Criminal Capitalist Gets Honorary Degree

The U of A does it again. Celebrating criminal capitalism by giving an honorary degree to E. Hunter Harrison of CN. Heck he is the perfect model for a MBA think of all his successes; the accidents, environmental damage, job losses, and forcing workers to strike. If he is one of the top executives in his field then perhaps they should consider Conrad Black for an honorary degree next year.

Former deputy prime minister Anne McLellan and CN chief executive E. Hunter Harrison are among 10 people who will receive honorary degrees at the University of Alberta’s spring convocation ceremonies.

In making its choices, the university made sure to pick a diverse group of leaders from the fields of art, science, business, and community involvement, U of A chancellor Eric Newell said.

Among the selections, the choice of Harrison has the potential to cause some controversy since it was one of his company’s trains that derailed and spilled oil into Wabamun Lake in 2005.

CN was criticized for its handling of the incident in the early days following the spill.

But Newell said Harrison is a worthy choice to speak to business graduates because he is widely recognized as one of the top executives in his field, and CN’s operational headquarters are based in Edmonton.

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TransAlta completes first of three coal-to-gas conversions; company aims to be off coal entirely by 2022

TransAlta Corp. has completed the first of three planned coal-to-gas plant conversions, a major milestone for the Calgary-based company that says it is on track to be off coal entirely by Jan. 1, 2022. 

“This is the first step toward phasing out coal in Alberta by 2023, well ahead of the 2030 timeline that Alberta had put forward,” 

© Provided by Calgary Herald TransAlta's Sundance generating station is pictured in Parkland County.

The company announced Monday that it has completed the full conversion of Sundance Unit 5, the first of three planned boiler conversions from thermal coal to natural gas at its Sundance and Keephills power generation facilities near Wabamun.


In 2021, TransAlta will complete its second and third coal-to-gas conversions, with Keephills Unit 2 by mid-June followed by Keephills Unit 3 by mid-December. In addition, TransAlta is repowering its Sundance 5 unit into a highly efficient combined-cycle gas-powered facility, which is expected to come online at the end of 2023.

By the end of this year, TransAlta will end operations at its Highvale thermal coal mine west of Edmonton and will be exclusively generating with natural gas.

In total, TransAlta is investing approximately $1 billion to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its Alberta fleet, CEO Dawn Farrell said in an interview. She said the company is on track to reduce its emissions by more than 70 per cent from 2005 levels by the end of 2022.

“The greenhouse gas emissions that you generate on gas is about half of what you generate on coal,” Farrell said. “If we were a country, we would have the No. 1 performance globally on our emissions reduction performance.”

In 2014, 55 per cent of Alberta’s electricity was produced from coal. The Alberta government announced in 2015, under Rachel Notley’s NDP, that it would eliminate emissions from coal power generation by 2030.

The province is now on track to meet that goal much sooner, thanks to accelerated phase-out plans by electricity producers. Edmonton-based Capital Power has said it will transition its two coal-fired units at its Genesee generating station to natural gas and will shift completely off of coal by 2023. ATCO Ltd. announced three years ago that it would convert to gas by the end of 2020.

Farrell said for TransAlta, the ambitious conversion time frame was driven largely by provincial and federal carbon policy that makes coal a liability. She said the company — which was able to finance the project with the help of a $750-million investment from Brookfield Renewable Partners — is now positioned to be a highly competitive provider of low carbon electricity for the market and its customers.

“A lot of investors are looking for companies that have strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals,” Farrell said. “On the environment side, investors see us reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, frankly, very quickly and very deliberately.”

Dawn Farrell, CEO of TransAlta Corp.

Binnu Jeyakumar, an analyst with clean energy think-tank the Pembina Institute, called TransAlta’s completion of the Sundance Unit 5 conversion a “big deal.”

“This is the first step toward phasing out coal in Alberta by 2023, well ahead of the 2030 timeline that Alberta had put forward,” she said.

Jeyakumar said the rapid phase-out of coal is the fastest way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity sector, and it also makes economic sense for companies.

