PNN MAY 2019 by Pipeline News North

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Petroleum Show a hit for vendors old and new rob brown The Grande Prairie and District Chamber of Commerce and the Grande Prairie Petroleum Association combined forces for another huge biennial Peace Region Petroleum Show – the 13th to be exact, May and 16. “The continuing partnership between our organizations allows us to bring you one of the largest oil and gas shows in western Canada,” notes chair of the GP and District Chamber of Commerce Dan Wong. Gary McLachlan, regional manager with All Peace Protection, was impressed with his first Petroleum show. All Peace does work in the Mile Zero area, working security detail on Midwest leases. “It’s a worthwhile show,” said McLachlan.

Jennifer Kowal with BDP Traffic Management said the outdoor booths were yielding more and more foot traffic as the morning showers ended as the show began on Wednesday, while Camille Legace with Nitrogen Technologies of Canada said the show has been on their calendar for more than a decade. “This show is great from a PR point of view, and helping up put faces to names of partners, or people we have been talking to over the phone,” says Legace. “This show is a great addition for this area, from Grande Prairie into BC and more. The Calgary show is just too far away for some.” MORE FROM THE SHOW ON PAGES 8 TO 13

Nikolai Korniyuk breaks down Riger.ca at the Peace Region Petroleum Show May 15 in Grande Prairie. Riger.ca (and .us) is a digital oilfield platform for energy service and equipment rentals, connecting the office to the oilfield. Rob Brown Photo

TAKING ON THE WORLD — When Lou Potter isn’t keeping busy operating equipment, helping welders and pipefitters, or working as a health, environment, and safety lead in the oil and gas industry, she’s writing Billboard-tracking pop hits. Now, she’s is looking to make the cover of Maxim Magazine. Potter’s is one of a half-dozen Peace Country women vying for votes in the magazine’s cover girl competition in support of the Canadian Cancer Society. “I saw the Canadian Cancer Society logo and thought that was a unique way to attract attention and raise funds,” she says. Potter is used to the spotlight somewhat, as her entry into the Maxim Cover girl competition comes as she returns from Los Angeles cutting a pair of single tracks, ‘Let It Burn’ and ‘Lava’, which are due out later this year. Vote for Lou at ca.maximcovergirl.com/2019/lou-potter

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PIPELINE NEWS NORTH •

Drilling rigs near the Encana Tower Gas Plant, April 23, 2019. | Chuck Fowler Photo

Wildcat holes and simple dreams

n any given morning in the corner of our local early morning breakfast hangout at Humpty’s in Fort St. John, you will find the pioneers of the industry. Orders of bacon and eggs are whisked out by the servers in amongst the outpouring of laughter. A steady stream of coffee runs deep with the barrage of stories, swapping tales of ole from back in the day. Many have grey hair or no hair at all; the wrinkles and scars on their faces are signs they’ve weathered the test of time. A time when the oil and gas areas were wildcat holes and simply dreams for investors.

No high-grade roads, no luxuries, just boundless mud, hours in the seat and, with any luck, enough cigarettes to get you back to town. Coffee Row, as some like to call it, is a place where the trailblazers of years gone by talk of simpler times, where the nights were cold and seemingly endless, but you did what you had to do to get the job done. Four hundred hours in a truck or two days without sleep wasn’t uncommon and the running joke of safety was “nobody moves, nobody gets hurt.” Look down the row and you’ll see cat skinners who broke ground on some of the first leases in Peejay

Chuck Fowler and Ring Boarder; truckers who hauled the first loads into newly developed oil and gas fields on the Sierra by Fort Nelson. One thing is for sure: They all knew what the 90 days of hell were. The first three months of the year when winter bares down on the Peace and

time was running out to finish drilling programs and completions on the frozen ground. After that, the temperature started to rise and mud season would begin, and the dreaded break-up would be in full force. Some made millions, some a decent living, and some lost it all — it all depended on the risks you took, the work you got, and a little luck to get you through break-up. There have been millionaires made in this region, and many more who only get out with the clothes on their back. The pioneers understood this, and doubled down, buying more equipment,

getting workers, spooling up for the next job. One more pipeline, one more rig move was all it took to get you to the next level. They’re all at the end of their careers now at Coffee Row, riding motorcycles in the sunshine, wintering in Arizona and playing with their grandkids. The next time you’re walking through a coffee shop and hear a ruckus in the corner, a table of grey hairs — or experience, they like to call it — it just might be the pioneers on Coffee Row.

