duced in 1996 and reduced flaring in the province by 70 per cent by 2006. 4. Guiding global CCS projects In addition to reaching major project milestones in 2020, there is more evidence that Canada’s expertise in carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) is being used to inform development of this important emissions-reduction technology around the world. In June, Shell announced that the Quest CCS project at its refinery near Edmonton is exceed - ing storage targets at a lower cost than expected. The company said that in less than five years of operation, Quest has captured and stored more than five million tonnes of CO2, or the annual emissions from about 1.25 million cars. Also, in June, the world’s newest CCUS project and largest CO2 pipeline, the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line, came online. ACTL is a CCUS project because it uses the captured CO2 for enhanced oil recovery, adding a saleable product to CCS alone. The Global CCS Institute reports that, including the new ACTL project, carbon capture facilities in Canada now have capacity of approximately 3.5 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year. That’s the equivalent of capturing the emissions of about 750,000 passenger vehicles annually. That figure does not include all of the CO2 that is stored at the Weyburn CCUS project in Sas- katchewan, which has sequestered more than 34 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent since 2000 while enhancing oil recovery. Canada was an early adopted of CCS/CCUS, and its experience is being recognized by global players. In May 2020, Shell and partners Total and Equinor announced they would proceed with the Northern Lights CCS project on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, which will have initial capacity to store up to 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 per year. “Northern Lights has incorporated lessons from
Quest, which has been sharing knowledge and lessons learned over the last five years to encour - age more widespread implementation of CCS,”
As of 2019, producers had regulatory approval to have 1.4 billion cubic metres of tailings inventory, but actually had approximately 1.27 billion cubic metres of tailings inventory or about 10 per cent less than expected. 1. Reducing GHG emissions intensity Oil sands producers have been decreasing emis- sions intensity per barrel for over a decade and the trend continues, according to analysis by IHS Markit. This includes a bigger than expected decrease of 10 per cent for oil sands mining projects between 2017 to 2018. IHS Markit reports that since 2009, the weighted average emissions intensity of oil sands projects has fallen by 20 per cent, from 88 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per barrel (kgCO2e/ bbl) to 70 kgCO2e/bbl. This assessment is supported by Environment and Climate Change Canada, which in its 2020 National Inventory Report says that oil sands emissions intensity has declined steadily from 97 kgCO2e/bbl in 2005 to 78 kgCO2e/bbl in 2018. According to BMO Capital Markets, several oil sands projects already have below-average carbon footprints in North America. COSIA says that efforts are continuing to reduce GHG intensity further, “paving the way for bold climate commitments, including net zero and near net zero goals as announced by some of our members.”
6. Acting to reduce methane emissions Efforts in Canada to decrease methane emis- sions from oil and gas have been recognized to result in a smaller footprint compared to other jurisdictions. The construction permit for a US$310-million LNG project that is currently under construction in Tacoma, Washington includes the requirement that it sources natural gas from British Columbia or Alberta in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A life-cycle analysis of the project conducted in 2018 – including “upstream” GHG emissions from natural gas production – found Canada to have emissions from natural gas that are five times or more lower than in the United States. The Puget Sound Clean Air Authority pointed to regulatory requirements in Canada provin- cially and federally that are intended to reduce methane emissions, such as rules that require companies to control methane leaks from pro- duction equipment. Alberta and British Columbia have set targets to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas by 45 per cent by 2025 compared to 2014 levels, while the Government of Canada’s target is to reduce emissions by 40 to 45 per cent by 2025 compared to 2012 levels. 5. Leading the world on reducing flaring Canada’s oil and gas industry is among the best in the world when it comes to reducing air emis- sions from flaring, according to CEC research. Analysis shows that Canada currently ranks 22nd out of the world’s top 30 countries for flaring, despite being the fourth-largest oil and gas producer. Canada also showed the second-larg- est decrease in flaring over the five years between 2014 and 2018 – a 38 per cent decrease. Flaring in the oil and gas industry is subject to strict environmental regulations in Canada, including Alberta’s Directive 60, which was intro-
Shell said in a statement. 3. Reducing water use
Canada’s oil sands producers are well on their way to meeting targets to reduce fresh water use. The members of COSIA – which represent about 90 per cent of oil sands production – have set a target to reduce fresh water-use intensi- ty for drilled oil sands projects by 50 per cent compared to 2012 by 2022. As of 2019, the com- panies achieved a 44 per cent reduction, down to 0.2 barrels of fresh water per barrel of oil produced. Meanwhile, for mining projects COSIA has set a target of reducing water use intensity from the Athabasca River by 30 per cent by 2022. As of 2019, companies achieved a reduction of 22 per cent on the way to reaching this target, down to 1.7 barrels of Athabasca River water per barrel of oil. 2. Managing oil sands tailings Oil sands producers have made major strides dealing with tailings in recent years, including Canadian Natural Resources reducing its new project tailings by half and Suncor reducing its total operated tailings footprint altogether. According to the AER, between 2015 and 2019 Suncor reduced the fluid tailings inventory at its Base Mine by almost 17 per cent, from 316 million cubic metres to 263 million cubic metres. Meanwhile, Canadian Natural Resources “has proven its ability to reduce fluid tailings by approximately 50 per cent in its latest expansion at Horizon, along with approximately 14 per cent decrease in GHG emissions,” according to BMO Capital Markets. Overall, the total volume of oil sands mining tailings since 2015 has been lower than expecta- tions despite growing oil production, according to AER data.
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FEBRUARY 2021 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2021
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