Since 2008: models, fieldwork and decisions.
Our roots run through two practices: Covertmetrics, where our quantitative modelling and the original RiskReady® protocol began in 2008, and Oilpaw, which began building hydrocarbon leak detection in 2013. The two merged in 2023.
Enbridge Sunrise Expansion Program — watercourse crossing assessment
For a stewardship alliance: inventory and assessment of every watercourse and wetland crossing on the CS8B–CS9 and CS9–Huntingdon loops, a RiskReady® Crossing Model run for each candidate crossing, and a corridor-wide topline report.
Enbridge Sunrise Expansion Program — drill execution plan review
Development of the RiskReady® Drill Execution Plan Assessment and Gap Register for a stewardship alliance, first applied to the contractor's preliminary two-pass direct steerable pipe thrusting plan beneath Maria Slough North.
Enbridge Sunrise Expansion Program — soil baseline and assessment
Two field seasons of composite topsoil and subsoil sampling along the Hope–Abbotsford corridor, laboratory screening against CCME and BC CSR standards, and handling recommendations for a stewardship alliance, delivered as an executive summary, technical report and briefing deck.
Enbridge Sunrise Expansion Program — dewatering, deep trenching and monitoring wells
Technical review of construction dewatering, the fine tilling and deep trenching program, Lizard Rocks reptile mitigation and monitoring-well installations, with Technical Construction Requests and briefings for the alliance's leadership.
Trans Mountain — Salmon River crossing review
Review of the Salmon River crossing replacement application, HDD design and DFO permitting for a stewardship alliance, including a risk model, routing metrics and a summary update.
Trans Mountain Expansion Project — heritage construction planning
Site-specific construction plans and Technical Construction Requests for culturally sensitive sites on Spreads 5A, 5B, 6 and 7, coordinated with archaeological permit holders and Trans Mountain — approvals sequenced on the construction critical path, including twelve TCRs at Laidlaw as the scope evolved.
Sumas First Nation — Trans Mountain operations and expansion
Technical advisory to Semá:th (Sumas First Nation) following the 2020 Sumas Pump Station release: water and air monitoring, integrity engineering, leak detection and facility restoration technical tables, and the Sumas River crossing replacement on the existing Trans Mountain pipeline; and, on the expansion project, TMEP rerouting at Lightning Rock and tank farm commissioning — both critical path work.
First Nations Integrated Environmental Monitoring (FNIEM)
Design and installation of solar- and grid-powered IIoT stations for gas and earthquake monitoring, with remote data loggers and emergency notification protocols, for Semá:th X̱o:tsa Developments, funded through a Government of Canada monitoring program.
Discuss this experience with Jonathan Weselake, Founder — jw@oilpaw.com
Enbridge — leak detection technology inventory and St. Clair River risers
Stage 1 field survey and asset registry of installed leak detection technology across Enbridge facilities, and FlangeKan containment design for the St. Clair River riser crossings.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada — Cumberland Sound beluga critical habitat
GIS mapping and analysis of critical habitat for the Cumberland Sound beluga under the Species at Risk Act, using IBCAO bathymetry and iterative layouts with DFO staff.
Shell Puget Sound Refinery — wharf leak detection and FlangeKan
Pre-planning, 3D scanning and measurement, FlangeKan containment and intrinsically safe leak detection panels for flanges on the Anacortes refinery wharf, with a demonstration installation and Stage 2 planning.
Ketech — leak detection and containment for a multinational energy company in Taiwan
Sales and commissioning of leak detection panels, sensors and containment, with advisory services, delivered through Ketech for a large multinational energy company in Taiwan.
Enbridge — Line 67 TraceTek false-alarm investigation and FlangeKan integrity testing
Investigation of repeated leak detection false alarms across Line 67 sites, tracing the probable cause to non-specification coatings on high-temperature buried assets; and a FlangeKan integrity testing program scoped with C-FER and PVP Engineering.
Saudi Electricity Company — electric metering RFP
Engineering design and specification in response to a Saudi Electricity Company request for proposals for electric meters in Saudi Arabia, prepared against the utility's distribution materials specification.
Enbridge Line 2B — high-risk flange containment and leak detection
Inspection of 21–28 high-risk flanges identified after hydrotesting, then custom FlangeKan containment and solar-powered remote leak detection installed at Plummer, Minnesota and MP 966, with warranty service.
TransCanada — Hardisty terminal flange measurement and FlangeKan
Site measurement and FlangeKan containment for flanges at the Hardisty terminal in Alberta.
Enbridge Line 9B Reversal (Montreal) and Line 5 (Straits of Mackinac)
Engineering design, manufacturing, installation and commissioning of flange leak detection on Line 9B at Montreal and Line 5 at the Straits of Mackinac.
