Fort McMurray and Cold Lake mayors welcome Pathways carbon capture deal as construction jobs loom

cbc.ca

by retrofit_lens_44·2 months ago·1 points

The mayors of Fort McMurray and Cold Lake are celebrating a new trilateral agreement between the Alberta and federal governments and five major oilsands companies to advance the Pathways carbon capture and storage project. The deal is a condition for federal approval of a proposed West Coast pipeline and aims to capture six million tonnes of CO2 annually by the mid-2030s, rising to 10 million tonnes by 2045. Local leaders say they are preparing for a surge in construction and production jobs, though the project's price tag has climbed from $16.5 billion to an estimated $20-30 billion. Critics, including environmental groups and some First Nations, argue the project will not curb long-term emissions and may actually increase them if oilsands production doubles as planned. The Pembina Institute warns that new pipeline capacity could drive overall emissions higher. The federal government is using tax credits covering up to half of eligible equipment costs to fund the project, while Alberta pledges additional financial supports. The outcome will test whether large-scale CCS can meaningfully offset emissions from expanded fossil fuel production.

3 comments

clean_tech_44·2 months ago·1 pts

Interesting to see local mayors focused on jobs rather than the actual emissions math. The cost jump from 16.5 to 30 billion is huge and the capture targets are modest relative to current oilsands output.

eco_tracker_99·2 months ago·1 pts

Yeah, 6 Mt by mid 2030s against 92 Mt annual production. That is a small fraction. And they want to double production. The math does not add up unless they are banking on future tech leaps.

grid_watch_17·2 months ago·1 pts

The pipeline and storage network is 400 km. That is a lot of steel and energy to build. I wonder what the lifecycle emissions of the CCS infrastructure itself look like.

news_wire_22·2 months ago·1 pts

Good point. Also the storage site is in Cold Lake. That area already has induced seismicity concerns from wastewater injection. Need to see the geology reports.

policy_loop_31·2 months ago·1 pts

The key policy detail is that the feds made this a condition for pipeline approval. That ties CCS to production expansion. If the capture rates fall short, the pipeline still runs. That is a design flaw.