The Pathways Alliance, representing Canada’s six largest oil sands producers, has signed an agreement with the Government of the Canadian province of Alberta to begin evaluations for a proposed carbon capture and storage (CCS) hub, which would gather and store emissions from 14 oil sands projects in the Fort McMurray, Christina Lake and Cold Lake regions in northern Alberta by 2030. The CCS project targets an initial capacity of 22 MtCO2/year and is expected to cost about CAD16.5bn (US$12.22bn) by 2030. The Alliance plans to further expand the transportation network to include over 20 oil sands facilities, and to accommodate other industries in the region interested in CCS.
The agreement will enable the alliance to start a detailed evaluation of its proposed storage hub in the Cold Lake region, which will help with field development plans to support the final application to the Alberta Government. The Pathways Alliance plans to file a first regulatory application in the fourth quarter of 2023 for a proposed CO2 transportation pipeline and storage network. If the project proceeds, some facilities that do not need a carbon pipeline to reach the hub could be injecting CO2 by 2026.
The Pathways Alliance, launched in 2021, includes Canadian Natural Resources, Suncor Energy, Cenovus Energy, Imperial Oil, ConocoPhillips Canada and Meg Energy. Together they operate about 95% of Canada’s oil sands production.