A great deal of debate is circulating about the need to sustain energy, create jobs and to support economic development. To enable effective policy development and to achieve sustainability, economic information is needed. The Canadian Petrolueum Industry has completed a study that outlines the economic impact that that sector has on the Canadian economy.

The report entitled ‘Economic Impacts of the Petroleum Industry in Canada’ is now available (not a free report)

The summary report (free) says,

“Accounting for all these costs, the oil and gas companies will invest C$1.07 trillion (2008 dollars), which will result in incremental growth in gross domestic product (GDP) for the Canadian economy of C$3.5 trillion. The royalties payable to the province where the development takes place total C$429 billion, over the time frame of 25 years.”

Oil and gas have been lumped together as like energy sources for a long period of time. While they’re both non renewable fossil fuels, and natural gas often accompanies liquid petroleum in wells, there are enough gas-only sources and uses that they should be considered as independent entities. When you look at availability, low emissions and cheaper price of natural gas, it should be considered as the preferred fossil fuel.

When addressing energy independence and national security, natural gas is a very attractive alternative to oil. Gas is abundant domestically, while more than 60 percent of the oil we consume needs to be imported, and largely from unstable and even hostile regimes. The domestic supply of natural gas continues to increase with new discoveries and new techniques such as horizontal drilling.

Gas burns much more cleanly than oil or coal. According to the Department of Energy, fossil fuels supply 85 percent of the primary energy consumed in the United States and are responsible for 98 percent of emissions of carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide emissions of oil is 44 percent, coal is 36 percent and natural gas is 20 percent. While natural gas is far from the zero-emissions goals of renewable energies, it’s abundance and cleaner burning profile makes

Compressed natural gas is an attractive alternative to gasoline as an energy source for vehicles. In fact, there’s a growing push for tax credits for cars that run on compressed natural gas, including a bill that recently passed in Colorado. Natural gas vehicles can also be fueled directly in the home via the home gas supply line, saving trips to fueling stations and fueling can be accomplished easily overnight when the vehicle isn’t in use.

The abundance of natural gas also makes it a cheaper energy source than oil, and the decoupling of the two could further achieve more favorable price margins. Currently, natural gas is 10 to 15 times cheaper than crude oil. Further globalization of the natural gas market could help drive the price of gas down further, making it much more attractive in the future.

Based on all of these above factors, it’s time to further separate gas from oil. Perhaps we need a national campaign to tout the energy advantages of natural gas a cleaner, safer and cheaper alternative.

Energy is two-dimensional (2D), three-dimensional (3D) and four-dimensional 4D). Any land manager looking at a map, mine drawing or a global positioning (GPS) instrument will be familiar with 3D. Designers, planners and those involved in calculating volume will know about 3D. Those working in 3D through time – wind, solar, mining, pipelines and so on, will readily appreciate 4D. How do they impact energy?

Every workflow connected to energy can be understood through space and time. They are not only located somewhere on the planet, but our ability to plan, build and operate energy related projects involves space and time. Wind energy is dependent upon location. Determining where to site a wind turbine is not simply a flip of the coin, instead, it involves the calculation of wind speed and duration present upon certain points across the landscape.

Consequently, knowing the landscape in 3D is important – hills, valleys and mountains matter. Sometimes these are not as easily identifiable by eye though, and this is where detailed elevation models of the terrain come in. These models are calculated through airborne measurement technologies  usually, and the data for whole regions can be purchased, leased or rented.

Many pipeline operators will know that terrain also has a role to play in terms of the landscape. It impacts construction costs for building pipelines and operating them. The calculation of volume within geological basins is similarly dependent upon the determination of 3D volumes. When data is viewed within the office through visualisation technologies, it is often available in 3D form, which alows decision makers to move through the data in a simulation environment, determining where and how geology relates to the findings.

Waves are not always consistent. They vary over time and are impacted by climate conditions, water depth and other factors. As a result they are 4D in nature, moving up and down over time – their volumes change over time. Additionally, their occurence also changes spatially. A growing number of building architects and plant design specialists are interested in designing structures that consider the environment. With changing climate and location, the meteorological impacts on a given structure, as it relates to the design, can be considerable.

This directly connects to the ability to design structures that are energy efficienct, or use energy more efficiently and effectively. The development of specialised sensors that are capable of acquiring 2D, 3D and 4D spatial information is constantly under research. With each new sensor comes the ability to understand the processes of wind, solar, geothermal, oil and even nuclear energy management, for example.

We should not lose track of the fact that new technologies bring new possibilities for designing wind turbines, solar panels and their placement. Similarly, the management of facilities infrastructure and the design of those structures is also impacted by understanding the dynamics surrounding the workflows and processes.

Policy and administration are now becoming more significntly connected to energy supply, operation and management. Greater transparency and accountability in terms of energy use and efficient will need to be communicated. That communication area, particularly through collaboration, is going to become more specialised and involve 3D and 4D technologies – so they can understand – and speed up the design, build and operations.

Both non-renewbable and renewable resources will see greater use of these tools and technologies in the future. The economics and communication factors will demand that.

SARIG is the South Australian Resource Information Geoserver and is designed to provide free geodata to the petroleum and mining sectors.

From the site – The South Australian Resources Information Geoserver (SARIG) is an online web application that enables users to search, view, download and purchase information relating to minerals and petroleum exploration in South Australia. SARIG also provides the facility to apply for an exploration licence online.