Chuck Fowler lives and works in Fort St. John.

• PIPELINE NEWS NORTH MAY 17, 2019

PNN MISSIoN STATEMENT Pipeline News North provides current, interesting, and relevant news and information about the oil and gas industry in Northeast B.C. and Northwest Alberta. Have an interesting story to share or a news lead? Email us at editor@ahnfsj.ca.

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RIDLEY FILLING — AltaGas says has begun introducing feedstock to start operations at the new ridley Island Export Terminal, Canada’s first propane export facility. rIPET, as it is known, has an estimated capital cost of $450 million to $500 million. AltaGas said that it was completed on-time and on-budget during Q1. CEo randy Crawford said that completing the project is a historic milestone for AltaGas and its partners, as well as western Canadian natural gas producers and customers in Asia. “rIPET has come online at a crucial time for the Canadian energy industry, providing domestic natural gas producers with much-needed access to tidewater and more attractive global pricing,” he said. AltaGas started building its ridley Island Propane Export Terminal in January 2017. Propane shipments are expected to commence in Q2. A grand opening will be held May 27.

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Feds pump $83 million into Peace electricity plan MATT PrEProST RYAN WALLACE ADVERTISING MANAGER 250-785-5631 C: 250-261-1143 rwallace@ ahnfsj.ca

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Ottawa is putting up to $83.6 million into the Peace Region Electricity Supply project connecting power from Site C to natural gas developers in the Northeast, it was announced today. The project will see BC Hydro build two 230kv power lines between the Site C substation and the existing Groundbirch Substation. Industrial development is driving demand for more power, and it’s estimated the supply project will cut emissions by up to 2.6 megatonnes per year, according to a government release. “Transitioning to cleaner electricity is essential to protecting the environment, creating more sustainable communities and building a clean future for our kids and grandkids,” Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi said in a statement. “This important project will encourage Canadian businesses to transition to renewable energy, boosting the economic growth in the Peace region and promoting a greener way of life for all British Columbians.” The federal funding is coming through the Investing in Canada Plan. BC Hydro is paying the remaining $205.4 million for the project. Work is already underway, and BC Hydro is aiming to commission the new power lines in the fall of 2021. Once online, the Peace Region Electricity Supply project will be the second electrification project undertaken by the province in the

Peace. A number of natural gas plants now run on electricity, rather than natural gas, thanks to the Dawson Creek-Chetwynd Area Transmission (DCAT) project. Electrifying the natural gas fields in Northeast B.C. is a critical part of getting a liquefied natural gas industry to fit within the greenhouse gas emission reductions targets set by the B.C. government under its Clean BC plan. Royal Dutch Shell is the biggest producer in the Groundbirch gas fields, where gas will be shipped through the Coastal GasLink pipeline, under construction, to the LNG Canada project in Kitimat on the West Coast. Electrification not only reduces CO2 from the burning of natural gas to generate electricity for natural gas power plants, pipelines and other infrastructure, it can also reduce methane emissions, if pneumatic valves are replaced with electric actuators, since the pneumatic vales use gas pressure and release natural gas every time they activate. “We know the gas industry is a primary driver for electricity demand in the South Peace region,” BC Hydro President Chris O’Riley said. “The PRES project will ensure we can reliably provide electricity to our industrial customers who want to power their facilities with clean energy – significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.” — Pipeline News North, with files from BIV

