OTTAWA – BUSINESS – Greg Rickford, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, has issued a statement following the announcement that the U.S. Department of Energy will help advance carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology at Shell Canada’s Quest CCS project in Alberta. The Government of Canada has invested $120 million in the Quest project since 2011, supporting jobs, economic growth and environmental performance.
“Today’s announcement is welcome news for North American energy cooperation and integration,” said Minister Greg Rickford. “Canada is a world leader in carbon capture and storage, and our government welcomes this collaboration as the latest important step in the development of this technology.”
Rickford added, “Since 2008, our government has committed over $580 million to CCS. Just this past October, Canada officially opened the world’s first post-combustion CCS project at the Boundary Dam coal-fired power plant in Saskatchewan. When this project is complete, Quest will be the first project in the world to implement CCS at an oil upgrader facility. Canada’s support of this project enhances its record as a responsible and reliable energy producer and supplier to the world”.
“Canada and the United States are working closely on a broad range of energy-related priorities supporting energy security and the economy. Our two countries recently signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance energy collaboration in 11 areas,” added Minister Rickford. “Canada is also working with the U.S. and Mexico toward a more secure, integrated North American energy approach that will enhance our collective global competitive advantage.”
Premier Jim Prentice met with U.S. Department of Energy and Shell officials in Washington, D.C. to learn more about their research collaboration on carbon capture and storage (CCS). The U.S. government will work with Shell Canada at its Quest project in Alberta to develop new technologies for monitoring carbon dioxide stored deep underground.
“As an energy producing province, it’s important that we be innovative and explore new ways to reduce our impact on the environment. I’m pleased that experts in Alberta are working with the U.S. Department of Energy and Shell Canada to encourage global emissions reduction through new technologies. This work highlights the collaborative nature of Alberta’s CCS development program,” stated Jim Prentice, Premier of Alberta.
The Government of Alberta has committed $1.3 billion over 15 years to support two commercial scale CCS projects, including $745 million in the Quest project. Alberta’s public investment represents approximately one-tenth of worldwide expenditures on carbon capture and storage technologies.
