Irving Oil partnering with TC Energy to reduce emissions from refinery
Two companies will work at 'decarbonizing' Irving Oil's current assets
Jacques Poitras · CBC News · Posted: Aug 18, 2021
Irving Oil, New Brunswick's largest greenhouse gas emitter, says it will partner with TC Energy to work on "decarbonizing" its current assets. (Shane Fowler/CBC)
New Brunswick's biggest greenhouse gas emitter and its one-time oil pipeline partner say they will work together to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the province.
Irving Oil says it will partner with Calgary's TC Energy on upgrades to its Saint John refinery aimed at "decarbonizing current assets and deploying emerging technologies to reduce overall emissions."
The Saint John refinery is the province's single biggest emitter of carbon dioxide. It pumped an estimated 2.8 megatonnes of climate-warming carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in 2019, almost one-quarter of all emissions in New Brunswick.
An Irving Oil news release says the two companies have a goal of "significantly reducing emissions through the production and use of low-carbon power generation."
In the longer term, they say they'll look at producing and selling low-emission hydrogen and at capturing and sequestering carbon to "aid in decarbonizing local industry."
If Irving Oil's actions match its words, it would mark a historic shift for a company built on oil.
New Brunswick finalizes carbon tax details with Ottawa for largest emitters
New Brunswick's biggest greenhouse gas emitter and its one-time oil pipeline partner say they will work together to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the province.
Irving Oil says it will partner with Calgary's TC Energy on upgrades to its Saint John refinery aimed at "decarbonizing current assets and deploying emerging technologies to reduce overall emissions."
The Saint John refinery is the province's single biggest emitter of carbon dioxide. It pumped an estimated 2.8 megatonnes of climate-warming carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in 2019, almost one-quarter of all emissions in New Brunswick.
An Irving Oil news release says the two companies have a goal of "significantly reducing emissions through the production and use of low-carbon power generation."
In the longer term, they say they'll look at producing and selling low-emission hydrogen and at capturing and sequestering carbon to "aid in decarbonizing local industry."
If Irving Oil's actions match its words, it would mark a historic shift for a company built on oil.
New Brunswick finalizes carbon tax details with Ottawa for largest emitters
Responding to strong policies, public opinion
Founded almost a century ago with the opening of a single gas station, Irving's Saint John refinery is now Canada's largest and a major supplier of gasoline to the northeastern United States.
But stronger climate policies and public opinion are pushing it to adapt, Atlantica Centre for Energy president Colleen d'Entremont said.
She said all fossil-fuel companies "are very sensitive to changes in public demands, in changes to regulatory improvements … so they have to be thinking about what kind of requirements are going to be required in the future, going forward."
Irving's mention of hydrogen as a future product is notable because of research and development into cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells, d'Entremont said.
"This is something we're playing catch-up to, and I think the producers of transportation fuels are also looking at that, and I can't imagine Irving Oil isn't one of them.
"The Aug. 12 announcement contained no information on when the work would begin or what kind of [greenhouse gas] reductions the companies are aiming for, though it says targets will "align with carbon reduction goals."
New Brunswick emitted 12 megatonnes of greenhouse gases in 2019. The province's official target is 10.7 megatonnes by 2030.
The timing and cost of the initiatives will depend on feasibility studies and regulatory approval, the companies said.
Irving Oil did not acknowledge an interview request from CBC News, and TC Energy said no one from the company was available.
"It's not easy to get a sense of what they're actually proposing," said environmental researcher Louise Comeau.
Founded almost a century ago with the opening of a single gas station, Irving's Saint John refinery is now Canada's largest and a major supplier of gasoline to the northeastern United States.
But stronger climate policies and public opinion are pushing it to adapt, Atlantica Centre for Energy president Colleen d'Entremont said.
She said all fossil-fuel companies "are very sensitive to changes in public demands, in changes to regulatory improvements … so they have to be thinking about what kind of requirements are going to be required in the future, going forward."
Irving's mention of hydrogen as a future product is notable because of research and development into cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells, d'Entremont said.
"This is something we're playing catch-up to, and I think the producers of transportation fuels are also looking at that, and I can't imagine Irving Oil isn't one of them.
"The Aug. 12 announcement contained no information on when the work would begin or what kind of [greenhouse gas] reductions the companies are aiming for, though it says targets will "align with carbon reduction goals."
New Brunswick emitted 12 megatonnes of greenhouse gases in 2019. The province's official target is 10.7 megatonnes by 2030.
The timing and cost of the initiatives will depend on feasibility studies and regulatory approval, the companies said.
Irving Oil did not acknowledge an interview request from CBC News, and TC Energy said no one from the company was available.
"It's not easy to get a sense of what they're actually proposing," said environmental researcher Louise Comeau.
