A Pipeline of Talent

In mining, oil and gas, and heavy industry, water is essential—but let’s remember that it’s essential to life, too…

The Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association (ACFFA) has been keeping busy with advocacy, public education, and conferences, among other activities, since Resource in Focus last profiled the organization in May of 2022. The ACFFA, which represents Atlantic Canada’s salmon farming sector, has also been enjoying the transition “back to a normal work environment,” now that the worst of COVID is hopefully over, says Executive Director Susan Farquharson.

The Alberta Aquaculture Association is dedicated to promoting aquaculture and its related practices in Western Canada. The association has been promoting environmentally friendly technologies, like aquaponics, to produce fish. Aquaponics is an integrated food production method that combines aquaculture (breeding and raising fish in a farm-like ecosystem) and hydroponics (cultivating plant life without soil, using water-based nutrients).

From its base in Halifax, the Aquaculture Association of Nova Scotia (AANS) operates across the province “from Yarmouth to Cape North, Cape Breton, and all points in between,” according to association Executive Director Tom Smith. The not-for-profit, membership-based industry trade group was founded in 1977 by a volunteer group of sea farmers. Today, it represents over 95 percent of all aquaculture farming in Nova Scotia across three sectors: finfish such as salmon, trout, and striped bass; shellfish such as oysters, mussels, clams, quahogs, scallops; and sea plants such as sugar kelp.

AMGAS Services Inc. is a Rocky View, Alberta-based company with an international presence and several proprietary solutions for H₂S management in oil and gas operations and other sectors. By removing contaminants such as hydrogen sulphide (H₂S), benzene, toluene, and xylenes, its integrated solutions benefit both the environment and its clients’ bottom line. The company has continued to refine its offerings with a special emphasis on its ground-breaking CLEAR Technology.

Gas management systems provider Blue Flame Crew, LLC specializes in the design, installation, and service of systems across the United States. It serves as a division of Boos Resource & Technology Group, a conglomerate of companies providing a wide range of services including consulting, construction, maintenance, architectural design, and engineering for the environmental markets.

Responsible for the creation of more than 800 standards and recommended practices throughout the U.S. oil and natural gas industry, the American Petroleum Institute (API) is one of world’s most respected associations.

Arshon Technology Inc. Founder and CEO Mazi Hosseini was struck with a groundbreaking idea while on a cruise in the Mediterranean Sea. “We had no connection whatsoever to outside of the cruise,” he remembers. The lack of cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity posed a problem when his family wanted to find one another on the sprawling ship. “I could not talk to my son or my wife. We didn’t know where we were. The cruise was significantly large. We had to find each other just by walking around.”

In business, there are visionaries, and there are imitators. In the field of mining safety and communications, Jannatec Technologies remains at the forefront of innovative technology in products, systems, and services that improve both ease of operations and safety.

Catalyst Energy Services is a new company with innovative technology that might shake up the hydraulic fracturing sector. Based in Midland, Texas, Catalyst designs and manufactures hydraulic fracturing equipment which it uses to support its hydraulic fracturing services. Hydraulic fracturing, also called fracking or fracing, involves injecting liquids into shale or sand formations to break them and release more oil and natural gas.

Throughout all the years women have been in the workforce, they have faced numerous challenges, including balancing familial and professional responsibilities. On top of that, they’ve been up against bias and preconceived notions about what a woman can and can’t do when it comes to work.