work in knowledge areas unfit for computers; solving problems.

Innovation requires people and process to produce products.  All three characteristics have been adopted by Enviro Vault.

– Stacy Richter

And so comes the end of another Global Petroleum Show in Calgary, AB.   Although the show did not quite hit the record 60,000 in attendance set in 2008, most of the 2000 exhibitors are calling the show a success.  The theme of the show was “Uncovering the Game Changers.”

When I think of what a ‘game changer’ is; words like innovator, trendsetter, contemporary and not conventional come to mind.  Innovation is as much a state of mind as it is a process.  It is nurtured by the culture and values of an organization.  It becomes the life force on which an organization is dependent upon to exist.  I can think of a few companies that live this way; 3M, Research in Motion (RIM), Apple and Enviro Vault Canada Ltd.

It sounds boastful to include Enviro Vault among such innovative and successful companies so let me explain.  Innovation is simply “the application of fresh ideas that enable a business to better compete in the future” as defined by the NSW Government.  I can hear what you’re saying… ‘By that definition, every company innovates’ and I would agree but not every company is innovative or a game changer.  An innovative company understands that innovation is the intersection of what is desirable, what is possible and what is viable.  3M recognizes that.  Research in Motion and Apple recognize that.  So does Enviro Vault.

You would recognize that Enviro Vault has demonstrated the pure essence of innovation if you have been able to get to know them as I have; just as well as you would recognize 3M, RIM or Apple for their culture and ability to nurture innovative thinking.

Russ discusses the FloVault with a passer by

Enviro Vault launched the FloVault during the Global Petroleum Show in Calgary, AB.  Note that I said during the show and not at the show.  TheFloVault launch was an intimate gathering of industry people including clients, media, national research, engineers and operators.  Invited guests braved the rain to attend a patio reception in the heart of downtown Calgary on Stephen Avenue.  When most companies are following convention and launching their new products at the show amidst 2000 other exhibitors doing the same, Enviro Vault recognizes that new and innovative products must be marketed in new and innovative ways.

Why is the FloVault an example of Enviro Vault’s commitment to innovation?

What is desirable to users?

The FloVault is a hybrid of technologies already used in the oil patch; an EnviroVault and a separator package.  The Enviro Vault is installed in over 16,000 storage tanks across North America and too many separator packages to count.  The FloVault performs the functions of spill containment, freeze protection and operator safety while housing the separator package used on a lease.  The combination eliminates the need for a building to house and heat separator equipment which reduces the total footprint on the land.  The use of catalytic heaters, instead of fire tubes, to heat the vault and the fluid
reduces the air emissions.  All are attractive benefits to an industry whose environmental performance is under constant scrutiny.

External view of the FloVault

Internal view of the FloVault

What is possible with technology?

The technology of separators has not changed much in the last 15-20 years.  Drilling and production technologies have changed.  Producers are drilling deeper and producing far more complicated formations than ever.  Technological advancements in these areas have opened the minds of Big Oil to new ideas like the FloVault.  Combining two existing technologies to improve environmental operations in oil and gas is only part of it.  The other part of successful innovation is an open mind to see its value.

What is viable in the market place?

Social, technological, economic and political trends (what marketers lovingly refer to as STEP analysis) all point towards widespread adoption.

Social trends like citizen journalism through social media, increased societal awareness about the impact of oil and gas operations and a requirement for a social license to operate require improvements to the industry’s environmental performance.  Big Oil has never had a greater need for technologies that not only perform the operations to produce oil and gas, but also limit the impact on the environment.

Technology continues to improve in operations.  Seemingly unreachable oil and gas is now attainable thanks to advancements in drilling and production.  The industry is well behind the curve in technologies that limit the impacts of those technologies.  Water use, air emissions and reclamation are just a few of the hot buttons.

Energy demand is outgrowing energy supply and we have already seen the economic impacts of this trend.  Reliable, safe and affordable sources of energy are needed.  Energy demand is expected to triple by 2050.  All sources of energy, renewable energy and natural resources, will be needed to meet this demand.

Political trends like COP15, pressures from lobby groups and increased citizen involvement indicate that environmental performance will likely supersede economic importance if the industry does not find more ways to manage the triple bottom line; people, planet, profit.