“Forty-two per cent of coal plants across the world are running at a loss. Projections say that new wind and new solar will be cheaper than most existing coal plants by 2030,” she said.

While other jurisdictions have moved faster than Alberta to phase out coal — Ontario entirely eliminated coal-fired electricity generation in 2014, for example — Jeyakumar said Alberta’s rapid progress deserves praise because its electricity mix was so coal-heavy for so long.

“Coal was generating almost 50 per cent of our power for a very long time. So for a sector that was that dependent on coal to phase it out this quickly, I would say makes us among the front-runners,” Jeyakumar said.

astephenson@postmedia.com

Twitter: @AmandaMsteph

Varcoe: Once among the country's largest emitters, TransAlta joins journey to carbon neutrality

Chris Varcoe, Calgary Herald 


It wasn’t that long ago that TransAlta Corp. was among the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in Canada, largely because of its fleet of coal-fired power plants

© Provided by Calgary Herald The TransAlta Utilities Sundance Generating Plant near Wabamun Lake on August 13, 2019.

Earlier this week, the Calgary-based company announced its intention to be carbon neutral by 2050, joining a growing group of Canadian energy companies on a similar journey.

As part of its pledge, it will lower company greenhouse gas emissions by 60 per cent by the end of the decade, a sharp drop from 2015 levels.

It will discontinue coal-fired power generation in the country by the end of this year, as it converts existing facilities in Alberta to use natural gas.

The company is also expanding the development of wind and solar projects.

If you’re looking for a Canadian example of how the tide is turning in the energy transition debate — with companies setting tough targets as government policies and economics change — TransAlta is a good place to start.

© Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press A TransAlta wind turbine is shown at a wind farm near Pincher Creek, Alta., Wednesday, March 9, 2016.

TransAlta CEO Dawn Farrell, who is retiring at the end of this month, has been working on carbon policy since the late 1980s, before the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit.

She recalls being put in charge of a $15-million fund back in 1990 to buy carbon offsets for TransAlta’s coal-fired power plants, part of the company’s long journey that led to today’s point.

“Back then, we saw the technology was taking a long time to come to market. We invested in wind in 2000 and even through 2000 to 2015, we saw wind farms and solar being very, very expensive,” Farrell said in an interview.

“I don’t think anybody could have ever foreseen the acceleration of the technological development.”

Costs for developing renewable energy projects have plunged in the past decade.

Could Farrell have imagined in those days seeing a line of sight to TransAlta becoming carbon neutral?

“Absolutely not,” she added.

“But absolutely what we all missed was just how quickly, with the way information moves around, you can just accelerate technological development — and that’s what has changed the game here.”

© Larry MacDougal/The Canadian Press TransAlta Corp. CEO Dawn Farrell speaks during at the company’s annual general meeting in Calgary on Tuesday, April 29, 2014.

It was only a decade ago that TransAlta’s Sundance generating plant was the largest-single source of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada, according to a report at the time by the Pembina Institute.

This week’s declaration by the company earned praise from some environmental groups. They noted the power generator’s announcement contained something that’s often lacking in corporate net-zero plans: interim steps and an idea of how to get there.

“It shows how far you can go,” said Binnu Jeyakumar, the Pembina Institute’s director of clean energy.

“This is a sign of how change can happen if they’re pushed there by a combination of regulations and economics,” added Keith Stewart, a senior energy strategist for Greenpeace Canada.

Alberta has the highest emissions in the country and coal-fired power generation has been a key part of the decarbonization discussion for years.

In late 2015, the former NDP government announced emissions from all coal-fired power generation had to be eliminated by 2030.

Since then, companies such as TransAlta and Edmonton-based Capital Power have been aggressively converting their plants to use natural gas, which generates significantly fewer emissions than coal.

Armed with their new corporate strategies, all coal-fired generation will be phased out by 2023.

With the federal government’s commitment for Canada to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 and plans to increase the national carbon price to $170 per tonne by decade’s end, there are mounting monetary and political reasons for companies to chart such a course forward.

According to TransAlta, it has already lowered its total annual emission by 61 per cent in the past 15 years.

