Tar Sands Operators' Net-Zero "Plan" Sidetracked By Keystone News - Probably Just As Well
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"Nobody paid attention to Pathways," said Deborah Yedlin, who chronicled the Alberta energy sector's many ups and downs as a columnist for more than two decades, and is now now the president of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. "It has continued to sort of fly under the radar screen — it doesn't matter whether it's in the United States, in Canada, or overseas." Even many within the industry who work in Calgary's office towers are unfamiliar with Pathways, beyond its goal of making the oilsands net zero in less than three decades. Indeed, the rollout plan represents the broader failure of the industry to effectively communicate how it's going to reduce emissions and navigate a world that's increasingly focused on climate change.
Ed. - No, it's not a failure of communication.
The Pathways plan is divided into three phases, to meet goals for 2030, 2040 and eventually net-zero emissions by 2050. The companies plan to drive down emissions through a variety of techniques, such as using lower-emission sources of energy and electricity such as natural gas, hydrogen and small modular nuclear reactors. The main weapon to slash emissions is collecting the carbon dioxide from all the oilsands facilities and storing it underground. If built today, the proposed carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility would be the largest in the world, second only to a proposed ExxonMobil project in Houston, Texas.
The initial goal is to capture and sequester 8.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions every year by 2030. The gases would be collected from eight different oilsands facilities in northeastern Alberta, transported south through a pipeline and pumped deep underground in the Cold Lake region, located about 300 km northeast of Edmonton. Eventually, more than 20 facilities could be included in the plan and store 40 million tonnes of emissions per year. The oilsands produces about 68 million tonnes of emissions annually.
Ed. That's nice. So, after decades of investment and development, the project wouldn't even capture 60% of the carbon it produces. It would capture 1/10th of 1% of average annual anthropogenic global carbon emissions - that is, today's global carbon emissions. And it would have zero impact on the carbon generated when the oil produced from tar sands was refined and burned.
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The oil industry has faced criticism for doing too little to tackle emissions, as climate change concerns and warnings grow increasingly dire. At the same time, the world is consuming more oil every year. "That's created a lot of tension in Canada as we've tried to sort through how is this going to work?" said Little, the chief executive of Suncor, in an interview. Pathways is focused on cutting emissions, but much of the project and the motivation of the companies behind it is about reputation. This is an industry looking for a facelift and still trying to shake the "dirty oil" label. That notoriety plagues the sector and has led to financial consequences, as some investors and insurance companies decide they no longer want to do business with the high-carbon oilsands.
Averting the worst effects of climate change should be a natural motivation for this type of project, but it's rarely discussed. In a 13-page document explaining the Pathways initiative, there is no mention of climate change, other than in the fine print and a reference to Canada's climate target.
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https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/bakx-pathways-oilsands-ghg-ccs-ccus-1.6431428
These people are fucking insane. That's the only word for it.