The Saskatchewan government outlined its key priorities to advance private sector investment in carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) in the province.
At a press conference near Weyburn, Sask., on Tuesday, Energy and Resources Minister Bronwyn Eyre said they want to build on the province’s energy strength and make it “the most” competitive jurisdiction in Canada as well as investing in CCUS technology and infrastructure.
“What we’re announcing today really just builds on the strengths we already have in the province … And it’s not only about enhanced oil recovery (EOR), of course, it’s about other areas. There are a lot of power plants, refineries and cement factories that produce carbon, obviously CO2,” Eyre said.
“If we don’t promote what we’re doing here in Canada and in Western Canada, other countries will step into the space … I think that it’s just very important to continue to get that message out there about the high sustainability of Western Canadian oil and the high innovation around that energy ecosystem.”
She said Saskatchewan is already a world leader in carbon capture, particularly with EOR which aims to improve the recovery of oil by injecting a substance into a hydrocarbon-bearing formation. The main techniques used for EOR include thermal, chemical, gas and microbial injection.
“(CCUS) side to enhanced oil recovery is such a win for both the environment and the economy. I mean, incremental production increase, absolutely. Sustainability as well, which of course is good for everything. I mean, environmentally and economically, that we sustain the life of those wells but also in terms of environment and environmental impact,” Eyre said.
“The (enhanced oil recovery) CO2 wells produce 82 per cent fewer emissions than other wells. So that’s an incredibly important statistic when we’re talking about win-wins for the environment and the economy.”
The government anticipates that CCUS projects will attract provincial investment of more than $2 billion and sequester at least two million tonnes of CO2 annually. It added the province currently has 12 CO2 EOR projects in operation, as well as SaskPower’s Boundary Dam Unit 3 carbon dioxide capture project.
With its strategy, the government aims to expand the provincial pipeline infrastructure Oil Infrastructure Investment Program to include CO2 pipeline projects and explore opportunities for CCUS infrastructure hubs and distribution models.
Eyre said she hopes whichever party is elected in the 2021 federal election takes another look with them to advance the Saskatchewan government’s priorities.
“(We are) hopeful that whoever is in on Sept. 20 takes another look, certainly at the (EOR) side of this. But we are hopeful and it’s positive that there are perhaps other means to bring in (EOR) into that mix,” she said.