TransAlta’s chief operating officer John Kousinioris noted carbon neutrality is an aspirational goal, but stressed the company doesn’t need technical solutions “that are just a twinkle in someone’s eyes” to get there, he said on an earnings call.

Kousinioris, who will become TransAlta’s next CEO, said switching to natural gas will cut emissions per megawatt by almost half.

By 2022, TransAlta’s total emissions will drop to about 10 megatonnes, down from about 41 megatonnes in 2005.

Looking towards the end of the decade, emissions will be “significantly more modest,” although he noted natural gas is still needed and there will likely be more plants built.

But he’s confident in the target

.

© TransAlta.com TransAlta COO, and future CEO, John Kousinioris.

“There comes a tipping point where you can either stand on the sidelines or embrace it. Dawn was a real champion for us in saying this is something we need to embrace,” Kousinioris said in an interview.

Other companies are also setting their sights on such ambitions.

Capital Power has adopted a target of being carbon neutral within three decades. Canadian Natural Resources and Cenovus Energy and pipeline giant Enbridge have already announced plans to be net-zero by 2050.

Canadian Natural said Thursday it has lowered its emissions per barrel by 18 per cent since 2016.

The company is using carbon capture and storage in Alberta, and is running a pilot project that uses solvents in thermal oilsands projects that will cut emissions intensity by up to 50 per cent, said president Tim McKay.

For companies such as TransAlta and Canadian Natural, the push is on.

With the election of U.S. President Joe Biden and his pledge to have an emissions-free electricity sector by 2035, momentum is growing for power companies to embrace net-zero goals, said Sara Hastings-Simon, a research fellow at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy.

The key for companies is to have a strategy going forward, which includes measuring emissions, setting targets and tying executive compensation to the goal.

“It is really important when companies put forward these goals, they are not just saying we are going to do this, but they have all the pieces in place that make it real,” she added.

“You are seeing a recognition from leaders in these companies that this is where the world is going — and this is what investors and customers are looking for.”

Chris Varcoe is a Calgary Herald columnist.

Residents raise stink over proposed industrial feedlot near popular Alberta lake

By Dan Grummett Global News
Posted April 10, 2022

People who live near Pigeon Lake in central Alberta are concerned about a cattle operation expansion they say is being rushed through the approval process. Dan Grummett reports residents want more time to fight the plan, which they say has the potential to devastate local water ways.


A proposed industrial-sized livestock operation southwest of Edmonton is being met with pushback from residents concerned the project could jeopardize their property values and the local ecosystem.

Last month, some were notified of an application by livestock producer G & S Cattle Ltd., to construct a new confined feeding operation (CFO) that would hold up to 4,000 cattle just a few kilometres west of Pigeon Lake.

On April 6, community members rented a hall to gather and share concerns over the proposal, ranging from odour nuisances to potential for ground and surface water contamination.

“It’s very emotional for everybody. That’s probably why we got such a big turnout,” said Ed Buczny, who organized the gathering.

Concerned citizens rented Yeoford Community Hall, west of Pigeon Lake, to discuss concerns related to an application for a feedlot expansion in the area. Dan Grummett

The project would be located adjacent to an existing commercial feedlot of 1,500 cattle operated by the same applicant

There was a belief amongst those in attendance that the current feedlot was the source of water pollutants in the area, though Global News could not independently verify these claims.

“The biggest concern, probably for everybody in there, is the lake,” Buczny said. “For myself, it’s groundwater (and) it’s what my place is gonna be worth if they put it in — and the smell.”
Testing shows troubling contaminant levels: watershed association

The Pigeon Lake Watershed Association (PLWA) has been conducting testing in the area for years. The group said contaminants from manure produced by cattle seep into the soil and run off in creeks and streams which ultimately end up in Pigeon Lake.

PLWA executive director Catherine Peirce said recent sampling suggests phosphorus levels are 10 times higher than they were in 2013, the last time a major government study on Pigeon Lake was conducted.

Peirce worries if the new CFO is approved and built, the land will not be able to filter the extra nutrients.

“If we add more nutrients in the watershed, we will end up with algal blooms and that will affect the economy,” she said.

