Oil sands research gets $10M boost in Alberta

Edmonton, AB – Imperial Oil is contributing $10 million over the next five years to establish a new research facility at the University of Alberta called the Imperial Oil Centre for Oil Sands Innovation. It is the largest investment ever made by Imperial in a university, and the university says it is the largest single corporate cash commitment ever received by its Faculty of Engineering.

Administered by the Faculty of Engineering, the centre’s mandate will be to find more efficient, economically viable, and environmentally responsible ways to develop Canada’s oil-sands resources, one of the largest crude oil deposits in the world.

“This significant corporate support substantially increases the university’s capacity for research and education on the orderly development of our natural resources, with particular focus on energy and the environment," says Dr David T Lynch, the faculty’s dean of engineering. "It will provide major benefits locally, nationally and internationally through the activities of our graduates and the impact of our groundbreaking research."