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matt preprost Geoscience BC is expanding its research into industry-caused earthquakes around Fort St. John and Dawson Creek. The agency announced today that it will study how seismic waves from earthquakes caused by hydraulic fracturing can be amplified in shallow geological conditions. “Most recent studies in this area have focussed on the reduction of ground motion as you get further from the seismic event,” lead researcher Dr. Patrick Monahan said. “But seismic ground motions can also be amplified significantly on sites underlain by certain sediments, compared to sites on bedrock or firm ground.” In February, Geoscience BC released a report and series of maps detailing where there’s an increased potential of amplification of ground motion from earthquakes caused by fracing and fluid disposal in Northeast B.C. This new study will expand on

that work, the agency said, and address public concerns about earthquakes and oil and gas development in the region. Researchers will collect data from oil and gas wells, water wells, and geotechnical boreholes as part of the study that will help industry and regulators identify where there’s a higher change felt earthquake events will be felt at the surface. “The new science generated by this project will help us better understand which areas have the potential of increased ground motion during induced seismicity events associated with natural gas extraction,” Geoscience BC Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer Carlos Salas said. “The information can be used by industry, regulators, communities in the Peace River Regional District and Indigenous groups to improve industry procedures to manage felt events.” A public open house about the project is scheduled for May 29 at KPAC in Dawson Creek from 5:30 to 7 p.m. — Pipeline News North

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TMX a go? Report says yes The expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline is “likely to proceed,” according to officials. Bloomberg is reporting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet will meet June 18, where it’s expected the expansion will be given the green light. While the deadline for a decision was already pushed back from May, it’s “possible but unlikely” to be delayed again, Bloomberg reported, citing confidential sources. The government “almost certainly won’t flat-out abandon the expansion,” Bloomberg reported. The government bought the pipeline and expansion project in August 2018. Between September and December, the pipeline generated $129 million in revenue, $48 million in earnings before interest, taxes, and depreciation, and $23 million in additional dividends for the government. The National Energy Board released its reconsideration report on the expansion in February, finding the project remains in the national interest and imposing 156 environmental and regulatory conditions should be approved The federal government, in the meantime, is wrapping up extended consultations with indigenous groups Two Fort St. John pipeline contractors have alreday been selected to build nearly one-third of the expansion through southern B.C. Surerus Pipeline, which shares a 50% stake with London-based J. Murphy & Sons in the Surerus Murphy Joint Venture, was selected to build 180 kilometres of pipeline between Black Pines and Merritt. Fort St. John’s Macro Industries and France’s Spiecapag have a joint venture selected to build 85 kilometres of pipeline in the CoquihallaHope area. The contracts are valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars. — Pipeline News North

Carbon tax axed Alberta’s carbon tax will be eliminated by May 30. The Carbon Tax Repeal is one of the first orders of business for Premier Jason Kenney’s new government. “By May 30th there will no longer be an Alberta carbon tax,” Kenney said in an announcement on May 13. Eliminating the tax will give an estimated $1.4 billion back to taxpayers, Kenney said. NDP Opposition Leader Rachel Notley called the decision unwise. ““We will certainly make the case vigorously that it’s not wise,” she said. Prime Minister Justin Trudeu said Kenney’s opposition to carbon taxes will have no bearing on his government’s decision on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

AT THE HELM — New Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and Energy Minister Sonya Savage share a word at the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications on Bill C-48 on Tuesday, April 30, 2019. On May 15, the Senate’s transportation and communications committee rejected the bill’s ban on tanker traffic off British Columbia’s north coast.

“Moves that a province may or may not make will have no bearing on the approval process for important projects like the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion,” he said. Trudeau all but hinted a federal carbon tax will be coming to Alberta. “There are many discussions still to have on this. What we are going to ensure is that nowhere across the country will it be free to pollute,” he said. Kenney has vowed to challenge the constitutionality of the federal government’s new carbon tax in court. However, Saskatchewan’s appeal court recently ruled the federal carbon tax is constitutional. — Pipeline News North

