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Innovation, Trade and Rural Development August 21, 2007 Petroleum Researchers Meet to Study North Atlantic Sedimentary Basins A letter of intent signed in Ireland during a trade visit led by the Honourable Danny Williams, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, in February 2007 to produce closer ties between the oil and gas industries of Newfoundland and Labrador and Ireland, is generating results. Petroleum geology researchers from Ireland and Atlantic Canada recently met for a four-day workshop at Memorial University to discuss the geology and geophysics of the North Atlantic sedimentary basins. "The similarities between Ireland and Newfoundland and Labrador go beyond their people," said the Honourable Trevor Taylor, Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development. "We have similar geographies, and it may be that those similarities extend under the sea. We have already shared knowledge on underwater mapping, and now I hope that joint investigations of our petroleum assets will prove mutually beneficial." The letter of intent signed in February by Memorial University�s Oil and Gas Development Partnership in Newfoundland and Labrador and by the Petroleum Infrastructure Programme in Ireland, led to the formation of the North Atlantic Petroleum Systems Assessment group (NAPSA). Its objective is to provide a framework to promote petroleum research collaboration between Ireland and Canada, and increase petroleum exploration and development in both jurisdictions.The goal of the workshop was to advance the NAPSA work program by bringing together researchers, research program managers, industry representatives and government personnel from Atlantic Canada and Ireland. Fifty people registered for the four-day geosciences workshop held in St. John�s from July 23-26. The delegates included researchers from Memorial University, Dalhousie University, the University of New Brunswick, University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin, National University of Ireland Galway, University College Cork, the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies, the Geological Survey of Canada, and industry geoscientists from oil companies. Topics debated included investigation into the petroleum potential of the conjugate Atlantic margins, the building of new research collaboration and new joint projects, and ways to improve post-graduate education and training in the geosciences, especially targeting petroleum exploration in the North Atlantic.Outcomes of the workshop included the consolidation of working relationships between researchers, agreement on joint research objectives and the exchange of research personnel between jurisdictions, and the identification of key research equipment. The event was hosted by the NAPSA group with funding support from the Ireland Business Partnerships, the Ireland Newfoundland Partnership, the Petroleum Infrastructure Programme (Ireland) and Memorial University. -30- Media contact: Scott Barfoot 2007 08 21 9:30 a.m. |
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