PRACtically Speaking
The Newsletter of Petroleum Research Atlantic Canada - February 2006Research Profile
Lifeboat Release Mechanism - Mad Rock Marine Solutions Inc. The Canadian east coast offshore oil industry emphasizes safety as a top priority for its work force. In response to this, PRAC has continued to strategically focus research funding in this area. One of the projects which benefited from this funding was conducted by Dr. Brian Veitch of Memorial University and Mr. Antonio Simoes Re at the Institute for Ocean Technology. The project focused on the performance of marine evacuation systems, and a number of students were funded to assist the principle researcher, Mr. Dean Pelley. Identified as one of biggest problems in the industry, the past decade has seen a large number of lifeboat accidents, many resulting in serious injuries and fatalities, all of which have occurred during maintenance and drills. The problem has become so wide spread that the International Maritime Organization has created a working group to investigate possible means of reducing the likelihood of these accidents. Mad Rock’s new RocLoc technology solves this problem. Developed over a three year period, Mad Rock began the design process by researching over 30 accident reports as well as obtaining input from seafarers, accident investigation inspectors, regulators, and lifeboat training personnel. Taking advantage of PRAC’s Transfer to Usability funding program, Mad Rock tested five prototypes, obtaining Det Norske Veritas approval in July of 2005. The new lifeboat hook, which offers more reliability and better failure warning characteristics, has generated a great deal of interest both locally and internationally as a retrofit to existing lifeboats. Due to the Mad Rock’s experience dealing with this problem, the company has recently been contracted to help a number of oil companies manage the risks when using existing hook technology until that new hook can be replaced with a safer one. Mad Rock has also partnered with a major lifeboat manufacturer, allowing the company to supply a full range of evacuation systems as well as becoming the exclusive supplier of lifeboat hooks to this manufacturer. The company continues to explore new opportunities and is committed to finding better technologies that will improve the safety of offshore oil workers both locally and internationally.
Left: Dean Pelley, CEO and President of Mad Rock Marine Solutions Inc., is developing a new lifeboat release mechanism designed to reduce lifeboat accidents on offshore oil tankers.
While performing his graduate work, Mr. Pelley identified an opportunity to commercialize some of the work being done by the research project, and in July 2002 Mr. Pelley and Mr. Jason Dawe formed Mad Rock Marine Solutions Inc. Focused on the development of evacuation system technology, the company has grown substantially in the past two years. After speaking to a number of local oil company HSE representatives, Mad Rock set out to develop its first product, a new lifeboat release mechanism.
Above: Mad Rock’s new “RocLoc” lifeboat hook – this innovative lifeboat release system offers more reliability and better failure warning characteristics than conventional lifeboat hook designs.
New Address for Newfoundland & Labrador Office
PRAC has relocated its Newfoundland & Labrador office. The new address is:
INCO Innovation Centre, IIC1001
Memorial University
St. John’s, NL A1C 5S7
Tel: (709) 737-3706
Fax: (709) 737-6193
E-mail: communications@pr-ac.ca
Seminar on Economic Impacts of LNG Imports to Atlantic Canada
On February 8, 2006, the Canadian Energy Research Institute (CERI) and PRAC held a half-day seminar in Dieppe, New Brunswick to release the results of a major study on the developments of Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) and the potential for Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) on the northeastern North American natural gas marketplace, the region’s pipeline system, natural gas pricing and benefits and opportunities for economic development.
The report, “Economic Impacts of LNG Imports to Atlantic Canada”, examines how the proposed LNG projects in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Quebec, as well as CNG, will affect future natural gas markets in the Maritime Provinces, New England and beyond. It also evaluates changes required to the pipeline transportation system to deliver natural gas and the cost of transporting gas to the various markets.
The report concludes that LNG can be delivered to markets in the United States through regasification terminals in the Maritime Provinces and Quebec at a cost which is competitive with traditional gas supplies at current and expected future gas prices. For stranded offshore natural gas resources such as those on the Grand Banks, CNG is also becoming a competitive option for markets up to 2500 miles away. Copies of seminar presentations are available on PRAC’S website. Copies of the full study may be purchased from the Canadian Energy Research Institute.
Welcome to New Staff Members
PRAC is pleased to introduce two new staff members to the team:
Dorothea Hanchar was hired in the fall of 2005 to work in St. John’s as Program Manager for Outreach. Dorothea comes to PRAC most recently from the National Science Foundation in Arlington, Virginia. She can be reached at (709) 737-2626 or by email at dhanchar@pr-ac.ca.
Todd O’Keefe is our newest student employed on a Co-operative term as Communications Coordinator. Todd is located in our Halifax office and can be reached at (902) 494-2960 or by email at communications@pr-ac.ca.
Call 7 for Research Proposals
On November 1, 2005, PRAC announced its seventh Call for Research Proposals, and the first in a new series of truly targeted calls directed toward industry priorities.
Call 7 focuses on offshore geology, geophysics and reservoir engineering with five specific themes identified through collaborative input from industry and the research community.
The Call closed January 31, 2006 with a total of nine proposals received. The next step is to conduct a two-stage evaluation of each proposal which will lead to funding recommendations being presented to PRAC’s Board of Directors in May.
PRAC has allocated $600,000 to this call. Projects can range from one to three years in duration and contributions from PRAC will be a maximum of $50,000 per year.
Eminent Speaker Grant Program
PRAC is continuing its program to help offset costs associated with hosting internationally recognized speakers in subject areas relevant to Atlantic Canada’s offshore and onshore petroleum industry.
The program is available to universities, colleges, not-for-profit organizations and research institutes located in the Atlantic Provinces.
Grants of up to $2000 per speaker are available on a first come, first served basis and will generally cover 50 per cent of eligible costs.
Visit PRAC’s website at www.pr-ac.ca for full details and an application.
Comments, questions welcomed!
Please contact communications@pr-ac.ca with any questions or comments about this newsletter and visit the rest of PRAC's website for more information.
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