"If [innovation] made sense three years ago it makes more sense now," said Dan Wicklum, chief executive of Canada's Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA), as he ruminated on the slide in crude prices and profitability. Indeed, with few analysts predicting a healthy rebound any time soon, a powerful new form of energy is emerging in the oil sands: an accelerating drive to innovation and technology. Although the nature of bitumen extraction has always demanded innovation, the price plunge is bolstering efforts to new highs. At the RBC Capital Markets 2015 Global Energy and Power Executive Conference in New York in June, the industry's leading players backed the momentum. "Our focus going forward will be on technology developments," said Paul Masschelin, senior vice-president of finance and administration at Imperial Oil Ltd. "Going forward, we are going to need a lot of technological help," added Doug Proll, executive vice-president at Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. The following month, Steve Williams, president and CEO of Suncor Energy, said at the company's second-quarter results webcast, "We are looking at the next generation of technology."
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