Macro signs Saturn contract Macro Enterprises has signed a contract to build a single-unit greenfield compressor station near Dawson Creek as part of the North Montney Mainline. The contract’s value is in excess of $30 million, the company reported Wednesday, May 8. Work includes removing, transporting, and installing a single 15.1-megawatt gas-turbinedriven centrifugal compressor unit consisting of a Solar T130 Dry Low Emissions gas turbine, a C65-2 compressor, and associated auxiliary buildings from the Moody Creek Alberta Compressor Station to the Saturn Compressor Station. High pressure gas piping, and utility piping and cable interconnects between buildings will all be newly fabricated and installed at the new site, the company said. Construction is expected to begin in May, with substantial completion by the third quarter of 2019, the company reported. Macro continues to build the Groundbirch Compressor Station. Completion is scheduled for the third quarter of 2019. — Pipeline News North

Plenty of natgas to motor around Vancouver TransLink and FortisBC are partnering up to supply renewable natural gas for TransLink’s natural gas bus fleet. The announcement, made April 24, means TransLink is the first public transportation authority in Canada to use RNG to help fuel its natural gas powered buses. FortisBC and TransLink have signed a contract to supply up to 500,000 gigajoules annually within five years. The transition from CNG to RNG will reduce TransLink’s emissions by 50,000 tons, the same as taking 10,000 cars off the road for a year, the companies said. “TransLink is a model for transit authorities and fleet operators across the province for making the switch to low-carbon fuels,” Douglas Stout, vice-president, market development and external relations, FortisBC, said in the release. “Compressed natural gas vehicles, which make up roughly a fifth of TransLink’s bus fleet, have close to 21 per cent fewer emissions with a 50 per cent reduction in fuel costs versus diesel. RNG could offer the same savings while further reducing emissions by an additional 80 per cent versus CNG.” The transportation sector accounts for around 40% of emissions in B.C. Renewable natural gas is certified carbon neutral and is included within B.C.’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard. It yields higher emissions credits than CNG due to its lower carbon intensity, according to the release. “Using renewable natural gas moves us towards meeting our environmental goals and reduces our reliance on fossil fuels. It’s partnerships like this that help create a more livable and sustainable region today and into the future,” TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond said. — Pipeline News North

MAY 17, 2019

PIPELINE NEWS NORTH •

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Keyera approves Key Access Pipeline System Keyera Corp. has announced it is proceeding with the development of the Key Access Pipeline System (KAPS), a natural gas liquids and condensate pipeline system that will transport growing Montney and Duvernay production in northwestern Alberta to Fort Saskatchewan. Keyera has partnered with SemCAMS Midstream ULC, owned jointly by SemGroup Corporation and KKR, to develop this open-access system with initial connections into Keyera’s fractionation assets and condensate system in Fort Saskatchewan. This project is highly desired by industry as it provides an additional and alternative transportation solution to deliver production from Alberta’s liquids-rich developments to market. KAPS is expected to be operational in the first half of 2022 and provide Keyera with secure, long-term, take-or-pay revenues and strong project returns. The project is expected to generate an annual return on capital of

between 10% and 15% starting in 2024. KAPS is also an important link between Keyera’s growing gathering and processing franchise in

northwestern Alberta and its strong liquids infrastructure network at Fort Saskatchewan, creating a platform for significant future opportunities. Based on the current scope, KAPS

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will consist of a 16-inch pipeline for condensate and a 12-inch pipeline for NGL mix. KAPS will initially be constructed from northwest of Grande Prairie to Keyera’s Fort Saskatchewan Fractionation and Storage Facility. Along this route, KAPS will initially be connected to Keyera’s Pipestone, Wapiti and Simonette gas plants and several third party gas plants with volume commitments to KAPS. The cost of the pipeline system is currently estimated at $1.3 billion, or $650 million net to Keyera. “We are excited and pleased to develop this highly desired alternative transportation solution along with our partner SemCAMS Midstream,” said David Smith, Keyera’s President and CEO. “We are confident in the outlook for this condensate rich region in northwestern Alberta and we thank our customers for their endorsement and commitment to our solution. Keyera is dedicated to developing this pipeline system in a responsible manner for all stakeholders.”

