By Rob McNeill, Bison Low Carbon Ventures Inc.
As we move towards Net Zero by 2050, we have seen the emergence of technologies, individual leaders and leading organizations. Pathways Alliance is collaborating to set Canada’s oil sands on a path to reach net-zero emissions. However, initiatives such as this are focused on large producers and large scale solutions. This leaves the question of how to bridge the gap for small emitters? How do we make solutions feasible for small to mid sized facilities and emitters?
Early in 2021 the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) announced that they would be soliciting proposals for CO2 sequestration in underground reservoirs in the province. The founders of Bison Low Carbon Ventures decided to leverage their extensive experience in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and make an application to the AER to secure sequestration leases according to the stipulations made by the AER as part of the application process.
Bison undertook a review of geologic formations in central Alberta and chose to submit two applications to the AER, one covering approximately 70,000ha near Morinville and a second of similar size near Drumheller. The applications were submitted during the first half of 2022 and the AER replied in late 2022 indicating that the applications had been successful.
The approval granted by the AER gives Bison exclusive rights, for a period of five years, to undertake detailed evaluation of their acreages to determine the technical and economic feasibility of establishing a carbon sequestration hub. If the evaluation of the projects prove favourable, Bison has the opportunity to make application to the AER to convert the concessions from an Evaluation Permit to a Commercial Permit. Given the proximity to the Industrial Heartland, Bison elected to focus their technical and business development efforts on their asset near Morinville, which they have named Meadowbrook Carbon Sequestration Hub (MCSH).
Bison has advanced their evaluation of the MCSH concession by acquiring seismic data, modelling the reservoir, and have drilled and tested their first injection well. In addition, they have initiated discussions with several companies whose operations have significant emissions footprints in the Heartland area. These discussions have given Bison sufficient background to establish a design basis for the pipeline transportation of liquid CO2 and related facilities to construct an injection hub. Engineering and economic analysis continue with business development activities towards the submission of an application for a commercial permit.
An interesting development that has arisen as part of Bison’s review of CO2 emitters is the number of small emitters in relative close proximity to the MCSH. There are a number of energy facilities, compressor stations, gas plants and oil batteries in the area that have modest emissions but sufficient that CO2 taxes will cause detrimental economic effects on the operations. The problem is that these volumes would never support the capital expenditure required for pipeline connection. Accordingly, Bison has started looking into the economic viability of a trucking solution. As part of the evaluation, Bison decided that they needed a good understanding of the current status regarding the development of small modular post combustion carbon capture technologies. Bison partnered with their engineering contractor, Scovan, to undertake a detailed review of all the companies currently active in this space. The number of companies pursuing this is impressive and Bison and Scovan continue to review these to determine the best candidates as the evaluation of trucking liquid CO2 volumes to a sequestration hub unfolds.
Originally published in Scovan’s IGNITE Vol. 7.
