Pathways seeking bids for part of its proposed carbon capture network: Imperial
The Pathways Alliance group of oilsands companies has issued a request for proposals to pipe manufacturers for the massive carbon capture and storage network it wants to build in northern Alberta.
The CEO of Imperial Oil Ltd., one of the six oilsands majors behind the proposed $16.5-billion project, provided the update on his company's third-quarter earnings call Friday.
He said the RFP was issued in the third quarter.
“We have gone out to potential pipe suppliers and asked them to give us proposals on costs and timing because we do see this as a critical path going forward," Corson said.
- Sign up for breaking news alerts from CTV News, right at your fingertips
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
The news is the first significant public update the Pathways Alliance has provided in months.
The group previously spent millions of dollars on a countrywide public relations blitz aimed at demonstrating that the oilsands industry is committed to helping fight climate change through the use of carbon capture and storage.
But the Pathways Alliance has been noticeably quieter in the wake of the passage of new federal anti-greenwashing legislation in June. Like other energy-sector companies, Pathways members have significantly cut down on their communications related to environmental efforts in light of the new rules, which they say are too vague and could open up companies to frivolous lawsuits.
The Pathways Alliance proposed project would aim to capture carbon dioxide emissions from more than 20 oilsands facilities and transport them 400 kilometres away by pipeline to a terminal in the Cold Lake area, where they would be stored in an underground storage hub.
The aim is to help the oilsands industry, the largest source of emissions in the country, achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from oilsands production by 2050.
But while the companies first proposed the joint project in 2022, they have not yet made the final investment decision required to proceed. Pathways has spent much of the time since then lobbying for federal and provincial support.
And while the federal government has created an investment tax credit for carbon capture and storage projects, as well as promised a mechanism to backstop the price of carbon in order to give certainty to companies considering investing in emissions reducing technology, details of a project-specific agreement have yet to be hammered out.
Corson said Friday negotiations with the federal and Alberta governments continue.
The Globe and Mail recently reported that the federal Canada Growth Fund, which has provided support for other proposed carbon capture projects in this country, has put a formal proposal forward for Pathways to consider.
"We want to move this forward as much as we can, but there comes a point that it will be time to order the pipe and make a large investment, and we need to have the right fiscal framework ... before we can make those investments," Corson said Friday.
In the meantime, Corson said Pathways continues to advance early-stage engineering and design work for the project, and is also consulting with communities and First Nations along the proposed pipeline's route.
It also began filing earlier this year for regulatory approval for its project.
Pathways president Kendall Dilling has previously said the group cannot make a final investment decision until that regulatory approval is granted.
But he has also said that if the group goes ahead with a formal order for pipe, that should be interpreted as a serious commitment and a signal the project will likely be a go.
Corson reiterated that message Friday.
"Once we have the right economic framework in place, then we will be in position to go order the line pipe," he said.
"That's what you should be looking for, is when do we get the final terms with the governments? And then when do we place the order for pipe? ... The most critical thing is this pipe order, OK?”
If the Pathways Alliance project is constructed as proposed, it would be one of the largest carbon capture and storage projects in the world.
Imperial Oil Ltd. reported a third-quarter profit Friday of $1.24 billion, down from $1.60 billion in the same quarter last year.
The company said the profit amounted to $2.33 per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, down from $2.76 per diluted share a year earlier.
The result came as Imperial's total revenue and other income amounted to $13.26 billion for the quarter, down from $13.92 billion in the same quarter last year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Live election results: With Trump's battleground wins, Harris's path to White House gets narrower
With former U.S. president Donald Trump winning the swing states of Georgia and North Carolina, the path to victory for Vice-President Kamala Harris has become far narrower.
Trump wins Georgia and North Carolina, moving closer to reclaiming the White House
Donald Trump on Wednesday won the battleground state of Georgia, the onetime Republican stronghold that had voted for Democrats four years ago, which along with his win in North Carolina narrowed Kamala Harris' pathways to victory and expanded his routes to become the next president.
Early election takeaways: Trump weakens Democrats' coalition
The 2024 presidential election already has exposed the depths of a fractured nation as the candidates navigated political shifts based on class, race and age under the near-constant threat of misinformation and violence.
'Ready for both': Canadians prepare for any outcome as U.S. election results roll out
MPs, diplomats and political staff gathered around the parliamentary precinct to anxiously take in preliminary results of a U.S. presidential election that they all agreed would have an enormous impact on Canada and the world.
Democrat Sarah McBride of Delaware to become first openly transgender person to serve in Congress
Delaware state Sen. Sarah McBride has been elected to the U.S. House and will become the first openly transgender person to serve in Congress.
B.C. parents sue Irish nanny for quitting on short notice
Two parents filed a lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court last week seeking damages from their former nanny, alleging she quit on short notice and "never said goodbye to the children."
Blues forward leaves rink on stretcher after being struck in neck by puck
St. Louis Blues forward Dylan Holloway left Tuesday night's contest against the Tampa Bay Lightning and departed the rink on a stretcher after being struck by a puck late in the first period.
Lamborghini driver who crashed into parked cars while trying to pass streetcar sentenced to prison
A mortgage broker who totalled his Lamborghini and left a passenger with life-altering injuries after trying to pass a Toronto streetcar at nearly three times the speed limit has been handed a two-and-a-half year prison sentence.
Ben Affleck had this to say about his ex, Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck may be going through a divorce, but it sounds like things are amicable.