Calgary, AB - The Kelly/Katch Kan, a comprehensive oil well fluid containment system, enhances worker safety and protects the environment on more than 400 drilling and service rigs around the world. Now its inventor, former driller Quinn Holtby of Edmonton, has received a prestigious Manning Innovation Award.

Holtby, working from his garage, spent four years developing and perfecting the lightweight, portable Kelly/Katch Kan. He sold real estate for seven years to learn how to market his invention.

"My goal is to make sure this technology is on every rig in the world," says Holtby, 40.

The Kelly/Katch Kan is a standard for the petroleum industry's biggest drilling companies, including Akita Drilling, Nabors Canada Drilling Ltd. and Precision Drilling Corporation.

Holtby has won the Westaim Corporation $5,000 Manning Innovation Award. The Manning Awards program has recognized leading Canadian innovators since 1982, presenting them with $135,000 in prize money each year.

The Kelly/Katch Kan replaces the heavy steel inefficient mud cans that made a rig worker's job uncomfortable and hazardous. Holtby, who worked eight years on the rigs, knows the dangers of being blasted by high-pressure drilling mud or slipping around the drill floor on frozen drilling fluids.

"The Kelly/Katch Kan effectively eliminated slip hazards on the drill floor," says William George, drilling safety supervisor with Akita. "It is an excellent example of the improvement possible on a work site when modern technologies are applied."

Holby's two-part system includes a sealed can (the Kelly Kan) enclosing the drill pipe. The Kelly Kan directs discharged fluid through the rotary table into a collection tray (the Katch Kan) for recycling or reuse. The technology keeps workers dry and safe, saves money on drilling fluids and prevents environmental damage at the wellsite. The system, marketed by Holtby's company, Katch Kan Limited, can be used on drilling and service rigs for all applications.

The Manning Innovation Awards Foundation will announce all of this year's recipients, including the $100,000 Manning Principal Award, throughout this month prior to the annual awards dinner on November 6 in Montreal.