(Fredericton, NB) Green Imaging Technologies (GIT) presented its MRI-based capillary pressure system (GIT-CAPTM) to its many partners and supporters at an event at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton today. Representatives from ACOA, UNB, Bruker Optics, and Green Imaging Technologies were on hand for the event.
GIT-CAPTM examines rock core plugs from exploration oil and gas wells to aid in the determination of the quantity and degree of difficulty of future extraction. Using MRI-based equipment, GIT’s technology reduces the time to analyze the rock core from nearly 30 days to less than 3 days and produces a result that is far more accurate than the current method of analysis.
Oil companies currently spend over $8.5 B a year for exploration in North America alone. By knowing the potential payback of each exploration well, they can save millions of dollars a year with Green’s new imaging product.
“We have set an aggressive pace with this technology even though it is relatively new to the sector,” commented Jill Green, CEO for GIT. “The oil and gas industry has identified the need for new technology in order to meet necessary exploration targets. With too few drilling rigs in operation, the cost of each exploration well is exceeding $1m per day and rising, and efficient use of this equipment is paramount to them.”
To assist with the development and testing of GIT’s technology, Canada’s New Government has invested $250,000 through ACOA’s Business Development Program.
“Canada’s New Government knows that Atlantic Canadian companies have what it takes to succeed in global markets,” said the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of ACOA. “This investment is a very promising step to increase the R&D carried out in the Atlantic region, which will help lead to the launch of new products and services.”
Through an agreement with Bruker Optics, the initial system will be used to perform market validation trials in Fredericton and Houston. GIT has an agreement with Texas-based Corelab, the world’s largest rock core laboratory whose clients include companies like Chevron, Shell and Exxon, to do market validation trials in 2006 and early 2007.
Bruker Optics, is based in Milton Canada and Houston Texas and is the distributor of the Bruker Biospin Minispec MRI technology which forms the basis for the GIT-CAPTM system. Bruker Biospin is headquartered in Germany and is one of the world’s foremost MRI equipment manufacturers. GIT has negotiated the first loaner agreement for a Minispec MRI system in North America. GIT is retrofitting its hardware and patented software system and components on the Minispec, for use in examining rock core plugs from exploration wells in the oil and gas sector.
“This is a very exciting use for our MRI technology that has up until now been used largely in the healthcare environment,” said Peter Krygsman of Bruker Instruments. “We see this relationship with Green Imaging as an opportunity to break into new markets with technology added to our system that is very impressive. Bruker prides itself on quality and this is the first time we have ever loaned this system to a company in North America”.
A number of UNB faculty, including the inventor Dr. Bruce Balcom, were on hand to participate. Dr. Balcom led the team at the UNB MRI centre, which received a $3.3 million investment under ACOA’s Atlantic Innovation Fund to support the development of this new technology.
A number of UNB faculty, including the inventor Dr. Bruce Balcom, were on hand to participate. Dr. Balcom led the team at the UNB MRI centre, which received a $3.3 M investment under ACOA’s Atlantic Innovation Fund to support the development of this new technology.
“This is exciting when you see the fruits of your research being put in the hands of former graduate students and applied to industry,” said Dr. Balcom, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Materials Science MRI. “It validates why research is so important at the university level and speaks volumes about the quality of the end products, and the people coming out of UNB.”
For further information contact:Green Imaging Technologies Inc. was formed in November of 2005 by CEO Jill Green, P Eng, and CTO Derrick Green PhD, PE. GIT specializes in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technology. GIT is a Systems Integrator of MRI technology for industrial solutions beginning with its first product GIT-CAPTM (patent pending capillary pressure measurement process) focusing on the oil and gas sector.
For a start-up company, Green Imaging continues to set an impressive pace in the hot energy market with the receipt of their new MRI equipment from Bruker Instruments.
During the past few months, Green Imaging Technologies (GIT) has established a reputation for making things happen. In only the last three months, GIT has negotiated an intellectual property agreement with UNB; negotiated the first North American loaner agreement for a Bruker MRI system; established an MOU with the worlds largest rock core laboratory (Corelab) in Houston to do market trials; Secured rock cores from oil company’s like Chevron, Shell, Exxon and Saudi Aramco and done multiple Angel investor pitches in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and even Alberta. In less than 3 months, Government Agencies and over 30 private investors will have contributed nearly $1 M in support of New Brunswick’s newest and most promising oil and gas sector company.
Green Imaging and UNB with the benefit of a National Science and Engineering Research Council Idea to Innovation (NSERC I2I) grant have been performing Phase 1 market validation of their technology since the middle of 2006 using older pre-tested cores.
BACKGROUND - UNBThe University of New Brunswick is the leading research organization in the province, making a significant difference in the lives of New Brunswickers through pure and applied research. The UNB Office of Research Services patents and license inventions, finds and develops collaborations between companies and university researchers, and assists in the creation of spin-off ventures. The UNB MRI Centre is one of the world’s leading MRI research laboratories devoted to the development and application of MRI methods to study materials. The MRI capillary pressure measurement is based on more than a decade of basic MRI of materials research.
BACKGROUND – ATLANTIC CANADA OPPORTUNITIES AGENCYACOA’s Business Development Program was designed to help small- and medium-sized enterprises set up, expand or modernize businesses. The program offers access to capital in the form of interest-free, unsecured, repayable contributions.
ACOA’s Atlantic Innovation Fund is a Government of Canada initiative designed to build the economy of Atlantic Canada by increasing the region’s capacity to carry out leading-edge R&D that contributes directly to the development of new technology-based economic activity. The objective of the Fund is to increase R&D carried out in Atlantic Canadian research facilities, which will lead to the launch of new ideas, products, processes and services.