From the desk of Kevin Krausert, President & CEO, Beaver Drilling
On behalf of the YPAC x AVATAR leadership team, I want to extend a deep and sincere thank you for your participation and support over the past 8 weeks. We accomplished many major milestones that were made possible by your leadership and support. Perhaps most impressively, we saw 52 emerging professionals in our industry not just re-connect with the future of our industry, but deliver visionary plans for the future of our industry.
I am pleased to inform you that the CCUS Team was selected as the winner by the Shark Tank at our final session of cohort 1 on Friday. Their pitch was an integrated Canadian carbon management system with three key recommendations: 1) expand the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line (ACTL) to Fort McMurray to provide oilsands operations with a new conduit for carbon emissions; 2) re-purpose Line 3 to a carbon line instead of its planned decommissioning in a few years and connect it with the ACTL; and 3) develop Saskatchewan’s suitable geology for Enhanced Oil Recovery, turning the oil into a carbon negative energy source.
We were delighted that the YPAC x AVATAR Program received such strong national interest, with coverage from coast to coast showcased by the CBC, Globe & Mail and Post Media. During these times of challenge for our industry, it was great to see such enthusiasm and interest for a positive vision for our industry.
We are also pleased that each of the 9 pitches will be individually showcased in Canada’s largest energy publication – JuneWarren Nickels – over the coming weeks on each of the other topics: Hydrogen, Digitization, Innovative Pipeline Construction Techniques and Energy Advocacy. This should provide us with great momentum and further exposure as we move forward refining our ideas and plans for the future of the program.
We have received strong interest from many key stakeholders to expand and continue the program. The idea of cross-industry collaboration with academia and emerging leadership has resonated with many more than even our greatest hopes at the outset of the program. If you have any ideas you would recommend for the future of the program, please do not hesitate to contact myself, Molly Beckel, Deborah Yedlin, Ana Villarreal or Justin de Montarnal all of whom worked diligently on the program. Over the coming weeks and months we will be meeting with many key stakeholders to refine the next steps with a goal of announcing the next iteration in the fall.
Thank you again for your support. You empowered a new generation of leaders in our industry to become enthusiastic about our collective future and made that future all the brighter.