UPDATE: Canada Gives C$558 Million Funds For Alberta Carbon Pipeline
25 November 2009 - 9:37AM
Dow Jones News
The Canadian and Alberta governments said Tuesday they will
provide a total of C$558 million (US$528.1 million) in funding for
a carbon-emissions pipeline near Edmonton, Alberta, that will
transport carbon dioxide emissions for use in enhanced oil recovery
in the province.
The 240-kilometer Alberta Carbon Trunk Line project will be the
largest carbon-capture project in the world when it is complete,
Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach said in a conference call Tuesday.
Construction is scheduled to begin in 2011 and for the line to be
in operation in 2012.
"This new pipeline will significantly advance Alberta's capacity
for future carbon capture and storage projects," Stelmach said.
"The Alberta Carbon Trunk Line will be the backbone of CO2
transportation for Alberta. It will be built with long-term
capacity in mind, so as more companies capture CO2, they will be
able connect to the line."
The pipeline will transport carbon-dioxide emissions captured
during the process of upgrading heavy oil produced in western
Canada to lighter petroleum products. The emissions will then be
pumped underground at declining oil fields for the dual purpose of
helping to extracting more oil from them and for keeping the
emissions, seen as a key contributor to global warming, from
entering the atmosphere.
The pipeline will be able to transport up to 14.6 million tons
of carbon dioxide emissions per year, the equivalent emissions
created annually by 2.6 million cars, Stelmach said.
The project will be operated in a partnership between Enhance
Energy Inc., a carbon-capture technology company, and North West
Upgrading Inc., an oil upgrading company, according to a release by
Canada's Natural Resources department. Both companies are privately
owned and based in Calgary. The project will capture carbon from
North West's facilities near Edmonton and transport it south for
enhanced oil recovery in fields near Red Deer, Alberta, according
to a spokesman for the Alberta government.
Government funding for the project will be disbursed over 15
years, with C$495 million in funding coming from Alberta and C$63
million from the federal government.
The Carbon Trunk Line is the third major carbon-capture
initiative announced in Alberta, which has set aside C$2 billion in
funds for carbon capture and storage projects in the province. Last
month, the Canadian and Alberta governments announced their intent
to award C$865 million in funding for a carbon-capture system at a
Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA, RDSB) refinery near Edmonton and C$774
million in funding for a similar system at a power-generation plant
owned by TransAlta Corp (TAC).
Alberta is also the main source of Canada's oil-sands industry,
which has been criticized by environmentalists for its relatively
high levels of carbon emissions.
-By Edward Welsch, Dow Jones Newswires; 613-237-0669;
edward.welsch@dowjones.com
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