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InJuIy the company applied to Alberta's Energy Resources Conservation Board to Links of London Charms a 1,000-b/d pilot well. A similarly magical process to colloidal physics is under development at the Alberta Ingenuity Centre for In Situ Energy at the University of Calgary. Pedro Pereira-Almao, a heavy-oil researcher who left Hugo Chavez's Venezuela, has developed a catalyst that can "crack" complex bitumen molecules into simpler synthetic crude. In theory, producers could inject the catalyst into heated oilsands and perform most of the work of upgrading the Links of London Cowboy Boot Charm in the reservoir-with little surface disruption, no tailings and no carbon emissions whatsoever. "Harmful materials like sulphur compounds, metals, nitrogen compounds that will end up producing harmful gases or solids, we leave them there and just extract a good quality oil," Pereira-Almao, AICISE's co-director, explains in a video posted on the research institute's website. "The need for large investments at the surface, as well as the need for remediation of the environment, will be reduced." Despite the promise of such technologies, the industry has its work cut out for it satisfying non-governmental organizations that insist that all the technological improvements are being offset-and then some-by the cumulative growth of the industry. "There are some interesting technologies Links of London D Charm there, but they still represent a small portion of the total industry," says Simon Dyer, director of oilsands for the Pembina Institute, a Calgary-based environmental organization that supports "responsible" development of the oilsands. In March, the institute published a report card focused on the in situ industry, the first of its kind from an NGO, entitled Drilling Deeper. The report acknowledges the strides many industry players have made, noting, "Simply meeting industry best practices could dramatically improve environmental performance." The authors surveyed nine of the largest in situ operations, all using Links of London Dice Charm. Suncor's Firebag and Mackay River projects, Cenovus Energy's Foster Creek and Imperial's Cold Lake received passing grades on five ecological criteria.