A map outlines the boundaries of a proposed CFO in Wetaskiwin County. It was contained in a 19-page statement of complaint submitted to the Natural Resources Conservation Board, which will decide whether to approve the project. Pigeon Lake Watershed Association

Pinpointing source of contamination can be ‘tricky,’ says expert

Pigeon Lake, a popular summer beach destination for Albertans, has been the subject of many blue-green algae public health warnings over the last decade. In July 2021, Alberta Health Services issued a warning for Pigeon Lake about “fecal bacteria” at a local beach.

The biggest concern is phosphorus, according to the Alberta Lake Management Society, which can be both external and internal.

READ MORE: Fecal bacteria leads to advisories at multiple Alberta lakes, including Wabamun and Pigeon

Trying to answer the source of external phosphorus can be tricky, executive director Bradley Peter said. He noted that the data that exists right now isn’t specific enough to pinpoint one source for the problem.

“The reality is we need to be thinking of cumulative impacts when we allow or don’t allow development to occur with any lake watershed,” Peter said.

“I think, at the end of the day, we know these developments are not going to improve water quality, so I can certainly understand the frustration of residents.”
County supports application, understands resident concerns

The County of Wetaskiwin has no jurisdiction over CFOs but is certainly hearing about resident frustration.

“We’ve been receiving numerous emails,” Reeve Josh Bishop said. “They’re from many stakeholders, residents, and other (village and municipal) councils among the lake.”

The county is in favour of the application being approved. Bishop said having a CFO in the area will improve provincial oversight and scrutiny. For example, the application must include a proposal for a catch basin where surface water from the cattle pens can drain.

“Being a CFO, (the applicant) will be required to adhere to all the restrictions put in place. Right now, they wouldn’t have too many of those,” Bishop said.

G & S Cattle owner Greg Thelan declined an interview request but provided a statement to Global News.

“We are currently applying for an expansion on our ranch. There seems to be a lot of concern but not a lot of questions, only statements,” the statement reads in part.

“…Our goal is to stay environmentally sustainable. The concerns of water contamination, and depleting water supply, and manure application are all more than covered by the (Natural Resource Conservation Board) NRCB.”

The NRCB is a regulatory body that operates at arm’s length from the provincial government and reports to the Ministry of Environment.

In 2021, the group received 161 applications for CFOs in Alberta. The NRCB said 107 were approved, 44 were withdrawn, three were denied and two were approved following a board review.

People frustrated by process

Only residents considered to be “directly impacted” were notified of the application on March 10. According to provincial legislation, the NRCB is only required to notify residents who live within 1.5 kilometres of the proposed project boundaries. The deadline for those residents to submit statements of complaint was April 7.

“Three weeks to respond to something of this magnitude is not enough,” said Gloria Booth, who has lived in the county for 14 years.

“This is just not morally or ethically correct.”

Buczny thinks the notification range is too limited.

“It’s not just the people within 1.5 kilometres. It’s all the people around the lake,” he said. “Businesses, cottage owners — everything. They should all be part of this process.”

An NRCB spokesperson said affected parties can request a review of the decision, even after approval.

There’s no timeline for a decision, but the NRCB said officers “strive to process applications within 65 workings days” from application completion.

PLEASE SIR CAN I 'AVE SOME MORE

Enbridge CEO hopes for more carbon capture support in upcoming federal budget

The Canadian Press

The CEO of energy infrastructure giant Enbridge Inc. says he hopes the federal government will unveil more incentives for carbon capture and storage in the upcoming federal budget.

Greg Ebel says the U.S. is currently a more attractive place for companies seeking to invest in carbon capture technology.

He says the Inflation Reduction Act in the U.S. offers incentives that reduce the capital costs as well as on ongoing operating costs for carbon capture.

Canada's energy industry has identified carbon capture and storage as key to its plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Companies have proposed approximately 25 different projects aiming to capture carbon from Alberta's oil and gas sector.

Among these is Enbridge's Open Access Wabamun Carbon Hub to be located northwest of Edmonton.

