Capturing GHG Emissions in Alberta
The Alberta Saline Aquifer Project
Our growing demand for energy means we also face a growing challenge. Global dependence on traditional energy sources has caused a significant increase in GHG emissions and strained the environment we all share. And while efforts are under way to find and use alternative energy sources, conventional fossil fuels continue to be our primary energy source. The result: We all need to work harder to reduce our carbon footprint.
Enbridge is rising to the challenge by leading a 35-member industry consortium that is developing a carbon dioxide capture and storage pilot project called the Alberta Saline Aquifer Project (ASAP). “It’s about leading by example,” said Paul Hunt, Director of Sustainability & Environmental Performance for Enbridge. “True sustainability is not a destination; it’s a journey, and we must work collaboratively to reduce our collective emissions footprint.”
ASAP began in November 2007 when Enbridge, in partnership with EPCOR, launched an industry-wide effort to determine how to safely inject and store carbon dioxide in deep geological formations called saline aquifers. Other countries were using the injection technology successfully, but the concept was still untested in Alberta.
“Up to this point a lot of the work that had been done on the subject in Canada had been academic or ‘think-tank’ in nature,” said Peter Keeshan, Manager of Alternative & Emerging Technology at Enbridge and part of the team spearheading this project. “Enbridge was the first to say, ‘Let’s actually do this. Let’s get into the ground and figure this thing out.’ This could be a global solution to climate change, and we are a part of it. That is what’s most exciting for us at Enbridge.”
There are three types of geological formations that have the potential for injection and storage of captured carbon dioxide: depleted oil and gas reservoirs, deep coal seams, and deep saline aquifers. Currently, carbon capture in North America is used mainly in depleted oil and gas reservoirs for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects.
For EOR projects, carbon dioxide is compressed and injected into mature oilfields to improve pressure and, by extension, oil production. It’s an innovative use for GHGs, but the EOR sites lack the capacity to accommodate all of the carbon dioxide that the province will be producing. This makes saline aquifers an appealing alternative.
“If you compare storage capabilities of mature oil reservoirs to saline aquifers in Alberta you’ll see that the potential for carbon dioxide storage in aquifers is exponentially greater,” said Rocco Vita, Senior Manager of Alternative & Emerging Technology for Enbridge. “Enhanced oil recovery operations have the capacity to store approximately 220 mega-tonnes of carbon dioxide. By contrast, deep saline aquifers in Alberta have potential storage capacity for an astounding 20,000 mega-tonnes of carbon dioxide. Our course of action is clear. Now we are figuring out how to proceed.”
Phase 1 of ASAP is already in progress and on track for completion by the end of 2008. Currently, the team is identifying suitable saline aquifer locations for long-term carbon dioxide sequestration in Alberta and engaging in discussions with representatives of organizations that could supply large amounts of carbon dioxide. The goal is to sequester between 1,000 and 3,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide daily – the equivalent of pulling between 200 and 600 cars off Alberta roads each day.
ASAP is also working with the Wabamun Area Sequestration Project (WASP) and a Saskatchewan carbon capture and storage (CCS) project called Aquistore. Each project faces similar challenges and each is sharing its “good thinking” philosophy to combat climate change together.
“This year the Alberta government committed to a 200-mega-tonne reduction in emissions by 2050. Carbon capture and storage will represent 70 per cent of those reductions. In order to achieve these goals we are going to need several of these pilot projects to be successful,” Rocco said. “It’s not about ASAP being the best or the only project. We are sharing our information within the industry because it is in all of our best interests for all of the pilot projects to be successful. To us it just makes sense.”
Percentages of CO2 Storage in Alberta
