2nd UPDATE: Canada Backs Alberta Carbon-Emissions Pipeline
November 24 2009 - 5:47PM
Dow Jones News
The Canadian government announced funding Tuesday for the
construction of the world's largest carbon-capture and storage
pipeline in Alberta, the center of Canada's emissions-heavy oil
sands industry.
The Canadian and Alberta governments pledged a total of C$558
million (US$528.1 million) to create the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line,
a 240-kilometer pipeline beginning near Edmonton, Alberta, that
will capture emissions from the energy industry and pump them
beneath old oil fields for the dual purpose of re-pressurizing the
declining fields and to prevent 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, Canadian officials said.
Construction is scheduled to begin in 2011 and for the line to be
in operation in 2012. The officials said the project will reach its
full capacity within 10 years of operation.
"This new pipeline will significantly advance Alberta's capacity
for future carbon capture and storage projects," Alberta Premier Ed
Stelmach said in a conference call Tuesday. "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 to connect to the
line."
The pipeline will be operated by Enhance Energy Inc., a
carbon-capture technology company, in partnership with North West
Upgrading Inc., an oil upgrading company. Both companies are
privately owned and based in Calgary. The project will initially
capture carbon from North West's facilities near Edmonton and
transport it south for enhanced oil recovery in fields near the
cities of Red Deer and Lacombe.
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 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 coal-fired power plant owned by TransAlta
Corp (TAC).
Canadian Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt said the Canadian
and Alberta governments strategically chose to fund three large
projects including a pipeline, refinery and coal-fired power plant
to demonstrate how a large carbon-capture and storage system could
be integrated across several segments of the energy industry.
Environmental groups including the World Wide Fund for Nature
have criticized Alberta's carbon-capture plans, calling them a way
for the Canadian government to justify the expansion of its
oil-sands industry and inadequate to offset the emissions it
produces.
Raitt said carbon capture and storage technology was Canada's
"best chance to capture emissions, not only for oil sands but for
coal plants as well."
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.
-By Edward Welsch, Dow Jones Newswires; 613-237-0669;
edward.welsch@dowjones.com
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