Continuing work on finding solutions to environmental issues is key to the future of Canada’s oil sands, according to the winner of the Global Energy International Prize. Dr. Clement Bowman received a medal from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, in recognition of “the development of highly efficient technologies and utilities for extracting oil from oil shale and oil sands, thus contributing to the energy saving problem of humanity.” He is co-winner of the $1.3 million prize with Eduard Volkov and will provide permanent scholarships in chemical engineering at the University of Toronto and University of Alberta in the field of energy and the environment.
On his return to Canada from June 7 award ceremonies in St. Petersburg, Russia, Dr. Bowman said there was a high degree of interest in Russia in environmental efforts related to continuing oil sands development in Canada.
“A critical factor considered by the award committee was the leadership provided by the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE) in addressing the need for sustainable hydrogen and the recovery and storage of carbon dioxide,” Bowman said.
Bowman said building a positive global image of Canada’s oil sands development will be a continuing challenge.
“We have to keep working on the environmental aspects of its development and clearly demonstrate to the world that we are committed to cleaning up any problems associated with it.”
In an interview with the English-language news channel Russia Today, Bowman commented that, with global
oil prices currently exceeding $120 per barrel, recovery of oil from the oil sands was very economical at $30 per barrel. 
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
(right) and Dr. Clement W. Bowman.
(AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)
The oil sands currently produce about 40% of Canada’s oil. As vice-president of Esso Petroleum Canada, Dr. Bowman led the Esso Research Centre which is part of the Exxon global energy network. As a former president of the Alberta Research Council, he established consortia with international oil companies to explore research approaches in oil sands that had breakthrough potential.
