The recession forces companies in the energy and mining sectors to look for more cost-efficient solutions. Kemira’s Oil & Mining is constantly developing new products to answer customers’ needs.
Due to the combined effects of a global economic crisis and a shrinking supply of natural resources, oil and mining companies are hard-pressed to make their production cycles more efficient and less costly. As more companies seek chemistry-based solutions to improve performance and produce raw materials from alternative sources, Kemira’s offerings are in high demand, explains Lou Rosati, Vice President of Research and Development for Kemira’s Oil & Mining segment.
“The global recession has led to a decreased consumption of chemistries used in production. However, there continues to be a demand for chemistries and technology that aid performance and reduce the total cost of production by improving efficiency and delivering innovative technologies to solve customers’ needs,” Rosati says.
A need for new solutions
Amidst a growing emphasis on efficiency, an expanding scarcity of global resources is driving innovation. Many oil companies are tapping into heavy oil or deep offshore production, while mining firms are moving from high grade locations into less accessible sources.
“Although we continue to utilize the existing reserves of oil, gas and metals, many of these resources are already in production or are dwindling, which means that production is shifting to more marginal or more costly reserves that are harder to produce. These reserves will then require new technologies to either enable production or reduce costs,“ Rosati says.
Kemira also continues its efforts to help lessen the environmental burden of large-scale industries like mining and metal production. Kemira’s expertise in water purification comes to good use as tightening standards drive these industries to better manage their water use and recycling initiatives.
The company collaborates with various institutions to investigate water quality issues; most recently, Kemira has teamed up with the University of Alberta to reduce the amount of water used in Oil Sands (bitumen) production in Canada.
Original article published in Kemira’s stakeholder magazine Just Add 2/2009