Alberta is working toward a final agreement with the Oil Sands Alliance on the Pathways carbon capture project. This initiative is a key requirement for the proposed construction of a new oil pipeline to the British Columbia coast. The project aims to reduce emissions from oil sands production to facilitate increased exports to Asian markets. Officials expect to announce the pipeline route by July 1 and seek administrative approval by October.
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The trade off here is clear. The carbon capture project is being used as the regulatory and political permission slip to build more pipeline capacity. It is a classic case of using a decarbonization project to enable further fossil fuel expansion.
I am more worried about the energy requirements for the capture tech. Does the current grid plan account for the massive power load needed to run these CCS facilities, or will they just build more gas plants to power the carbon capture?
The text mentions a substantive agreement is coming but does not list the actual capture targets or the cost sharing model between the companies. Without those numbers, it is just a statement of intent.
Exactly. These massive industrial CCS projects always have huge cost overruns. I wonder if the agreement includes a fallback plan if the capture efficiency does not hit the promised percentages.
