April 25, 2013 - Sarnia, Ontario, Canada - Collaboration among the provinces on energy development and the down-stream sectors will be highlighted by companion presentations by OntarioR17;s Tony LaMantia, ADM, Investment and Industry Division, Economic Development, Trade and Employment and by AlbertaR17;s Justin Riemer, ADM of the Economic Competitiveness Division, at the upcoming Bitumen - Adding Value: Canada's National Opportunity Conference.

The conference will take place in Sarnia, Ontario, May 21 and 22.  Registration and information on the conference is found at www.canadabitumen.com.

The need to develop government policies and programs to support energy and manufacturing competitiveness will be stressed. Areas for future collaboration could include technology development, market opportunity assessments, and policy development.  'There are both challenges to overcome and opportunities to capture', said LaMantia, 'and we will identify these at the conference'.

Governments can work together to enhance supply chain development, energy upgrading and transportation linkages to improve Canada's competitiveness in the energy sector.  'Progress is being made in these areas and results of this work will be shared at the conference', Riemer noted.

Dr. Eddy Isaacs, CEO of AlbertaInnovates- Energy and Environment Solutions notes that the '$104 billion annual exports of energy products represents by far the largest contributor to CanadaR17;s balance of trade'.  Bob Bleaney, Vice President, External Relations of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers stated that 'Canada's energy resources provide value to all Canadians - including a high standard of living, jobs, health care and education. The energy industry is a major player in the Canadian economy accounting for approximately 20% of the TSX'. 

AlbertaR17;s Dr. Duke Duplessis will outline opportunities and challenges for improving the competitiveness and market value of Alberta's bitumen-derived crudes in North American markets. These include refinery pricing mechanisms, limited pipeline capacity, growing volumes of high quality "tight oils" and decline in transportation fuel demand in the North American market.  'Some of these can be overcome through new advanced technologies', Duplessis said, and 'these are under active development in joint programs by Alberta's AI-EES, industry and the Federal Government's NRCan.

Contact:

Walter F. Petryschuk, Conference Chair
519 542-5137
walter.petryschuk@sympatico.ca
Associate, Bowman Centre
Member, Canadian Academy of Engineering's Energy Task Force