Active Biological Countermeasures (ABCM)

Lead Proponent:   683107 Alberta Ltd. (NorQuest Systems Division)
Location:  Lethbridge, AB
OSRS Contribution: $ 400,000
Project Total: $ 1,310,000
Strategic Area:  Oil Spill Response Science

Project Objectives:

The Proponent’s long-term objective is developing and implementing a suite of active biological countermeasures (ABCM) for responding to, managing, and mitigating small or medium size spills or accidental releases of crude oil and/or refined/processed products in Arctic and Cold Ocean environments.

During the current project, biological delivery methods will be designed, developed, tested and validated to determine if these systems are a practical or reliable means of conveying or transporting a hydrocarbon-degrading bacterial community into mixtures of seawater and crude oil (or refined/processed product) in laboratory settings that simulate or mimic various conditions in Arctic or Cold Ocean waters.

The project is taking the special nature of many Arctic and Cold Ocean waters (involving sea ice in some cases, cold surface temperatures, changing salinity, changing amounts of suspended sediment, remote/isolated locations, limited daylight in winter) into account.  It is focusing on “natural source” components for ABCM, and the potential this offers for lower impact, more sustainable ways of responding to spills or accidental releases of crude oil or refined/processed products in an Arctic or Cold Ocean environment.  

Expected Results:

The project, if successful, will strengthen marine oil spill preparedness and response by improving Canada’s ability to plan and prepare appropriately to limit the impacts of oil spills, including accidental release of bitumen-based products, and, specifically, contribute to cleaning up these spills rapidly and effectively in Arctic and Cold Ocean waters, ice-free or ice-affected, at different times of year. The project will also advance Canadian development of active countermeasures that are ocean-qualified, produced from components that are biologically-validated, and capable of meeting industry requirements in operational settings, including deployment in adverse conditions.

Project Partners:

National Research Council (IRAP)
Pisco ApS (Denmark)
Akvaplan-niva AS (Norway)
Golder Associates A/S (Denmark)
InforMetics ApS (Denmark)
Københavns Universitet (Denmark)
Roskilde Universitet (Denmark)
Focus Environmental Consulting Ltd. (Canada)
Marine Natural Products Laboratory, U of PEI (Canada)
Delta Genomics / Helios Genomics Inc. (Canada)