The Alberta Government has approved three oil sands projects that together total about 95,000 bbl/d of potential production. The three projects, namely the Blackpearl Resources’s Blackrod project (80,000 bbl/d), Surmont Energy’s Wildwood project (12,000 bbl/d) and Husky Energy’s Saleski project (3,000 bbl/d), are estimated to attract C$4bn of investment.
The three projects, which are expected to emit 2.5 Mt of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, have been the first to get approval since the government established a 100 Mt GHG cap on oil sands emissions in the Canadian Province. The Government is still working out how to implement the emissions cap.
The companies still must make final investment decisions on the projects and work with regulators on specific licences and approvals.
The Government last approved an oil sands project in October 2015, with Devon Canada’s 9,000 bbl/d project near Cold Lake, Alberta.