REGINA - The Petroleum Technology Research Centre (PTRC) and its board of directors have announced the appointment of Mr. Ranjith (Ran) Narayanasamy as the company’s new chief executive officer and president.
Narayanasamy comes to the PTRC from SaskPower with 16-plus years of versatile experience. He earned a masters in engineering and a masters in business administration from the University of Regina. He is also a registered professional engineer with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan.
Narayanasamy brings with him a background in energy, business and policy development. He also has an understanding of carbon capture and storage initiatives including the PTRC’s field demonstration project Aquistore, which is affiliated with SaskPower’s Boundary Dam CCS facility.
“The PTRC’s importance as a petroleum research facilitator has never been higher,” said board chair Kristal Allen. “Its core role as a manager and advancer of enhanced oil recovery [EOR] technologies that reduce emissions and improve production efficiencies remains key. In the last few years, in alignment with economic and environmental trends, the PTRC has also expanded its other core competency: CO2 utilization and storage.”
The PTRC remains a committed partner and funder of Saskatchewan research organizations – including the University of Regina, University of Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) – contributing close to $1.5 million to those organizations each year. Additional funds from oil and gas companies support the PTRC’s EOR work.
Other industries and an extensive network of national and international partners fund the Aquistore program. Recent federal initiatives related to Net-Zero 2050 and support of carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) have created more demand from different industries for the PTRC’s CO2 storage expertise, including from refiners, pipeline companies, geothermal developers, cement manufacturers and utilities.
“I’m excited by what I see occurring at the PTRC. The PTRC has a vital role to play helping major industries meet their ESG (environmental, social and governance) targets. That’s why I pursued this position. In my view, the PTRC is an important organization that helps its stakeholders realize their energy production and emissions reduction goals.
“The superb contributions the PTRC has made in the past on lessening environmental impacts of oil and gas production, while also funding world-leading research on CO2 storage, now offer a great opportunity for growth and energy transitions.” said Narayanasamy.
“The value-added by the PTRC is significant,” said Allen. “Its leadership in EOR and CO2 utilization, and the extensive databases from Aquistore and the Weyburn-Midale CO2 Storage Project, have identified and advanced innovations in subsurface energy. We are confident Ran will continue to move the PTRC forward.”
Narayanasamy began his new position on Feb. 14.