The question about naming Enviro Vault as an innovator and a game changer should now be answered.  Improving environmental performance is desirable by users.  Changes in technology have now made new ideas like the FloVault possible.  The societal, technological, economic and political trends are adding pressure to Big Oil to perform.

– Stacy Richter

We attended the Four Corners Oil and Gas Conference in Farmington, NM a couple of weeks ago.  Frankly, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  My initial research indicated that the regulatory in Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado were quite different than regulatory in Alberta.  My preconceptions were that Alberta regulators were considerably stricter than those companion states.  I was concerned that the oil and gas community would be less receptive to innovative environmental technology simply because they were not required to.   The Four Corners Conference proved me wrong…. well sort of.

Enviro Vault was one of the few organizations (out of 250+ exhibitors, I could count them all on one hand) that provided a technology that would improve the environmental responsibility of the oil and gas operations.  This was as expected.

However, the enthusiasm and the response from local operators, manufacturers and service companies were unexpected; though certainly welcomed and appreciated.  Russ (President) and Tyler (Business Development Manager) were kept busy answering questions about how the Enviro Vault works, who has been using it and where they might be able to get one.

Russ and Tyler both entertained many visitors from two major producers in the area.  Titles ranged from operators to engineers and procurement to occupational health and safety.  I was surprised at the level of interest from the different functions of these organizations.  This activity is a leadingindicator that the producers are promoting innovation and creativity ahead of the regulatory.  I overheard many visiting the booth say that improving environmental performance is the future.

The conference had also spurred several discussions after the conference.  Russ had explained a discussion he had talking about how insulating storage tanks would enable using alternative heat sources.  He explained that catalytic heaters can be used to provide freeze protection in insulated tanks instead of conventional fire tubes.   So what?  The catalytic heaters use considerably less fuel gas and emit fewer GHG’s improving the environmental performance of operations.

The desire to upping the ante does not reside only with producers and their operations.  We are in discussions to have the Enviro Vault recognized by international standards organizations such as the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the Steel Tank Institute (STI).

What we all observed at the conference was a desire from the local industry to move their operations forward in the area of environmental responsibility ahead of state regulatory.  We would like to congratulate them on their initiative.  The Four Corners area certainly is leading from the front.

We’re going to be attending the Four Corners Oil and Gas Conference in Farmington, NM… are you? We’ve had our collective eye on this area for quite some time and came to one conclusion; there are some exciting activities going on in oil and gas there and we want to get involved.

This conference is hosted by the Farmington Chamber of Commerce in New Mexico and is located near the borders of Utah, Arizona and Colorado… hence the 4-corners. The conference has been active since 1994 and has grown close to 280 exhibitors ranging from manufacturers to services to producers.

The ultimate goal of the conference is “to provide information on new types of technology plus new and changing regulations that affect the oil and gas industry.” – Karen Ortega, 2010 Chairman. This philosophy fits really well with what we are trying to do at Enviro Vault.

During my interview about new Enviro Vault technologies with Gareth Evans and Mike Nielsen (see Improving Environmental Performance in Oil and Gas), we discussed the ThermoVault. This is a vault that will increase and maintain fluid temperature in a tank using catalytic heaters instead of fire tubes. The article published in New Technology Magazine also features the DuoVault (spill containment) and the FloVault (read separator package inside an EnviroVault).

All three new products address different environmental and regulatory issues in oil and gas. That’s why we’re excited to attend the Four Corners conference this year. If you’re attending, come by and say hi and say you read our blog.

- Stacy Richter

There is no question that the regulatory environment in the oil and gas industry is changing.  Or at least it’s on the verge of a huge shift.  The government and industry is under extreme public scrutiny.  Much attention has been brought to the environmental shortcomings of the industry’s performance.  Some of negative publicity (at the hands of various lobby groups) is well-placed no doubt.

Most discussion has been defensive and reactive.  I like to take a different approach when creating discussion opportunities in oil and gas.  Every once in a while you find a diamond in the rough in this industry.  It’s the type of organization whose people see it differently than most. The kind of people who see the industry’s shortcomings and say “I know how to fix that” and then do it.

