Thanks, Kevin.
In the near future I think we'll get to slides that are related to the natural resources program. In my group we're looking more on the unconventional oil and gas side. We also look at mining, which also relates to the oil sands, forestry, carbon capture and storage, and water resources.
I want to take a moment to talk about one of the standards we're working on. It's related to international standards. It's about innovation and how standards support innovation. It's on autonomous mining.
Autonomous mining is a new and emerging field. It's exciting. It's related to the application of information technology, advanced robotics, vehicles and equipment in the mining process. In relation to oil and gas we're talking about the oil sands mining side. It's a brand new initiative. In theory it's expected to have a significant impact on the oil sands because all this rapidly developing automation technology can improve the performance, the economics, and the safety of the operations.
With the standards, we're trying to help commercialize the field by providing for interoperability, common reference points, common interfaces, and fewer non-value-added differences that crop up whenever a new field is developing. All these different producers will develop their own things and they don't work together, so it can introduce inefficiencies and confusion.
We're trying to show that standards aren't just about mature areas. They're also about commercializing and mainstreaming new innovations. Often standards provide some of the building blocks that you need to commercialize and mainstream the new innovations.
When you see the slides in future you'll see a few more examples in carbon capture and storage, and offshore oil and gas, and northern, which is really the Arctic and offshore Newfoundland types of applications for oil and gas. Innovations are being made there, particularly where Canada is a leader, not only in international standards but also in these applications. It's a way of helping to give them a wider, more global market.
That's all I had to say. I'll hand it off to Mike now.