Yes.
Evidence of meeting #10 for Natural Resources in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was project.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #10 for Natural Resources in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was project.
A recording is available from Parliament.
10:50 a.m.
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Are you aware of any of the money that's gone out from government so far, either provincial or federal, for CCS, and has any of that also been used in enhanced oil recovery by the project proponents?
10:50 a.m.
Chairman, Integrated CO2 Network
I'm not certain on terms of federal funding. I know that in Alberta some specific policies have helped fund some enhanced oil recovery pilots. Just as the capture technology needs to be proven, it's not a slam dunk that every oil reservoir will work suitably for CO2 injections. So they take one injection well and try to demonstrate over a period of months, or a year or two, that CO2 is going to be effective. Some projects like this have been provincially supported. I can't comment on whether federal support has gone into this.
10:50 a.m.
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Under the criteria right now—and I guess this is what I'm trying to get at—is it possible for an energy oil company to apply for federal-provincial dollars for CCS, and as part of their large-scale project use some of the money for enhanced oil recovery as well, as a side part? So far we've heard in all the testimony that you can use it in different ways. You can simply sequester it, or you can sequester it alongside a project that is also bringing up oil. Is that true?
10:50 a.m.
Chairman, Integrated CO2 Network
Yes, that's certainly true. It's our view, through the work we did in ICO2N, that enhanced oil recovery is really going to provide a financial kick-start to carbon capture and storage--
10:50 a.m.
NDP
10:50 a.m.
Chairman, Integrated CO2 Network
We do. Frankly, it'll stay flat, in our opinion. It'll grow to a certain point, but then if we're really going to be capturing 40, 60, or 100 megatonnes of CO2 a year in Canada, we don't believe we have that volume of market for EOR use. So the EOR volume will end up being stable, but as a percentage of total CO2 injected, it'll be reduced over time.
10:50 a.m.
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
I understand it on the demonstration side of things, but isn't it a strange moment in public policy whereby we're using taxpayers' money to send to energy companies to demonstrate, improve, and draw up more oil? As a free marketer, which I assume you are, it's a strange circumstance if we go to a taxpayer and say we're giving money to oil companies to sequester carbon, but as a side effect, they're also bringing up more oil for their own use and profit.
10:50 a.m.
Chairman, Integrated CO2 Network
I guess the point is that those EOR projects would not proceed without the support that allows the carbon capture to take place. That incremental funding is needed to allow the overall project to go ahead and to allow for the beneficial aspects of CO2 storage to take place.
10:50 a.m.
NDP
Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC
Again, to the other witnesses, how critical is a stable and significant price of carbon for the future of CCS technology?
10:50 a.m.
Chairman, Integrated CO2 Network
I think having a stable policy around climate change is what is most important. That policy will have to encompass some element of carbon pricing, however that's chosen, whether that's through a mechanism like a carbon tax, or a mechanism like a cap and trade, or some other mechanism. Frankly, as industry, we're somewhat agnostic on that, but absolutely, having a well-understood expectation of the future of carbon constraints is going to be important to developing these projects.
10:50 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Leon Benoit
Thank you, Mr. Cullen.
Thank you very much, gentlemen. We have this phenomenon around here that we have bells interrupt meetings from time to time, and this is one of those times. We have to go to the House.
I'd like to thank you all very much for your presentations this morning. It's been very helpful for us in our study. We've just scratched the surface, but we're looking forward to meetings on Tuesday and seeing where it goes from there.
Again, thank you all very much for coming.
The meeting is adjourned.