• PIPELINE NEWS NORTH MAY 17, 2019

Arriving home alive from the grind dillon giancola The Coalition for Safer Alberta Roads is a group committed to working toward zero fatalities on Alberta highways, and advocating for safer road practices. “Our number one mandate is to drive towards zero everyday,” said Debbie Hammond. executive director, at the Peace Region Petroleum Show in Grande Prairie on May 15. The coaltiion is funded entirely by the oil, gas and forestry sector, as well as municipal governments. “With the nature of our businesses, there is a lot of traffic. We realize we’re part of the problem and we want to be a part of the solution,” said Hammond. The Coalition has recently advocated to have employers give out-of-town workers the option to stay at camp an extra night after their work tour ended, instead of having to drive home that night. “We’re starting to see companies change course on that work practice, and we’re helping to get people off the road and making the highways safer,” Hammond said. — Pipeline News North

Debbie Hammond at the Peace Region Petroleum Show in Grande Prairie, May 15, 2019. Dillon Giancola Photo

Ensuring water for generations matt preprost

Megan Mader and #### at the Peace Region Petroleum Show in Grande Prairie, May 15, 2019. Matt Preprost Photo

No water, no life; and no water, no industry. It’s why keeping tabs on the lifeblood of human activity and economy is so vitally important, which is where the Might Peace Watershed Alliance comes in. Formed in 2011 under Alberta’s Water For Life strategy, the non-profit group works with industry, farmers, governments, researchers, First Nations, and other stakeholders to ensure the environmental, economic and social sustainability of watersheds in the Peace and Slave River basins. “We need water to live; it’s an every day use for everyone,” said Megan Mader, the organization’s education and outreach co-ordinator at the Peace Region Petroleum Show on May 15. “We want to make sure everyone has water quality and quantity for future generations. We want to make sure it’s managed really well by everyone.” The Watershed Alliance released a State of the Watershed Report in 2015, which found the Peace and Slave Rivers, as well as their tributaries the Smoky and the Wabasca, were relatively healthy. However, the group found gaps in data made water management planning a challenge. The group is currently working with stakeholders on a management plan for the Wapiti River. — Pipeline News North

MAY 17, 2019

PIPELINE NEWS NORTH •

Chris McFaul of Sil Industrial Minerals was on hand to answer questions about all things sand blasting at the Peace region Petroleum Show in Grande Prairie on May 15. In business since 1971, Sil has three million tonnes of industrial sand on offer. Matt Preprost Photo

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Keean McLeod of CDN Controls flips a fresh set of burgers at one of the hospitality barbecues on offer at the Peace Region Petroleum Show in Grande Prairie on May 15. Matt Preprost Photo

Development bank a well-kept secret Matt Preprost Bob Kerr calls it a well-kept secret, but let’s bust it out into the open: if you’re a company or entrepreneur looking for financing, the Business Development Bank of Canada is a good place to start looking. The BDC is a Crown corporation eager to dole out business loans for land, building, and equipment to help get initiatives off the ground. “Our goal is to help businesses grow, to help the entrepreneur,” said Kerr, a senior account manager. Unlike banks, the BDC is a little more aggressive, with financing up to 90% — if the deal makes sense, Kerr said. The BDC also offers advising services, from developing strategic plans, to sales and marketing, to data analysis to identify business trends and maximize efficiencies and pricing. “Depending on the client’s needs, we can turn around and help them out,” Kerr said. “But they need to be coachable.” Learn more about the bank’s offerings at bdc.ca. — Pipeline News North

Bob Kerr and Derek Shantz at the Peace Region Petroleum Show in Grande Prairie, May 15, 2019. Matt Preprost Photo

