Speakers announced for IDA conference in Banff

Speakers and sessions for the May conference on Water Recycling and Desalination for the Oil & Gas Industry have been announced by the organizers, the International Desalination Association (IDA).

Taking place on 12‑14 May 2013 in Alberta, Canada, the conference will focus on water treatment strategies for the oil and gas industry. It will be held at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, a National Historic Site of Canada and considered one of the most beautiful venues in the country.

The conference program will consist of five technical sessions and a round table discussion – a format that creates a platform for information sharing and networking between oil and gas producers and water treatment technology experts. The technical sessions will explore the different technologies currently being used, as well as those that are showing promising results, for the overall water management cycle on the various kinds of oil and gas extraction sites.

Session chairs are:

Water Treatment Trends in the Oil and Gas Sector: Lisa Henthorne, SVP, chief technical officer, Water Standard

Residual Management: John Kus, director water sustainability, Statoil Canada Ltd

Shale Gas and Shale Oil Produced Water Treatment: Keith Minnich, water management advisor, Alberta WaterSMART

Thermal-based Water Treatment Technologies and New Technologies: Tom Pankratz, editor, Water Desalination Report

Application of Produced Water Technologies in the Field: Sudir Parab, director of technology application, Conoco Philips

Shauna Curry, CEO, Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology, is the Keynote Speaker, and Dr Corrado Sommariva, IDA President, will deliver the Opening Remarks.

Conference topics include:

· Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage Case Studies
· Thermal Treatment Technologies
· Membrane Applications in Oilfields: oily produced water, brine, polymers versus ceramics
· Options for Produced Water Pre-Treatment
· Treatment of Frac Water in Shale Gas and Shale Oil
· Regulations and Residuals Management
· Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) and Sulphate Removal Process (SRP) Technology
· Waste Pit Treatment by Forward Osmosis
· Brine Management
· Low Salinity Flooding: technology adaptation and drivers

“This event is timely and relevant for not only members of the oil and gas industry, but also for professionals engaged in desalination and wastewater recycle/reuse,” said Guillaume Clairet, IDA director, conference Technical Program chair, and co-chair of IDA’s Humanitarian Outreach Program.

“Oil and gas companies must contend with a variety of issues, from increasingly stringent environmental regulations to heightened scrutiny about wastewater from fracking and oil recovery operations. This conference will place the spotlight on water treatment strategies to manage these issues,” he added.

In addition to sharing technical knowledge, the conference will continue the work of IDA’s Humanitarian Outreach Initiative. Proceeds from the event will be donated to one or more non-profit organizations that develop water-related humanitarian projects in Africa and South America, where the majority of the population still suffers from drinking water scarcity.

Water Standard and H2O Innovation are conference sponsors. For more information, visit www.idadesal.org.