Calgary Conference to Examine Controversial Pipeline

TULSA, Okla., July 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A high-stakes decision on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, which would connect Alberta with the United States Gulf Coast, will receive high-level attention at the fifth annual Oil Sands and Heavy Oil Technologies Conference & Exhibition July 20 in Calgary.

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Construction of the 1,700-mile pipeline requires approval of the U.S. Department of State, which is under pressure from environmental groups to reject the application of TransCanada, the project sponsor.

The pipeline would allow delivery of tar-like oil produced in Alberta's oil sands region to refining centers in Port Arthur and Houston, Texas.

Speakers at the July 20 keynote session, which opens the main part of the conference at the Calgary TELUS Convention Centre, will offer perspectives from both sides of the border.

Robert Jones, vice-president of Keystone Pipelines, will discuss the ambitious project itself, which will incorporate segments of the existing Keystone system as well as new construction, most of it in the U.S.

The U.S. perspective will come from Lucian Pugliaresi, president of the Energy Policy Research Foundation Inc. (EPRINC), Washington, D.C.

EPRINC last year published a study on the importance of Canadian bitumen to the United States in terms of security of energy supply, economic and employment benefits, and the growing need of complex Gulf Coast refineries for new supplies of heavy crude oil.

Pugliaresi has given testimony about the project to the U.S. Congress.

A third keynote speaker, Fay Susanna Cranmer, Executive Director Energy, Canada, for Accenture, will discuss managerial issues pertinent to work in the challenging oil sands.

The keynote session will follow a day of specialty forums and inaugurate the main technical conference running July 20-21.

Technical subjects include new developments in methods for extracting highly viscous oil, processing bitumen, generating steam for underground injection, managing water, remediating environmental impacts, operating facilities, and others.

The conference will close with a series of presentations by operating companies on important oil sands projects.

The specialty forums on July 19, also at the Calgary TELUS Centre, will cover geophysics, sulphur management, and basics of the oil sands industry.

The full program is available on the conference web site: www.oilsandstechnologies.com.

About PennWell:

Oil Sands and Heavy Oil Technologies Conference & Exhibition is owned and produced by PennWell Corporation based in Tulsa, Okla. PennWell Corporation is a diversified business-to-business media and information company that provides quality content and integrated marketing solutions for the following industries:  Oil and gas, electric power, water, electronics, semiconductor, contamination control, optoelectronics, fiberoptics, enterprise storage, fire, emergency services and dental.  Founded in 1910, PennWell publishes 75 print and online magazines and newsletters, conducts 60 conferences and exhibitions on six continents, and has an extensive offering of books, maps, web sites, research and database services.  In addition to PennWell's headquarters in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the company has major offices in Nashua, New Hampshire; Houston, Texas; London, England; Fairlawn, New Jersey; Moscow, Russia; and Hong Kong, China.  For additional information about PennWell, visit www.pennwell.com.  

SOURCE PennWell