Page 11 - NorthAmOil Week 14 2022

NorthAmOil ENERGY TRANSITION NorthAmOil

Alberta shortlists six carbon

storage hub proposals

ALBERTA ALBERTA’S government has unveiled a short- would represent a cumulative investment of up
list of six eligible bidders proposing to develop to CAD75bn ($60bn) in the decarbonisation of
carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) Alberta.
hubs in the province. This comes as Alberta seeks More than 20 expressions of interest (EoIs)
to accelerate decarbonisation efforts in line with have been received by the province. Applications
national targets being pursued by the federal for spots on a second approved bidder list for
government of Canada. other locations can be submitted between April
The shortlist of proposals includes Meadow- 25 and May 2.
brook Hub Project proposed by privately held “If developed, these hubs will help safely
Bison Low Carbon Ventures; the Open Access grow and diversify Alberta’s energy sector and
Wabamun Carbon Hub, backed by Enbridge, reduce emissions for multiple industries,” said
Capital Power and Lehigh Cement; the Ori- the Alberta government.
gins project, sponsored by Enhance Energy; The selected companies will now work with
the Alberta Carbon Grid, backed by Pembina the provincial government to assess whether
Pipeline and TC Energy; the Atlas Carbon their proposed locations are suitable for the per-
Sequestration Hub, proposed by Shell Canada, manent sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO2).
Atco Energy Solutions and Suncor Energy; and If the locations are deemed suitable, the com-
a proposal backed by a consortium of Wolf Mid- panies involved will be awarded “pore space”
stream, Whitecap Resources, First Nation Capi- rights to inject CO2 underground. They will be
tal Investment Partnership and Heart Lake First expected to provide open access to all CO2 emit-
Nation. The proposed projects are located near ters in the AIH region, as well as affordable use
the provincial capital, Edmonton, and would of their hubs.
store emissions from facilities in the Alberta The Alberta government did not specify how
Industrial Heartland (AIH) zone. much it expects the projects to cost or what their
If all of the proposals are approved, they capacity would be.™

Suncor unveils changes to

energy transition strategy

CANADA CALGARY-BASED Suncor Energy has said it “participate in many aspects of the electricity value
would focus more on hydrogen and renewable chain”. It cited examples such as producing power
fuels as part of its strategy for achieving net-zero through its integrated co-generation operations,
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. At the through power marketing and trading, by provid-
same time, in an effort to optimise its portfolio, ing customers with electric vehicle (EV) charg-
the oil sands producer has unveiled plans to sell off ing and potentially procuring renewable power
its wind and solar assets. It said, though, that the through power purchase agreements (PPAs).
Suncor is planning to planned sale of these renewable assets would stop “While Suncor is in the fortunate position of
sell off its wind and short of a full withdrawal from electricity services. being long on opportunities, we are adjusting
solar assets. The announcement illustrates Suncor’s evolv- our portfolio for fit and focus,” stated Suncor’s
ing strategy, as in the near term it intends to stay president and CEO, Mark Little. “By doing so,
focused on the pursuit of shareholder returns we use our strengths, competitive advantages
through its core business of oil sands production. and resources to drive shareholder returns and
Suncor has developed eight wind power value over the long term and help us meet our
projects across the provinces of Saskatchewan, emissions reduction targets.”
Alberta and Ontario with a combined genera- As Suncor seeks to accelerate its emissions
tion capacity of 111 MW. Separately from its reduction efforts, it will focus sustainability
announcement, the company confirmed to CBC efforts on areas that complement its base busi-
News that it would continue construction on its ness, such as replacing coke-fired boilers at its oil
Forty Mile Wind Power Project in Alberta even sands base plant near Fort McMurray with low-
though the development would be put up for sale er-emission cogeneration units and accelerating
along with its other wind and solar assets. commercial scale deployment of carbon capture
Suncor said it was planning to continue to and storage (CCS) technology.™

Week 14 07•April•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P11