Wayne Rothlisberger, a member of the Doig River First Nation in the heart of the massive Montney natural gas play, has spent three decades working in the energy sector.

He’s now vice-president of business development with ÚÚJǪ Developments LP, the business arm of the northern B.C. Nation, and it’s a busy job. 

“ÚÚJǪ has seven equity partnerships in energy, aviation and banking, and we probably get two proposals a month given the interest in working in the Montney shale,” Rothlisberger says. 

He was intrigued when he first learned about a new technology developed by Calgary-based Kathairos Solutions to reduce or eliminate methane emissions from oil and gas well sites.

“Energy companies operating in this region have come to realize the importance of working with First Nations and economic reconciliation,” he says. 

“But Kathairos made sense on another level because they are providing an environmental solution that helps both locally and globally. And that’s something that we value, too.”

Oil and gas producers on both sides of the Montney play have made significant progress reducing methane emissions. 

In Alberta, producers met the target of reducing methane emissions in the province by 45 per cent below 2014 levels three years ahead of schedule in 2022 — and surpassed it in 2023 with a 52 per cent reduction.

Meanwhile, in B.C., producers achieved a 51 per cent reduction over the same period. 

But there is more work to do.  

Kathairos’ technology uses liquid nitrogen as a replacement for the methane or natural gas normally used to power the pneumatic devices that serve as the nerve centre for oil and gas production wells. 

Pneumatic devices regulate flows, separate liquids and perform other critical functions by making valves move. 

Conventionally, every time a device is actuated, a small amount of methane is emitted into the atmosphere. 

By replacing the methane or natural gas with nitrogen, when the valves powered by the pneumatics are actuated, an inert, clean gas is emitted. 

The liquid nitrogen is stored in cryogenic tanks at the well site.

“Similar tanks have been safely and effectively used for decades in other industries, such as health care or beverages,” says Kathairos spokeswoman Jacqueline Peterson. 

“But it was our company founder Dick Brown who saw the potential to apply them to well sites to solve the problem of venting methane.”

Peterson says the company has more than 2,400 units operating across North America, with 179 in Alberta and 36 in B.C. 

Through three offset programs at 125 separate facilities, Kathairos has been independently verified to have mitigated more than 44,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent. 

The solution was impressive enough for ÚÚJǪ and Doig River to invest.

“We are a shareholder and ÚÚJǪ is self-funded so we need to invest wisely,” says Rothlisberger. 

“There will be employment opportunities in the future as Kathairos establishes itself and scales up in Canada.”

Kathairos, which employs about 70 people with field offices throughout North America, welcomed the opportunity to partner with ÚÚJǪ and Doig River.

“We were looking for investors and engaging in the Indigenous communities whose traditional lands we were working on,” says Peterson, whose company has a similar agreement with the Halfway River First Nation. 

“As we grow in the Montney region, we will further these relationships with employment opportunities and direct investment back in their communities.”

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In a lab surrounded by modified kitchen appliances along with conventional equipment, Ian Gates leads a team at the University of Calgary helping energy companies commercialize new technologies to reduce emissions – for free.

Noted for innovations like transportable solid bitumen and carbonless flaring, many of Gates’ projects start in his garage or in the university lab using modified home gadgets.

“Instead of buying all this expensive lab equipment, we [found] we could modify microwave ovens – take them apart, modify them…even though we burned them out after a few weeks of use, it was much cheaper than buying the lab equipment,” said Gates, a professor in the Schulich School of Engineering who is also the university’s associate vice-president, research and innovation.

“That waffle maker? It has temperature limiters of about 170 degrees [centigrade}. Rip those out – we blasted that to 450.”

The entrepreneurial spirit of Gates’ lab led to a partnership with the Natural Gas Innovation Fund (NGIF) and Tourmaline Oil to create the NGIF Emissions Testing Centre (ETC).

The ETC provides third-party testing and validation of methane reduction technologies, first through simulations in Gates’ lab and then in the field at a Tourmaline gas processing plant in central Alberta.

Since its launch in 2021, the ETC has received approximately $11 million in funding from Natural Resources Canada, Western Economic Diversification Canada and Alberta Innovates to build and operationalize the ETC.

Alberta Environment and Protected Areas recently announced a $15 million dollar commitment over five years to support the program’s ongoing operations.

The ETC is part of the innovation ecosystem that helped Alberta’s oil and gas industry exceed the province’s methane emissions reduction target.

Producers beat the target – to reduce methane emissions by 45 per cent compared to 2014 levels by 2025 – three years early in 2022, then exceeded it in 2023 with a 52 per cent reduction.

So far, more than 70 participants have taken part in the ETC program and there is a growing waitlist.

“It’s really about taking all of our inventive skills that we have to support these companies because we want them to commercialize those technologies,” Gates said.

“We want to see them succeed. How do we get there? Well, we need better technology.”

Through the ETC, technologies can be tested in the lab and in the field under controlled conditions. Failures can be used to support improvements.

“Companies that are looking to validate their cleantech can come to a real-life operating centre and test their technology there,” explained Scott Volk, Tourmaline’s director of emissions and innovation.

“They have us to help validate the claims as to whether it did or didn’t work, and they can use that to build a new prototype that does what they hope it will do. The U of C can be an external validator.”

The program’s success has attracted attention outside of Alberta, Gates said.

“We’ve got U.S. companies now,” he said, calling it a recognition of Alberta as a leader in the development of this type of technology.

“The reputation of the ETC is growing. It’s this integration of lab testing, field testing and a bigger vision on things. It’s such a wonderful mix.”

Participating in the program also gives PhD and postdoctoral students an unusual insight into how industry works, explained Gates.