MAY 17, 2019

PIPELINE NEWS NORTH •

Balance key to Pomeroy growth matt preprost Homegrown hoteliers Pomeroy Lodging continues to grow and diversify its business. The company is celebrating four new expansions: new hotels in Prince George and Fort McMurray, and new resorts in Kananaskis and Alaska. “We have a balanced portfolio,” said Heather Hamilton, regional director of sales, at the Peace Region Petroleum Show May 15. The Alyeska Resort and Hotel Alyeska includes 300 rooms as well as a aerial scenic tram in the popular Girdwood ski area, south of Anchorage, with international business key to the leisure market there. The company’s Nordic spa at its Kananaskis Mountain Lodge is a first for Alberta, and generating provincial buzz and interest. But it’s the company’s new and first fourstar hotel in downturn Fort McMurray that’s turning heads. Set to open in June, the development mixes a hotel with the residential Rio Verde Plaza, along with a restaurant and commercial space. “It’ll be the nicest hotel in Fort McMurray,” said Cindy Paton, regional sales manager. — Pipeline News North

Artist rendering of the new Pomeroy Hotel and Rio Verde Plaza in Fort McMurray.

Dave Jordan, Darrel Collier and Jamie Croft with Black Gold Fishing were at the trade show on May 15, 2019 to get word out about their downhole fishing and rental tool company, which just opened a Grande Prairie service location at the start of May. Originally based out of Cold Lake, Black Gold Fishing now has four service locations. Dillon Giancola Photo

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Trent Van Zutphen of Guardian Personnel used the Peace Region Petroleum Show in Grange Prairie on May 15 to tell companies about the industrial and trade workers he helps recruit and get employed. “We hire quite a bit of locals from Grande Prairie and the North, but send lots from Edmonton as well. We’re always looking for more workers who are based right here in Grande Prairie,” Van Zutphen said. There has been a dip in qualified workers from Grande Prairie since 2015, said Van Zutphen, who hopes to see that change in the coming years. Dillon Giancola Photo

Earl Colborne (left) and Andy Doucette of Hi-Tech Business Solutions at the Peace Region Petroleum Show May 15. “These days, the copier side of our business is the most sought out in the oil industry,” said Colborne, a sales representative. Hi-Tech is involved in all types of businesses in Grande Prairie, and its diversity allows it to service the oil and gas industry, as well as law offices, dentists, and school boards. Dillon Giancola Photo

Michelle and Brad Davidson, co-owners of Gridiron Torc, have seen their Grande Prairiebased business grow steadily since it opened in 2016. “We’re a small little company, but we keep busy,” said Brad. Gridiron offers hydraulic torquing, service repairs, and sales. Though the majority of its work is in and around Grande Prairie, Gridiron will service and ship from as north as Fort Nelson and as south as Edmonton. “Currently we are busier on the facility and pipeline side of things.” Dillon Giancola Photo

Pipeline News North editor Matt Preprost (above) gets in the driver’s seat behind the Gibson Energy driving simulator May 15 at the Peace Region Petroleum Show held in Grande Prairie. David Carpenter (below) was at the master controls putting him through the simulation. Rob Brown Photos

MAY 17, 2019

Pardeep Dhaliwal shows off dinosaur sculpture crafted by the skilled hands at Decca Industries, at the Peace Region Petroleum Show, May 15, 2019. Matt Preprost Photo

PIPELINE NEWS NORTH â&#x20AC;¢

The Peace Region Petroleum Show in Grande Prairie May 15 and 16 saw more than your standard trade show booths, including many interactive components. Kyle Roach takes a turning timing his core endurance and balance on one foot. Rob Brown Photo

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Calliope, 2, takes in her first Peace Region Petroleum Show May 15, 2019, in Grande Prairie. The biennial show featured more than 300 exhibitors talking oil, gas, energy, and more. Rob Brown Photo

