Alberta Points to Study Finding Lower Emissions from Energy

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Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--A study on the provincial energy sector found overall emissions have declined by 9% since 2015, while production increased by 20%, Alberta's government said.

The Athabasca oil sands deposit in northeastern Alberta is the single-largest reserve of unconventional oil in the world. Supported by production along the western coast, as well as offshore Newfoundland and Labrador, total Canadian production last year averaged around 5.3 million barrels per day, placing it in the top five of oil-producing countries.

Oil sands are a highly viscous form of oil that require heat or diluents to bring to the surface, making it one of the more carbon-intensive parts of the sector. Last year, Alberta's government committed US$56 million to emission reduction strategies, and the strategy is paying off.

"Albertans have always been at the forefront of innovation and produce the most responsible oil in the world," Brian Jean, the provincial minister of energy and minerals, said Wednesday. "With our vast reserves, we have the ability to bring energy security to North America and our Asian trading partners and continue to fuel our economy for generations to come."

The report found that overall emissions declined while production increased. Operators often use steam, which draws on natural gas as a heating source, and the process can be intensive in both carbon and methane emissions.

For methane, a potent greenhouse gas with a warming potential far greater than that of carbon dioxide, the government said emissions are down 52% since 2014.

Last year, Canadian oil company Imperial Oil (Calgary, Alberta) started its first-ever commercial deployment of technology that uses less steam at its Cold Lake facility in Alberta.

"The technology, known as solvent-assisted, steam-assisted gravity drainage, or SA-SAGD, uses a lighter oil mixed with steam to recover the oil from underground deposits," the company explained of its pioneering project.

Imperial set a target of cutting emissions from Cold Lake by 40% by 2030, relative to a 2016 benchmark. The company was expecting 15,000 gross barrels per day from Cold Lake last year.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to keep a contentious cap on emissions in place this year. Elsewhere, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith had said that, despite its oil riches, the province was establishing itself as a regional leader in emission reductions with incentives set aside for carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS).

Canada is the top exporter of crude oil to the United States, with its average of 4 million BBL/d in deliveries accounting for 60% of the foreign oil to the U.S. economy. Amid a downturn in bilateral relations, however, Canada is looking to expand its trade arteries outside of North America.

Elsewhere, air-quality alerts remain in place for parts of the United States due to smoke from wildfires burning across the Canadian Rockies. Colder weather this week should help firefighters tackle the blazes, while some oil and gas companies are returning staff that were evacuated earlier.

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