Page 5 - NorthAmOil Week 40 2021

NorthAmOil COMMENTARY NorthAmOil

Shell already operates
a CCS project at its
Scotford complex and
is proposing to build a
second one.

details on what levels of investment it could Suncor Energy and MEG Energy – which
involve. It is anticipated to be finalised next formed an alliance in June to pursue net-zero
year. According to Brunnen, at 75%, the credit emissions from their oil sands operations. This
would be comparable to support offered in the goal would be achieved through a variety of
US, once the US tax credit has been sweetened. initiatives, including the development of CCS
The CAPP wants the Canadian tax credit to capacity.
function more as a grant, with Ottawa reim- Also in June, TC Energy and Pembina Pipe-
bursing carbon capture developers a percentage line announced that they were partnering on a
of their costs as they build the facilities, Brunnen CO2 transportation and sequestration system Ottawa is looking
said. in Alberta. And in July, Royal Dutch Shell also
unveiled a proposal to build a CCS project at its at providing
What next? Scotford complex, also in Alberta. Shell already incentives for at
According to a government document from Nat- operates the Quest CCS project at Scotford,
ural Resources Canada outlining its draft CCS which it is transforming into one of five “energy least two new
strategy that was publicised in August, Ottawa and chemicals parks” globally.
is looking at providing incentives for at least two Brunnen said he believed that realistically, major CCS hubs
new major CCS hubs by 2030. The country will Canada could advance two projects in the next
also aim to be sequestering at least 15mn tonnes three years with combined capacity for 3mn by 2030.
per year (tpy) of carbon dioxide (CO2) by that tpy of carbon sequestration, at a cost of about
year. CAD3bn ($2.4bn). The higher the incentives
The country has four CCS projects already in that Ottawa can provide, the more such CCS
operation – accounting for 15% of such facili- projects will move forward.
ties globally – that currently capture 4mn tpy As yet, no final investment decisions (FIDs)
of CO2. A handful of energy companies have have been taken on the new proposals, but those
already proposed CCS hubs for Alberta, which involved are keen to move forward and push
is home to the oil sands and the majority of Can- for as much government support as they can.
ada’s crude production. Given that the majority of the upstream players
Among them are Canada’s five largest oil involved in the proposals are CAPP members,
sands producers – Canadian Natural Resources it seems they are stepping up the pressure on
Ltd (CNRL), Cenovus Energy, Imperial Oil, Ottawa as far as promotion of CCS goes.™

Week 40 07•October•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P5