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Commentary

Fostering collaboration, condemning division on climate change

ith great interest and excitement, I have watched my colleague, Lisa Helps, the Mayor of Victoria, pave the path for a collaborative approach to bringing communities together to address the challenges posed by climate change. Broadly speaking, this path is in line with a course currently being charted by my own city council in Fort St John. First, Mayor Helps abandoned her push for municipalities to initiate a class-action lawsuit against energy companies, ultimately concluding that, “We have better things to do and more important things to do than throw stones at our neighbours.” I wholeheartedly agree and applaud Mayor Helps’ willingness to change her mind about these lawsuits. Then Mayor Helps even travelled to Alberta to tour oil sands operations to gain a deeper perspective on the impressive advances our Canadian energy industry is making to limit their impacts

on the environment. After the trip, Mayor Helps explained that Canadians are living in two paradigms. One is represented by Fort St John, the center of British Columbia’s oil and gas industry and the other is represented by her city of Victoria, a coastal community that will have to adapt to the impacts of climate change but is still reliant on the use of fossil fuels. That is why I am supporting a resolution passed by my council at the upcoming North Central Local Government Association (NCLGA) meeting on May 9th. The resolution should be viewed as the starting point for an ongoing dialogue amongst municipal leaders across the province about how local governments can deal with the threats of climate change. The resolution specifically rejects the divisive lawsuits against the very energy companies we depend on and proclaims that “… writing letters, passing

Lori Ackerman resolutions and filing classaction lawsuits in the name of ‘climate liability’ against major innovation drivers and employers is not an appropriate direction for BC municipalities.” This is an important step to show that local officials agree that we are not going to try to scapegoat our problems on a certain industry. Instead, we all must work together to reduce emissions and make our communities more resilient to the impacts of climate change. It also recognizes energy companies as “innovation drivers” and therefore a significant part of the solution, instead of the

enemy. Especially here in Canada, our companies operate in adherence to some of the strictest environmental standards in the world and are already significantly reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL) pointed this out in its response to a request for compensation for climaterelated damages from Whistler. In its letter, CNRL stated that it has invested $3.1 billion since 2009 in the research and development of technologies to improve its environmental performance. This investment has already allowed the company to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 18 percent from 2013 to 2017 and decrease methane emissions by 71 percent in heavy oil operations since 2013. And this is just one of many examples of companies developing innovative ways to reduce their environmental impact. The resolution also recognizes that our

municipalities must also do our part to make our communities carbon neutral and points out that 98 percent of local governments in British Columbia are signatories to the Climate Action Charter. The Charter commits our communities to take actions to reduce emissions and create compact, energy efficient communities. Although I am sure there will still be many challenges and disagreements ahead, I am confident that the two paradigms can choose cooperation in defining our future. We must work toward common grounds and eschew actions that unfairly assign blame and tear us apart. Should my peers vote in favour of Fort St John’s resolution at NCLGA, I believe it will signal that leaders across our diverse province are ready to work together and move forward on this critical issue.

Lori Ackerman is Mayor of the City of Fort St. John.

MAY 17, 2019

PIPELINE NEWS NORTH •

Environment

The world’s largest carbon-sequestering pipeline is being built in Alberta nelson bennett A new $470 million pipeline is being built in Alberta that will allow for production of an additional one billion barrels of light oil, but most Canadians have probably never heard of it. It has received little media attention outside of Alberta and appears to have generated little if any attention or objections from environmental groups. That’s probably because the pipeline won’t carry oil or natural gas, but liquefied carbon dioxide. And though it is being built to facilitate enhanced oil recovery, it will sequester so much CO2 – up to 1.8 megatonnes annually – that, at full capacity, it will have the same effect as taking 339,000 cars off the road each year, according to Natural Resources Canada. The Alberta Carbon Trunk Line, when completed, will be the world’s largest CO2 pipeline. The 240-kilometre pipeline will collect captured CO2 from a fertilizer plant and the new Sturgeon Refinery near Edmonton, and pipe it to mature conventional oilfields near Clive, Alberta. The total cost is $900 million, of which $470 million is for the pipeline. It’s estimated the CO2 from the pipeline will allow producers to wring an additional one billion barrels of light oil out of mature, largely depleted reservoirs. It’s scheduled to be operating by 2020. Enhance Energy says up to 14.6 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year can be sequestered – the equivalent of taking 2.6 million cars off the road – at full capacity. The Alberta Carbon Trunk Line is one of the latest and biggest Canadian projects in a global carbon-capture market that is forecast to be worth $800 billion by 2030, which may explain why venture capitalists have lately been investing millions into B.C. clean-tech companies like Carbon Engineering and Inventys. That estimate comes from a new report by CMC Research Institutes and Pembina Institute. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is one of three main tools that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has consistently recommended for cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the energy sector – the other two being renewable energy and