Enbridge earmarks $3.3 billion for Gulf Coast storage plant, other projects

Amanda Stephenson, The Canadian Press

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A U.S. Gulf Coast gas storage facility and a stake in a company developing fuel from waste food are among a string of new investments announced by Canadian energy giant Enbridge Inc. on Wednesday.

At its annual investor day event, the Calgary-based company announced $3.3 billion in new investments it says will help Enbridge grow to meet increasing global demand for energy.

The new investments include a deal to acquire Tres Palacios Holdings LLC from Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and Crestwood Equity Partners LP for US$335 million. Tres Palacios is a natural gas storage facility in the U.S. Gulf Coast region, which has been a focus for Enbridge in the last several years.

The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2023.

Enbridge will also acquire a 10 per cent stake in Divert Inc., a food waste management company expanding into renewable natural gas, for US$80 million.

That agreement includes further investment opportunities to develop RNG projects across the U.S., Enbridge said, providing potentially more than $1 billion in new capital growth. 

And the company said it will go ahead with plans to build the Enbridge Houston Oil Terminal for an initial capital cost of $240 million. The facility will focus on heavy crude and will have access to the Houston region's refining complex and export opportunities through the Seaway docks at Freeport and Texas City.

On Wednesday, Enbridge reaffirmed its 2023 earnings guidance of $15.9-$16.5 billion, and also said it expects its earnings per share to grow at a compounded annual rate of between four and six per cent through 2025.

In his remarks to investors, CEO Greg Ebel said 2022 was an "inflection" point for Canada's energy industry as years of underinvestment coupled with Russia's invasion of Ukraine to drive unprecedented commodity price spikes.

He said Enbridge is well positioned to help "rebalance" the global energy system.

"The bottom line is we see plenty of executable growth across our business units and the existing asset base," Ebel said.

"We are excited about our growth opportunities in the short and medium term."

Ebel said as the energy transition takes hold, renewable energy will continue to grow and Enbridge continues to explore opportunities in new, low-carbon forms of energy such as renewable natural gas.

But he said natural gas and oil will remain critical parts of the energy mix for the foreseeable future. Natural gas, in particular, will be needed as a reliable backup given the intermittent nature of wind and solar power, he said.

Enbridge also announced on Wednesday $2.4 billion of new gas transmission modernization and utility spending to its secured capital program.

The company also said it will build a 14-kilometre natural gas pipeline in Ontario to help ArcelorMittal Dofasco's plan to change the way it makes steel.

Enbridge's medium-term growth expectations "appear reasonable," said RBC Dominion Securities analyst Robert Kwan in a note, adding the investor day updates Wednesday were consistent with the market's expectations.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 1, 2023.

Oil and gas investment in Canada to 

hit $40 billion in 2023, industry group 

says

The Canadian Pres

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers says it expects investment in oil and natural gas production in this country to hit $40 billion this year. 

The industry group says that's 11 per cent higher than last year and also surpasses pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.

Upstream oil and natural gas investment in Canada reached a low of $22 billion in 2020, as prices collapsed due to the pandemic.

CAPP says conventional oil and natural gas capital investment for 2023 is forecast at $28.5 billion, while oilsands investment is expected to reach $11.5 billion.

CAPP says much of this year's increased spending will go towards maintenance and incremental growth projects, as well as managing inflationary pressures.

The lobby group says spending is also expected to go towards emission reduction technologies such as advancing the development of carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS).

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 1, 2023.

Varcoe: As Trudeau trades jabs with province, clock ticks on carbon capture projects worth billions

Both sides should sit down and hash out a new regime that activates billions of dollars in proposed CCUS projects

Author of the article:Chris Varcoe • Calgary Herald

Publishing date:Oct 20, 2022 

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes part 

in a climate change conference in Ottawa, Ontario, 

Canada October 18, 2022. Blair Gable/Reuters


Mr. Prime Minister, Alberta has a new premier and she doesn’t like your climate policies, “so what specifically are you doing to work with her government to address the emissions problem?”

This was the question from a Bloomberg News journalist to Justin Trudeau at a climate conference in Ottawa this week.

His response was a classic example of partisan deflection.

