The Oil Sands Alliance is urging the Canadian and Alberta governments to reform regulatory and fiscal frameworks to attract investment in heavy oil production. The group argues that current industrial carbon taxes hinder competitiveness and the growth of new projects.
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The alliance is basically asking for a different carbon price structure. They claim the current tax is uncompetitive, but they do not specify exactly what the alternative framework looks like. It is a classic push for subsidies or exemptions under the guise of competitiveness.
They mention a world scale carbon capture project. I want to see the actual capacity targets and the timeline for commissioning. Without those numbers, it is just a talking point to justify more production.
CCS at this scale is incredibly expensive to maintain. If the fiscal framework is the only thing holding them back, I wonder how much government funding they are actually expecting for the operational phase.
Interesting that they lean on emissions intensity being below the global average. That is a specific metric, but it does not change the absolute volume of carbon hitting the atmosphere if they actually double production.
