New and expanded efforts to reduce greenhouse gases, most notably carbon dioxide, have been making headlines globally on a daily basis for a while now. Canada’s energy industry has been increasingly contributing to that newsfeed this year, with two large projects announced in Alberta that will capture, use, and sequester large volumes of CO2 generated from the oil sands as well as other sources of oil and gas production in Western Canada. In today’s blog, we review the emissions profile of the Canadian oil and gas sector and discuss two of the largest carbon capture, use, and sequestration projects announced to date.
It seems you cannot open your e-mail, scan a news website, or — better yet — read an RBN blog, without some mention of a new initiative to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, especially among those who produce, transport, and refine hydrocarbons. As part of our expansion into ESG themes and our ongoing The Air That I Breathe series on using CO2 for enhanced oil recovery, we felt it was important to consider what has been happening with respect to CO2 reduction initiatives in Canada’s energy industry, and especially the oil sands, a sector often unfairly maligned as a massive contributor to Canadian and global GHG emissions.
Canadian crude output is rising, requiring new export routes. As traditional pathways face constraints, the U.S. Rockies—especially the Guernsey, WY hub—are emerging as key corridors for moving Canadian heavy crude to downstream markets, including the Gulf Coast.
Given the oil sands’ reputation among environmental activists, it may be surprising to hear that Canada’s carbon footprint has changed very little over the past two decades — a period during which oil sands production has doubled. According to Canada’s federal government, the country’s overall GHG emissions didn’t stray far from the 700-725-million-metric-tons-per-year-of-CO2-equivalent range between 2000 and 2019, the last year with published data available (height of stacked bar segments and left axis in Figure 1). Although not part of the government’s dataset, it would be reasonable to expect that Canada’s 2020 GHG emissions declined due to the suppression of economic activity tied to the COVID pandemic. In fact, BP’s latest statistical review estimates that Canada’s emissions fell by about 11% last year, which would place emission levels at the lowest since 1994, or about 652 million metric tons (MMT).
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About the song
“Forever and for Always” was written by Shania Twain and Mutt Lange and appears as the fifth song on Shania Twain’s fourth studio album, Up! Produced by Mutt Lange, the song was released as a single in April 2003 and went to #1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary, #4 on the Hot Country Songs, and #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles charts. It has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Personnel on the record were: Shania Twain (lead and backing vocals), Kevin Churko (programming), Simon Duggal (bass, drum programming), Paul Laime (drums), Paul Franklin (pedal steel guitar); Brent Mason, Michael Thompson, and Cory Churko (guitars); Diamond Duggal (keyboards), and Mutt Lange and Mauro Pagani (backing vocals).
Up! was recorded between the fall of 2001 and the summer of 2002. Produced by Mutt Lange, it was released in November 2002. The album went to #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums and Top Country Albums charts. It has been certified 11X Platinum by the RIAA. Different regions of the world received different versions of the LP. North America got a two-disc set, with separate album versions later released on vinyl in 2016. Eight singles were released from the album.
Shania Twain (Eileen Regina Edwards) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making her the best-selling female country artist in history. She has released five studio albums, two live albums, two compilation albums, and 43 singles. Twain has won four Academy of Country Music Awards, six American Music Awards, 39 BMI Awards, two Country Music Association Awards, five Grammy Awards, and one World Music Award, and is a member of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