“It’s interesting because you see a position in which Conservative politicians in Canada are actually distancing themselves from the positions of the industries they’re supposed to protect. The oil and gas industry in Canada has made very strong declarations about needing to get to net-zero by 2050,” Trudeau told a Canadian Climate Institute conference.

“Listen, Alberta politicians will continue to say what they say. What Albertans are actually saying, what industry leaders are actually saying, is how do we manage this together?

“How do we get the pace right so we can decarbonize quickly, while still being there to provide the very real short-term energy needs.”

But don’t worry about Premier Danielle Smith. She’s been getting a few practice swings in on the energy file in her first couple of weeks on the job.

Premier Danielle Smith speaks at an Edmonton 

Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Thursday. Greg Southam/Postmedia

In her victory speech after becoming UCP leader, Smith vowed Alberta “will not have our resources landlocked or our energy phased out of existence by virtue-signalling prime ministers.”

At a news conference, Smith blasted Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, saying “he’s done nothing but attack our industry,” and said Alberta will send its own delegation to the COP27 climate meeting next month.

“I’m not sure why we haven’t attended those in the past, but . . . with such a hostile environment minister in Steven Guilbeault, they would keep getting hit after hit after hit,” Smith told an Edmonton Chamber of Commerce event on Thursday.

“We cannot have our message on the world stage with Steven Guilbeault being our emissary on that.”

If the two sides want to do something constructive, here’s a novel idea: quickly find some common ground.

Both sides should sit down and hash out a new regime that activates billions of dollars in proposed investments in carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) projects in short order.

Part of it should look for ways to speed up the regulatory process; they should also look at the financial side of the equation.

After taking an entire year to put together an investment tax credit for CCUS projects, the Trudeau government this spring finally offered up a 50-per-cent credit for spending on equipment that’s required to capture CO2


It also called on the provinces to step up.


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Alberta pointed to royalty offsets available within its existing oilsands royalty structure that provide incentives for major capital costs tied to such projects.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has waltzed past Canada, adopting an even bolder program than what Ottawa announced by passing its new Inflation Reduction Act this summer. It boosts the existing U.S. government tax credit for such projects to $85 for each tonne of stored CO2, a jump from $50.

On Wednesday, the Business Council of Canada sent a letter to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, noting she recently indicated the federal government would fast-track energy projects to assist Canada’s allies.

“For major projects to go ahead, however, investors need regulatory predictability,” states the letter from council CEO Goldy Hyder.

“Such a declaration should spell out in detail the kinds of projects the government is prepared to fast-track and . . . outline any incentives — financial or otherwise — which the government will put in place in response to those contained in the United States’ Inflation Reduction Act.”

Steven Guilbeault, minister of the Environment and Climate Change, attends a climate change conference in Ottawa on Tuesday. Blair Gable/Reuters

The future of decarbonizing Alberta’s energy industry through CCUS is waiting for such clarity.

The Pathways Alliance, compromising large oilsands producers such as Cenovus Energy and Suncor Energy, estimates the cost of its foundational carbon capture and storage hub at $16.5 billion by 2030 as it strives to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

FORMER FEDERAL LIBERAL CABINET MINISTER

Suncor Energy’s chief climate officer Martha Hall Findlay, who announced this week she will retire at the end of November, said the alliance welcomes the federal credit and this month’s decision by Alberta to allocate the group pore space necessary for its planned CCUS hub.

However, it has done analysis on the gap between Canada’s incentives and the U.S. plan — and Ottawa knows it must do more to be competitive, said Hall Findlay, a former Liberal MP and past CEO of the Canada West Foundation.

“Even with our carbon pricing in Canada, the difference now between the environment in the United States and in Canada is still very big,” she said in an interview.

A number of other proposed decarbonization projects in Alberta are also in the wings, including Enbridge’s Wabamun Carbon Hub initiative with Capital Power and Lehigh Cement, and the Alberta Carbon Grid development, led by Pembina Pipeline and TC Energy.

“It is a pretty pivotal point in the dialogue,” said Michael Gullo, the business council’s vice-president of policy.

“This is go time.”

On the provincial front, little progress was made while the leadership race to replace Jason Kenney unfolded.

