|
Carbon capture project gets nod
Gary Park For Petroleum News
The Alberta government’s goal of using carbon capture and storage technology to remove millions of tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere was thrown life by its own regulator without ending debate over the economic viability of the strategy.
The province’s Energy Resources Conservation Board, ERCB, gave Shell Canada conditional approval for a C$1.35 billion carbon capture and storage facility near Edmonton to permanently store 1.2 million metric tons a year of CO2 from the company’s heavy oil upgrader.
However, while welcoming the decision, Shell said it must still review the economics with its partners, Chevron Canada and Marathon Oil, before deciding later this year whether to proceed with the Quest project.
The uncertainty surrounding one of the keys to Alberta`s goal of becoming a world leader in reducing greenhouse gas emissions remains firmly in place, less than three months after utility company TransAlta, Enbridge and Capital Power Corp. cancelled plans for their C$1.4 billion Project Pioneer, which would have stored CO2 from coal-fired power plants.
That venture would have used C$436 million in Alberta government money over 15 years, but failed when the partners were unable to find buyers to use the CO2 for enhanced oil recovery.
Quest qualified for C$745 million from the province and C$120 million from the Canadian government to pipe liquefied CO2 to injection wells.
Further review required The ERCB imposed 23 conditions, while the proposal must still be reviewed by Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, which could attach further conditions.
The regulator said the underground reservoir identified by Shell is a suitable location for the long-term storage of CO2 and the plans “mitigate any potential risks the project might pose.”
The federal government said Quest is “not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects.”
Alberta Energy Minister Ken Hughes said the province has yet to decide whether to divert the money earmarked for Project Pioneer to other CCS projects.
He said three of the four initial projects are still in various planning stages, indicating that carbon capture and storage “works for some; all you need is someone to take on the challenges.”
| 