Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

For gas and crude oil reserves, Canada's ranks third and sixth in the world, respectively. Production and transmission of oil and gas are key components of Canada's economy. As conventional supplies of oil and gas are being exhausted, new sources of energy must be harvested from increasingly harsh environments using new technologies. New challenges have also emerged such as CO2 injection for enhanced oil recovery. The technological challenges of transporting these resources from frontier locations requires construction of an infrastructure for transportation to processing hubs in Western Canada and to markets in Eastern Canada and the U.S. Both production and transmission of oil and gas from these remote locations demand improved materials to ensure reliability, public safety and environmental protection. This is required in order to provide Canadians with a sustainable infrastructure for energy delivery.The proposed research is intended to address some these critical infrastructure issues with respect to the manufacture of steel for the transmission (pipeline) and production (downhole tubular) of oil and gas. Some of the key issues for pipelines are welding integrity and productivity. Of particular concern are the properties and characterization of the weld and the heat-affected zone [HAZ], and strain-based design addressing how one processes the microalloyed steel to achieve the desired microstructure and properties. In oil and gas production, there is need to develop steels with enhanced corrosion resistance (HIC, SSC) as wells are becoming increasingly sour. This project is therefore composed of six interdependent studies to develop new knowledge for EVRAZ Inc. NA, TCPL and UT Quality Inc. Seven graduate students will be trained on this project. Funding for a half-Program Manager and Program-Manager Assistant is also requested. A yearly workshop will provide a mechanism to transfer knowledge in this research sector from Canadian universities to industry in addition to the Technical Liaisons from industry that will work alongside of graduate students.