The ball now rests squarely in the court of Smith and her new cabinet, which will be announced Friday.

Federally, there have been signals Ottawa may respond to the new measures south of the border.

On Wednesday, Freeland also suggested the fall economic update could offer more clarity to closing the gap with the U.S.

For Hall Findlay, collaboration is the way to get things moving, noting the group will need to see investment from both the provincial government and Ottawa.

“The world is going to need what we produce for the next number of decades. So our view is what we are doing is, in fact, incredibly important to the prosperity of Alberta,” she added.

“All I can do right now is encourage Alberta and the federal government to come and join us at the table all together and really figure out how we can do this — not only for Alberta, but for Canada.”

Chris Varcoe is a Calgary Herald columnist.

Oilsands group pledges to spend $16.5B on carbon capture project by 2030

Amanda Stephenson, The Canadian Press

Canada's biggest oilsands companies say they will spend $16.5 billion before 2030 on a massive proposed carbon capture and storage facility that is the centrepiece of their net-zero-by-2050 pledge.

The Pathways Alliance, a consortium of the country's six largest oilsands companies, said Friday it will also spend an additional $7.6 billion on other emissions reductions projects, for a total of around $24.1 billion.

The announcement comes as Canada's oil and gas industry has been under fire from environmental groups who say not enough of the record profits being reaped this year due to sky-high oil prices are being funneled into decarbonization.

Last month, a report from environmental think-tank the Pembina Institute said Canada's oil and gas sector is estimated to earn a profit of $152 billion in 2022 due to the war in Ukraine and the resulting commodity price boom. The report criticized the industry for not moving faster to meet its climate commitments in light of its windfall profits.

Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault has also said he wants to see more details from industry on what it is doing with its profits to achieve its emissions-reduction targets. 

"If they don't make those investments while they're making record-level profits, then when would it be a good time for them to make those investments?" Guilbeault said in a September interview. "If not now, then I don't know when.''

The Pathways Alliance has not yet made a final investment decision on the project, which would capture CO2 emissions from more than 20 oilsands facilities in northern Alberta and store them safely underground, delivering an estimated 10 million tonnes of emissions reductions per year.

But it says it has already completed pre-engineering work and is consulting with Indigenous communities along the route of the proposed 400-km pipeline that would carry captured CO2 to the storage hub. The group says it has also completed nine carbon capture feasibility studies involving member companies at oil sands sites.

Earlier this year, the federal government announced an investment tax credit for carbon capture and storage (CCS) that will enable companies to claim a tax credit of up to 60 per cent for direct air capture projects and 50 per cent for all other eligible carbon capture projects. A 37.5 per cent tax credit is available for investment in equipment for carbon transportation, storage and use.

But oilsands CEOs have said more government support will be necessary to make the building and operating of such expensive, cutting-edge technology economical.

“A CCS project of this size is a huge undertaking that requires significant up-front work and a strong partnership between industry and government to proceed,” said Kendall Dilling, president of Pathways Alliance, in a news release.

The industry has also said the government's overall targets for the oil and gas sector are unrealistic. While the Pathways Alliance has said it believes it can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from production by 22 million tonnes by 2030 — an approximate 30 per cent reduction from current levels — the federal government wants Canada's oilpatch to reduce by 42 per cent below 2019 levels. 

That would bring total emissions from the sector to 110 million tonnes by 2030, down from 191 million tonnes in 2019. They haven't been that low in more than three decades.

“We continue to work with the federal and Alberta governments to ensure Canada’s co-funding programs and regulatory environment for CCS are globally competitive and that emissions reduction targets for our industry are realistic and achievable," Dilling said Friday.

“In parallel, we’re progressing work to make sure we’re ready to make an investment decision and start building as soon as the necessary financial and regulatory conditions are in place.”

The Pathways Alliance is made up of member companies Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., Cenovus Energy Inc., ConocoPhillips Canada, Imperial Oil Ltd., MEG Energy Corp., and Suncor Energy Inc.

The group says it plans to apply for regulatory approval for its CO2 transportation line and storage network in late 2023. It says it could begin injecting carbon as early as 2026

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