Oil and gas tech will do more to reduce emissions than disinvesting from the sector
The business leader responsible for nearly $540 billion of Canadian pension investment has no plan to sell off interest in companies just because they’re involved in oil and gas. The critical task of reducing global emissions will require the skills of people inside these companies, according to John Graham, CEO of Canada Pension Plan (CPP)…
Findings could help beef producers manage grasslands for economic and environmental benefits
A sweeping project co-led by University of Alberta researchers will provide the most comprehensive mapping ever of how much carbon is being stored in perennial grasslands across Saskatchewan. The resulting data from the $3.2-million initiative will help cattle farmers there – and eventually all across Canada’s prairies – manage their land to keep as much…
Faster drilling, alternative fuels, engine automation are just the beginning as industry keeps innovating
When Nicole Romanow looks at drilling rigs from 30 years ago, she’s impressed by the change and innovation that has occurred in Canada’s oil and gas industry – and what is yet to come. That’s because as team lead for sustainability strategy at Canadian drilling company Ensign Energy Services, she understands the level of equipment…
Energy economy and carbon tech sector have become a 'new buffalo'
First Nations and Metis communities are becoming heavily involved in carbon capture and storage projects in Alberta, capitalizing on developments that would see carbon emissions from industrial sites get buried deep underground. Indigenous groups have obtained ownership stakes for two proposed carbon removal projects, the Open Access Wabamun Carbon Hub and Wolf Midstream Sequestration Hub,…
Could become a new large-scale industry for Canada while reducing our environmental footprint
Canada’s largest oil sands producers are “in full-scale development mode” on a major joint project designed to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and propel the sector down the path to net-zero. The companies have planned one of the world's largest carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects. It’s a key piece of what could become a…
Groundbreaking work could help industry understand how to store carbon safely over the long term
A University of Alberta researcher is working to improve how carbon dioxide is stored and absorbed when it’s pumped underground for safe, long-term storage. By taking an up-close look at the processes of carbon capture and storage (CCS), Amy Tsai, a professor in the Faculty of Engineering, is getting a better idea of how CO2 is transported…
Funding boosts project to help accelerate time to market for advances in carbon capture, storage
Carbon capture and storage facilities can sequester large amounts of carbon dioxide emissions and prevent them from entering the atmosphere – but effective and cost-efficient monitoring technology is needed to ensure the CO2 being put into the ground is actually staying there. “The challenge here is that we want the CO2 to stay underground for…
Investment ensures that environmental performance improvements move faster
A new report shows that Canada’s major oil and gas companies continued their steady drumbeat of big spending on cleantech research and development in 2020, despite facing unprecedented challenges related to the global pandemic. Together, Suncor Energy, Canadian Natural Resources, Imperial Oil, Syncrude and TC Energy invested approximately $1.1 billion in research and development in…
Carbon capture is key to reaching net zero emissions by 2050
Four hundred academics recently signed a letter to the federal government, condemning the next big thing in emissions reduction. They’re all wrong. Their target was Canada’s world-leading, greenhouse-gas-busting carbon capture and storage initiative. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been hailed as a key to reaching net zero emissions by 2050. The Alberta government kicked…
Offers an efficient way to pull carbon dioxide out of industrial emissions
Alberta’s world renown in carbon capture and sequestration is set to receive another lift thanks to the promise of a material invented and tested in the province that offers an efficient way to pull carbon dioxide out of industrial emissions. A team from the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Engineering characterized a CO2-capturing microporous material…