Thursday, March 28

Athabasca Oil says it will greenlight carbon capture project in the oilsands next year


Intermediate player may lap much larger oilsands peers in deploying technology to cut emissions

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Intermediate producer Athabasca Oil Corp. could be poised to lap its much larger oils and peers in deploying carbon capture and storage technology to cut emissions, after an announcement Wednesday.

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The Calgary-based firm said it will partner with clean tech firm Entropy Inc. to build a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at its Leismer oilsands site. Athabasca hopes to increase production at this site by about 30 per cent by 2024, and a final investment decision is expected next year.

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The company is aiming for a 30 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 2025, based on 2015 levels.

The Pathways Alliance, a consortium of six of the largest oilsands firms in the sector, proposed a massive carbon capture storage hub and pipeline in 2021 — but member companies have yet to sanction the $16.5-billion project despite Ottawa’s announcement last of April cent investment tax credit for carbon capture storage and utilization projects.

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Pathways Alliance members have since said they’re seeking more certainty from governments around carbon pricing and the rules around carbon credits and credit markets.

In its 2023 outlook, Athabasca announced a $145-million capital program focused on its thermal oil assets, up approximately 13 per cent from the $128 million the company budgeted for this year.

The company said it expects to maintain production next year at around 34,500 to 36,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) with further growth materializing in 2024 as maintenance and upgrading projects come on-stream.

Athabasca, which struggled to obtain credit in order to survive when oil prices crashed in 2020 as a result of the pandemic, said Wednesday that it had achieved its debt target ahead of expectations and expected to be in a net cash position in the first quarter of 2023.

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financialpost.com