• Companies agree to develop plans Alberta Carbon Trunk Line to transport and use CO2

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      Patrick Lavery

      Combustion Industry News Editor

Canada is one country (alongside Norway) which has been a global CCS leader to date, and this looks set to continue, with Enhance Energy Inc. and Wolf Carbon Solutions Inc. announcing they are to work jointly on developing plans for the construction and operation of the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line, a carbon dioxide transport pipeline to serve a cluster of industries in Alberta. The CO2 will be used for enhanced oil recovery. Wolf is to look after the CO2 capture and transport side of the service, while Enhance will operate the EOR portion. It is unclear to what extent Wolf will install capture plants at different industrial facilities, but the press release repeatedly states that capture is a service the company will provide, though not initially. To begin with, two facilities will be serviced – the Sturgeon oil refinery and a fertilizer facility, but the pipeline will be available for use by other facilities wishing to tap into it in the future. It is also unclear whether industrial sites will be paid for their carbon (as it will be used for EOR), or if they will pay for its disposal. The financing for the project is split between up to CAD$305 million (US$232 million/€204 million) from the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, CAD$63 million (US$48 million/€42 million) from the Canadian federal government, and CAD$223 million (US$170 million/€149 million) from the Albertan state government. The business model may be one for the UK to study.