Louise Comeau, a researcher at the University of New Brunswick, says it's difficult get a sense of what Irving Oil is proposing, adding it would be good to see the company diversify into renewable energy. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
The lack of timelines and targets makes it impossible to assess the plan, said Sarah MacWhirter, a spokesperson for the Pembina Institute, an environmental think tank.
"Unfortunately we don't know enough about this agreement and the emissions reductions it will deliver and on what timeline to provide meaningful comment," she said in an email.
Comeau said reducing emissions from the refining process itself would be one thing, but the real question is whether Irving is preparing for a market shift away from combustion-powered cars and trucks.
"It would be great to see Irving diversify into renewable energy," she said.
"That would be the thing I think that would position them well for the future and keep jobs in the region. But if the intent is to maximize the investment in fossil fuel infrastructure in the long term, I do think that's risky."
Companies have partnered before
TC Energy has partnered with Irving before. The company built a co-generation plant within the Irving Oil refinery in 2005 that uses gas byproduct to generate electricity. The companies say emissions from the refinery would have been higher without the plant.
TC, then known as TransCanada, was also Irving's partner in the proposed Energy East pipeline, which would have shipped Alberta crude to Saint John for export to world markets. A small share of the oil would have been processed at the refinery.
TC cancelled the project in 2017, blaming new emissions criteria adopted by federal regulators.
In 2019, Andy Carson, Irving Oil's director of growth and strategy, told a Senate committee there was "a role for us to play" in reducing emissions and fighting climate change.
The lack of timelines and targets makes it impossible to assess the plan, said Sarah MacWhirter, a spokesperson for the Pembina Institute, an environmental think tank.
"Unfortunately we don't know enough about this agreement and the emissions reductions it will deliver and on what timeline to provide meaningful comment," she said in an email.
Comeau said reducing emissions from the refining process itself would be one thing, but the real question is whether Irving is preparing for a market shift away from combustion-powered cars and trucks.
"It would be great to see Irving diversify into renewable energy," she said.
"That would be the thing I think that would position them well for the future and keep jobs in the region. But if the intent is to maximize the investment in fossil fuel infrastructure in the long term, I do think that's risky."
Companies have partnered before
TC Energy has partnered with Irving before. The company built a co-generation plant within the Irving Oil refinery in 2005 that uses gas byproduct to generate electricity. The companies say emissions from the refinery would have been higher without the plant.
TC, then known as TransCanada, was also Irving's partner in the proposed Energy East pipeline, which would have shipped Alberta crude to Saint John for export to world markets. A small share of the oil would have been processed at the refinery.
TC cancelled the project in 2017, blaming new emissions criteria adopted by federal regulators.
In 2019, Andy Carson, Irving Oil's director of growth and strategy, told a Senate committee there was "a role for us to play" in reducing emissions and fighting climate change.
Andy Carson, Irving Oil's director of growth and strategy, said the company has a role to play in fighting climate change. (Roger Cosman/CBC)
But the company's chief financial officer, Jeff Matthews, told the same hearing that too high a carbon tax would put Irving at a disadvantage compared to refineries in countries with weaker climate change policies.
"We wouldn't want to find ourselves in a position where we've taxed our industry out of business," he said.
Later that year, Reuters news agency reported that Irving Oil had quietly dropped its goal of reducing carbon emissions by 17 per cent from 2005 levels by 2020.
The Aug. 12 announcement follows a signal from the federal government earlier this summer that it will require New Brunswick to toughen its carbon-pricing system for large industry.
The provincial system requires industrial plants to pay if they fail to reduce emissions intensity — for Irving, the amount it emits per barrel of oil it refines — by one per cent, a threshold that will increase to 10 per cent in 2030.
The federal requirement is already a more stringent 20 per cent and federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said all provinces will have to match that starting in 2023, as a way to help Canada achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
But the company's chief financial officer, Jeff Matthews, told the same hearing that too high a carbon tax would put Irving at a disadvantage compared to refineries in countries with weaker climate change policies.
"We wouldn't want to find ourselves in a position where we've taxed our industry out of business," he said.
Later that year, Reuters news agency reported that Irving Oil had quietly dropped its goal of reducing carbon emissions by 17 per cent from 2005 levels by 2020.
The Aug. 12 announcement follows a signal from the federal government earlier this summer that it will require New Brunswick to toughen its carbon-pricing system for large industry.
The provincial system requires industrial plants to pay if they fail to reduce emissions intensity — for Irving, the amount it emits per barrel of oil it refines — by one per cent, a threshold that will increase to 10 per cent in 2030.
The federal requirement is already a more stringent 20 per cent and federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said all provinces will have to match that starting in 2023, as a way to help Canada achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
No comments:
Post a Comment