ISMOS-7 comes to Halifax

Published: June 11th 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 11, 2019

HALIFAX, NS – The 7th International Symposium on Applied Microbiology and Molecular Biology in Oil Systems (ISMOS-7) is coming to Halifax, Nova Scotia from June 18-21, 2019. Hosted by Genome Atlantic, ISMOS-7 will bring together the world’s top scientists from the oil and gas industry and from academia to discuss the latest molecular methods for tackling major industry challenges.

“Bacteria and other microbes can cause problems like pipeline corrosion and reservoir souring, but they can also enhance oil recovery, de-risk exploration and help clean up oil spills. Studying these microbes and how we can best apply them is an emerging focus for the industry,” said Dr. Torben Lund Skovhus, VIA University College in Denmark and ISMOS conference planning co-chair. “Conferences such as ISMOS provide an excellent opportunity to explore recent applications of emerging molecular tools through presentations, workshops and poster sessions.”

Genomics, a science that studies the DNA of living organisms, is key to understanding these microbes and how they interact with their environment, explained Genome Atlantic President & CEO, Dr. Steve Armstrong. “For example, some microbes eat oil and congregate near oil seeps. Tracking them can help to de-risk companies’ decisions on where to drill, thereby potentially increasing their chances of success and reducing the environmental impact of unnecessary drilling.” Armstrong added that “ISMOS-7 offers a tremendous opportunity to showcase leading research from around the world, including innovative microbial genomics work taking place in Atlantic Canada.”

Conference topics include hydrocarbon degradation; subsurface and reservoir biochemical processes; deep oilfield microbiology; reservoir geophysics and geology; microbiologically-influenced corrosion and souring; microbial enhanced oil recovery; microbiology and modelling in the oil and gas sector; integrity management in oil, gas and fuel systems; and microbial energy and molecular biology in the oil and gas sector.

ISMOS-7 will take place in the Halifax Convention Centre. For more information, including a full list of topics and speakers, consult the conference website (http://www.ismos-7.org/)

Genome Atlantic is a not-for-profit corporation with a mission to help Atlantic Canada reap the economic and social benefits of genomics technologies. Since its inception in 2000, the corporation has worked with a range of private and public-sector partners to enable more than $100 million in new genomics R&D.

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FOR MEDIA:

Members of the media are welcome to attend sessions of interest and are asked to contact Charmaine Gaudet (cgaudet@genomeatlantic.ca / 902-488-7837) for a press pass.

Highlights:

For an overview of how research in the oil and gas industry moves from the lab into the field, consider attending the mini-workshop “Science-based oilfield management – from the lab to field” on Tuesday, June 18 from 3:00-5:30 p.m.

Dr. Kenneth Lee, National Senior Scientific Advisor with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and a leading expert in oil spill countermeasures, will give the keynote presentation (Friday, June 21, 3:05 p.m. in Convention Hall C2-C3).

The plenary talk (Wednesday, June 19, 9:20 a.m., Convention Hall C2-C3) will focus on how Nova Scotia is combining traditional geoscience and new genomics technologies to paint a clearer picture of offshore petroleum deposits. Presenters TBA.

The Hon. Derek Mombourquette, Nova Scotia Minister of Energy and Mines, will provide remarks at the Welcome Reception (Tuesday, June 18, 6:00 p.m., Room 605).

Speakers/experts available for media interviews include:

Dr. Kenneth Lee (Fisheries and Oceans Canada) is a world-renowned expert on research, development and application of emerging technologies in ocean sciences, including in the oil and gas sector. He will give the Keynote Presentation on Friday, June 21, 3:05-3:50 p.m.
Dr. Torben Lund Skovhus (VIA University College, Denmark) and Dr. Corinne Whitby (University of Essex) are Co-Chairs of the ISMOS Planning Committee and co-authors of Oilfield Microbiology, considered a definitive text on the impact of microorganisms in the oil and gas industry. They are available to speak about the ISMOS-7 conference as well as their specialties.
Dr. Lisa Gieg (University of Calgary) will speak on “Assessing MIC (Microbiologically-influenced Corrosion) in the petroleum Industry – a holistic approach” on Tuesday, June 18, 3:20-3:40 p.m. Dr. Gieg’s specialties include microbial corrosion, bioremediation and microbial enhanced oil recovery. She is a co-lead on a major R&D project focused of reducing pipeline corrosion on Canada’s offshore and onshore oil production.
Dr. Casey Hubert (University of Calgary) is an expert on offshore prospecting, souring and corrosion, and oil spill bioremediation. He is a co-lead in the “De-Risking Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration in Nova Scotia” project that combines geoscience and genomics to build a clearer picture of petroleum depositis in Nova Scotia’s offshore.
Dr. Rick Eckert (DNV GL, North American Oil and Gas)is an oil and gas industry internal corrosion management specialist and co-chair of the June 18 Workshop on “Science-based oilfield management – from lab to the field” workshop.
Dr. Geert van der Kraan (R&D Specialist at DuPont Microbial Control) will be giving a presentation titled, “Phylogenomic and Metagenomic analyses of oilfield microbial communities shows they genetically differ and align with the differences in the chemical engineering parameters of top side asset elements” on Thursday, June 20, 4:30-4:50 p.m.. in Convention Hall C2-C3.
Dr. Joe Moore (Technical Service Specialist at DuPont Microbial Control) will be on site to discuss poster 151 – “Highly Resolved Sampling and Analysis of a Hydraulic Fracturing Pad Reveal Insights into Effective Microbial Control”, which he co-authored.
Mr. Andrew Stone (Genome Atlantic) is available to talk about the importance of bringing ISMOS-7 to Halifax and Atlantic Canada.

Media Contact:

Charmaine Gaudet, Genome Atlantic, 902-421-5683 / 902-488-7837 / cgaudet@genomeatlantic.ca