I found this kind of innovation at Enviro Vault.  I had a chance to talk to Gareth Evans (Project Engineer) and Mike Nielsen (General Manager) about an exciting new development they have been working on called the ThermoVault®.

Thanks Gareth and Mike for taking some time to speak with me.

I know a little about the ThermoVault® so can you tell me exactly what it is?

Gareth: ThermoVault® is an extension of the Enviro Vault to go beyond freeze protection in tanks and study heat transfer to effectively size multiple catalytic heaters.  Raising and maintaining fluid tank temperature in a variety of circumstances and conditions is the intent of the project with comparison to fire tubes. There is a huge opportunity for fuel efficiency and lower emissions with this technology for potential carbon tax savings for producers.

Mike: As Gareth said, Enviro Vault’s new ThermoVault intends to increase and maintain product temperature in an above ground storage tank utilizing a bank of catalytic heaters mounted inside an Enviro Vault.

How did this idea come about?

Gareth: Initial discussion began in 2009 with a client in the United States to heat a tank for oil/water separation.

Mike: The concept of the ThermoVault came from trying to answer this question; “If a standard 18 X 24 catalytic heater can effectively provide freeze protection for a 400 BBL tank, how many heaters are required to raise and maintain the fluid temperature in a tank?”

Why is the ThermoVault® important to the industry and who should take notice?

Gareth: With changing regulations, it is important to find cleaner energy solutions for environmental stewardship. As industry is discovering, there are great cost savings opportunities for producers.

Mike: As emissions and other environmental regulations evolve, the industry needs to evolve as well. The companies that should take notice are companies that currently use direct fired burners to heat their 750 BBL and smaller tanks

What type of R&D work has been put into it so far and what do you still have left to do?

Gareth: Analysis of catalytic heaters and fire tubes has started. A baseline application was selected for energy requirement calculations. Efficiencies need to be tested and proven while collecting air emission data. I have met with Enviro Vault’s provincial and federal government contacts with the project start date of April 1^st, 2010.

Mike: Gareth will be spending the majority of the next 6 months working with research facilities from both the provincial and national levels performing in depth calculations, prototype testing and analysis.

How do you expect the ThermoVault® to stand up to the legacy technologies aimed at doing the same activity?

Mike: It’s too early to give exact comparisons, but Enviro Vault always has and always will strive to provide innovative solutions to existing challenges or meaningful improvements to current methods.

What impacts do you expect the ThermoVault® to have for operators/producers?

Gareth: Since Enviro Vault focuses on practicality and safety for operators, the producers will see benefits in many areas.  Carbon tax savings needs to be further explored in Alberta for the oil and gas industry.

Mike: As Gareth mentioned, with the use of Class 1, Div 1 approved heaters, increased safety is at the forefront. Reduced fuel costs and emissions are the next main targets.

When do you expect the ThermoVault® to be ready?

Gareth: The prototype is scheduled to be built in June with testing in July 2010.

Mike: As a diehard salesman, I would tell you that the ThermoVault can be ready as soon as our customers want it. At a minimum, we plan to have them ready for sale by next winter.

That’s great.  I’m excited to see what comes next from you guys.  Thanks so much for your time.

We had the pleasure of presenting at a technical information session through the Petroleum Technology Alliance of Canada (PTAC) back in December.  This was a great opportunity to discuss new technologies for upstream oil and gas storage tanks.  Our presentation (click here) focused who we are and our different vault technologies.

The audience provided great feedback on our new DuoVault, ThermoVault and FloVault.  The most important part of the discussion centered on the Energy Resources Conservation Board’s (ERCB) Directive 055.  Regulatory has a huge impact on how the industry stores fluids and protects against accidental spills.  The debate continues even as you read this blog.

New Technology Magazine, a JuneWarren-Nickles publication, has taken notice and named our own Russ Hebblethwaite as an Oilpatch Innovator in their March 2010 issue.   Russ was featured in a 1.5 page article discussing Enviro Vault’s approach to innovation.  Russ explains that Enviro Vault invests heavily into research and development for innovative tank technology.  “It’s our commitment to this innovation that will enable us to continue providing the next generation solutions for tank safety and environmental stewardship.”

We look forward to talking more about important issues in the oil and gas industry and would appreciate your comments and insights!

- Stacy Richter