Research Programs
Extensive research is being carried out into various facets of the industry, especially in heavy oil and oil sands. Research and development is conducted by research organizations, educational institutions, industry associations, cooperative ventures and individual companies.
Canada's Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) program is the largest research and development support program aimed at the private sector. Based on the 2009 projections, the total value of federal SR&ED tax credit expenditure is approximately $ 3.5 billion.
To date, the government of Alberta and private industry have each invested more than $1 billion in oil sands research and development to improve both economics and environmental performance of oil recovery projects. Alberta's Innovative Energy Technologies Program (IETP) represents a $200-million commitment, over five years, by the Alberta government to provide royalty adjustments to a number of specific pilot and demonstration projects that demonstrate new and innovative technologies for increasing oil, natural gas, and bitumen reserves in an environmental and responsible way. The royalty adjustments are a maximum of 30 per cent of approved project costs up to $10 million per pilot project.
Research & Development
The Canadian oil and gas industry conducts extensive research into a wide spectrum of areas. Studies are carried out by research organizations, educational institutions, industry associations, cooperative ventures and individual company programs. Areas of investigation include:
- crude oil recovery
- refining and upgrading
- pipeline optimization
- petrochemical processes
- environmental management
- ocean energy
Canada also offers more favourable tax treatment to Research and Development (R&D) expenditures than other G7 countries. It is estimated that the cost of performing R&D in Canada is 18 per cent lower than the comparable cost in the United States or Japan, and 40 per cent lower compared to Germany.
Canadian universities account for more than one third of all research activity in Canada. Most research funds are channelled through research councils or individual provincial programs. At the institutional level, some universities and their host cities have developed research parks to enhance collaboration among research organizations. Private sector programs tend to focus on applied research, generally for specific projects.
