Canada Funds Clean Technology In Alberta’s Oil Sands

Canada’s federal government is funding three clean technology projects in Alberta’s oil and gas industry, allocating resources to two companies to help them develop processes to curb emissions at their operations.

On Thursday, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources Amarjeet Sohi announced federal investments of a total of US$54.2 million (C$72.3 million) to Alberta companies Canadian Natural Resources Limited and Titanium Corporation Inc for projects designed to reduce the emissions from oil sands operations.

The federal government will fund two projects of Canadian Natural Resources. The first project is for developing an in-pit extraction process that separates oil sands ore into solids, bitumen, and water at the Horizon Oil Sands mine site, thus reducing the number of diesel trucks and the amount of power needed. The other funding to Canadian Natural Resources is for a new steam turbine generator technology that will help produce power for its facilities at the Athabasca Oil Sands Project while reducing emissions. Titanium Corporation will get funding for technology designed to remediate oil sands tailings at Canadian Natural’s Horizon Oil Sands site.

“Canadian Natural, and Canada’s oil and natural gas sector, recognize the need to reduce GHG emission intensities, and we have been able to leverage technology and Canadian ingenuity to deliver significant results,” Canadian Natural’s President Tim McKay said in a statement.

While the federal government is funding clean technology at Alberta’s oil sands, Alberta and its oil producers continue their fight for improved market access for their product—new pipelines that would increase the takeaway capacity of Alberta’s oil.

Also on Thursday, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) said in a new report that Canada’s abundance of natural resources can help the country to achieve “significant domestic and global benefits: if we resolve current market access challenges.”

The shortage of oil pipelines and liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure “are crippling our ability to compete for global market share,” CAPP said.

“Global energy demand is growing,” CAPP president and CEO Tim McMillan said. “However, Canada is losing the race to claim a piece of the high-growth market overseas. Without new pipelines, Canada’s oil and natural gas industry can’t compete for a share of the global market,” McMillan noted.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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