Enbridge Roundhill Station — flange leak detection pilot
Turnkey pilot of OilPaw OP-40 hydrocarbon sensors, FlangeKan containment and a leak detection console with local HMI on buried flanges, delivered with Jacobs and Graham through to as-built drawings and post-installation data review.
C-FER Technologies — external leak detection testing
Intrinsically safe OP-40 sensors in C-FER's external leak detection experimental research tests; in the January 2015 P1T4 test, buried sensors detected all three diluted bitumen leak events.
Discuss this experience with Jonathan Weselake, Founder — jw@oilpaw.com
Covertmetrics Inc. merges with Oilpaw Environmental Services Inc.
Covertmetrics' quantitative modelling practice and the original RiskReady® protocol join Oilpaw, bringing more than a decade of decision models and executive reporting into today's RiskReady® tools.
EcologyMetrics GIS — Species at Risk mapping for a federal fisheries regulator
A series of Species at Risk Act contracts: COSEWIC designatable-unit mapping for Lake Sturgeon, Saskatchewan River management units, westslope cutthroat trout critical habitat in the Bow and Oldman basins to screen 2013 flood-restoration work, and critical habitat mapping for Carmine Shiner, Mountain Sucker, Plains Minnow, Rocky Mountain Sculpin and Western Silvery Minnow — with Aboriginal coordination for a listing recommendation.
Northern and remote retailer — statistical models and executive reporting
Multi-wave regression and clustering models, store manager capability models, a pension study with post-hoc analysis, a geocoded customer loyalty data model, and demographic analysis of First Nations, Native American and Alaska Native populations to inform investment planning — reported to senior management.
National agricultural lender — research, modelling and leadership workshops
Manager interviews and reporting to the senior management team, a segmentation workshop, weighting and regression modelling for a national reputation study, risk adaptation work, a young farmer awareness benchmark review, and interviews with crop input retailers.
Agricultural market research — corn grower focus groups
Design, moderation and reporting of grower focus groups for an agricultural client, from screener and sample through to final report.
EcologyMetrics GIS launched
A Covertmetrics business line for ecological, land use and land occupancy research, linking GIS with stakeholder and ecological data for conservation organizations, government, industry and Indigenous communities.
The RiskReady® protocol — operational risk and business continuity
Development of the RiskReady® protocol and risksonar threat map, combining business continuity management, operational risk management and business process modelling. Applied to agri-food and public-safety preparedness, including a proposed national research project with federal police and food-inspection agencies under a federal security research program.
Discuss this experience with Jonathan Weselake, Founder — jw@oilpaw.com
Independent advisory — Indigenous relations and regulatory engagement
Strategic advice to industry, government and organizations on Indigenous engagement, consultation processes, Fisheries Act authorizations, co-management and partnership agreements, and custom Indigenous relations training.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada — Manager, Indigenous Relations, Fish and Fish Habitat Protection Program
Led Indigenous engagement on Fisheries Act authorizations, habitat protection and species at risk; designed consultation protocol agreements between Nations and DFO; launched the program's Indigenous Relations Training Strategy; and served as Regional Lead for the Indigenous Habitat Protection Program. 2024 DFO Distinction Award for national consultation protocols.
First Nations Industrial & Environmental Monitoring — Director, Crown and Indigenous Relations
Led implementation of a First Nations-led environmental monitoring program providing community oversight of pipeline operations through automated technology, managing a $500K budget and contribution agreements.
First Nations Fisheries Council of BC — Oceans Protection Plan Manager
Managed $1.2M in Oceans Protection Plan initiatives and three First Nation working groups; led three committees with DFO, Transport Canada, ECCC and the Coast Guard on marine research, shipping and emergency response; and represented the Council at national policy tables including the AFN Oceans Working Group.
BC Ferries — Manager, Indigenous Relations
Designed and led BC Ferries' first corporate Indigenous relations strategy, negotiated an MOU with the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure to streamline consultation, and built risk tracking and staff training programs.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada — Senior Fisheries Protection Biologist
Regional (BC/Yukon) and national coordination of the Fisheries Act review, including Indigenous engagement, contribution agreements and briefings to senior management. 2018 DFO Distinction Award for Fisheries Act modernization engagement.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada — Client Liaison and Partnership Coordinator
Partnership development across the Pacific Region and Indigenous consultation on major projects, including the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada — environmental assessment and Indigenous consultation
Environmental assessments and regulatory reviews under the Fisheries Act, CEAA, the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement and SARA; Indigenous consultation for the oil sands region; and expert witness on consultation policy in CEAA Joint Review Panel hearings.
Discuss this experience with Loriena Melnick, Strategic Advisor — lm@oilpaw.com
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