The $470-million 240-kilometre Alberta Carbon Trunk Pipeline, which is half completed, is part of of a $900 million investment in carbon capture for enhanced oil recovery.

nuclear power. But policy-makers and green lobbyists have focused their efforts almost exclusively on pushing renewables – mainly wind and solar power – while ignoring, if not outright opposing, nuclear power and CCS. As CMC Research Institutes president Sandra Odendahl puts it, renewables have “kind of sucked the oxygen out of the room in terms of solutions to our little climate problem.” “Even after this incredibly great growth in renewables – and particularly solar has just absolutely taken off – we still have, I think, something like 5% of all the energy in the world is supplied by solar right now.” Despite trillions of dollars being spent on renewables and bioenergy, a recent International Energy Agency (IEA) report on global emissions from energy suggests it hasn’t made the kind of dent in emissions that is needed. Global CO2 emissions hit a record 33.1 billion tonnes in 2018, according to the IEA, as a booming global economy burned more coal, natural gas, gasoline and diesel than ever. Solutions offered by the green lobby, and policy-makers who listen to it, have been predicated on the idea that fossil fuels can easily be replaced. But though the IEA predicts the demand for oil for cars will peak in the mid-2020s, “petrochemicals, trucks, planes and ships still keep overall oil demand on a rising

trend.” The reality is that fossil fuels cannot be wished away overnight, and dealing with their emissions is past the point of urgency. “If humanity is to keep using fossil fuels, we need to go fast with CCS,” said Mark Jaccard, resource and environmental management professor at Simon Fraser University (SFU). “We are not going fast enough.” But the only time anyone will hear environmental leaders like Al Gore, Bill McKibben and David Suzuki talking about carbon capture is when they are labelling it “nonsense” (as Gore characterized it), too expensive, or characterizing it as industrial pollution being swept under the carpet. Chris Bataille, a researcher at SFU’s Canadian Energy and Emissions Data Centre, said decarbonization requires all available tools – not just one – and CCS is one of them. In some respects, industry may be ahead of government on CCS, partly because there can be a profit in it – in enhanced oil recovery – and also because it’s seen as a way to stay in business in a decarbonizing world. The oil and gas industry in Canada and the U.S. has been carrying out carbon-capture procedures for years, mostly to produce the CO2 needed for enhanced oil recovery, in which liquefied CO2 is pumped into depleted oil reservoirs to wring out whatever oil is left and, in the process, leaving a lot of CO2 buried underground. A number of tech companies

have also sprung up in Canada that are finding new ways of capturing CO2 and turning it into other usable products, from cement additives to carbon-neutral jet fuel. Anything that drives innovation in carbon-capture engineering is good, Odendahl said, and right now, industry is doing much of the driving. But she adds that the market for CO2-based products is too small to get the kind of largescale sequestration that is needed. “If you really want to make a dent in this, and you can capture the carbon at a reasonable cost… the best thing you can do with it to address the global cliff that we’re headed for is sequester it in the right geological formation, cap it, monitor it and keep it down there,” she said. She said Canada has huge geological sequestration potential. The one thing it doesn’t have yet is a carbon price that is high enough to make sequestration economic, or incentives, like the one just signed in the U.S. A new U.S. tax code provides incentives worth $30 per tonne to industries that use carbon capture and reuse, and $50 per tonne for carbon capture and sequestration. Bataille said the carbon price needed to make CCS economic varies greatly, depending on what is producing the CO2. The most problematic is coal power. It is more costly to capture CO2 from coal combustion, Bataille said, so a carbon price would have to be much higher for coal than for, say, industrial processes. — BIV

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