“They get hands-on [experience with industry]. There is no other research project where they get that.”

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Lauren Savoie says her love of technology and innovation is what led to her role as the new CEO of Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada (PTAC).

Savoie, who has 20 years of wide-ranging experience in oil sands, upstream development, renewables and technology development, is also the vice-chair of WPC Energy Canada.

While serving as technical program chair at the recent World Petroleum Congress in Calgary, Savoie had the opportunity to collaborate with PTAC on a methane emissions reduction session. It was this initial partnership that catalyzed her appreciation for PTAC’s work and its impact.

“I was attracted to being a collaborator and facilitator and having that neutral perspective that helps integrate people and technology development,” said Savoie in an interview at Calgary’s Petroleum Club.  “It’s a dream job for me – and I’m quite honoured that they selected me.”

Savoie is passionate about PTAC’s track record.

“I think that people are unaware of the incredible work that PTAC has done and is currently doing. It is far beyond methane reduction, which we really excel at. With having completed over 800 projects, and nearly 100 others underway, I’m thrilled to promote PTAC and establish its position as a global leader in collaborative research and technology development.”

With strong industry and government partnerships across the board,  PTAC played a key role in advocating and helping  drive industry to exceed the methane target of 45 per cent reduced emissions compared to 2014 levels by 2025, with a 52 per cent reduction achieved in 2023, all while saving industry hundreds of millions of dollars.

The group’s membership consists of 200-plus industry organizations including producers, government, academia, associations, service and supply companies and individuals.

A notable example of PTAC’s work on methane is a study conducted utilizing aerial monitoring systems to detect leaks from storage tanks at oil and gas sites across Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Subsequent research and testing conducted by the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology identified solutions to detect and plug leaks.

“We provide comprehensive and peer-reviewed information to a diverse array of stakeholders, including our producers, researchers, academia, government, regulatory bodies, and innovators,” Savoie said.

“Our history of success in technology and innovation is well established.”

But methane is not PTAC’s only focus, she notes.

“One key area is the research and development associated with our remediation initiatives,” Savoie said.

“We are conducting research to discover new, cost-effective methods to reduce site closure costs, and also focusing on soil remediation to eliminate salts, metals and heavy hydrocarbons.”

The organization’s five key areas of focus are: managing environmental impacts as it relates to air, water, remediation and reclamation, ecology, and well abandonment; cost reduction; improving oil and gas recovery; improving value-added products; and movement toward a low-carbon hydrocarbon economy.

PTAC and its collaborators participate in numerous events both within Canada and abroad, with the organization most recently attending COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

PTAC’s director of technology, Marc Godin, moderated three panel discussions at the Clean Resource Innovation Network Pavilion, with participation from Alberta Environment and Protected Areas, Emissions Reduction Alberta, Alberta Innovates and Tourmaline, among others.

Savoie said PTAC’s goal at the conference was “to demonstrate leadership on reaching climate goals and to highlight Canadian energy in the clean tech space.”

Looking ahead to 2025, she plans to expand PTAC’s presence at CERAWeek in Houston and has been in talks with the Canada Trade Commissioner Service and Alberta Export.

“We add technology credibility to the government’s efforts. There is interest in having us there,” she said.

“Alberta and Canada are relatively small, but the U.S. market is very nearby, it’s 10 times larger and has the same needs that we have here in Canada for technology. The same can be said of other regions around the world.”

PTAC is involved in some quirkier but no less important research streams in its mission to address knowledge gaps related to high-priority environmental challenges, including mitigation of impacts to habitat.

Within its ecology field of focus, PTAC is facilitating a study to capture the diversity of DNA in the Canadian toad.

“In some areas, before any work can be done, it’s necessary to map out where the toad’s habitat is,” Savoie said.

“It can actually hold up development for a long time to figure out if these toads are on site or not. This technology is developing a waterborne test that allows for sampling of potential habitats to see if the toads are present. If their DNA is found in the water, they can confirm they are present. If not, they can conclude that the toads have not colonized there, and you can potentially develop that land.”

Savoie is excited about building on the success of methane emissions reduction by expanding PTAC’s footprint in areas like the industry’s digital innovation sector and establishing well closure as a system globally.

“I need to find that next thing that we really need in five, 10, 15 years out. We can build on the success of that collaboration and be the forum for those conversations.”

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New data released in 2023 shows the progress Canada’s oil and gas industry is making to reduce its environmental footprint.  

From emissions to water use and reclamation, here are some key performance statistics.  

1. Methane emissions reduction target achieved three years ahead of schedule 

Photo courtesy Tourmaline

The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) released data in November showing that oil and gas producers in the province achieved the target of reducing methane emissions by 45 per cent compared to 2014.  

The milestone was achieved in 2022, three years ahead of the 2025 government deadline.  

Reducing methane emissions comes primarily from reducing small leaks from valves, pump seals, and other equipment, as well as reducing flaring and venting.   

2. Oil sands emissions stay flat despite production growth  

Oil sands steam generators. Photo courtesy Cenovus Energy

An updated study by S&P Global in August found oil sands emissions did not increase in 2022 even though production grew. 

It’s a significant first that indicates oil sands emissions may start decreasing sooner than previously expected, said Kevin Birn, S&P Global’s vice-president of Canadian oil markets.  

Total oil sands emissions were 81 megatonnes in 2022, nearly flat with 2021 despite a production increase of about 50,000 barrels per day.  

In 2022, S&P Global predicted peak oil sands emissions around 2025. The new findings indicate it could happen faster.  

3. Producers spend millions more than required on oil and gas cleanup 

Photo courtesy Alberta Energy Regulator

Oil and gas producers in Alberta spent significantly more than required in 2022 cleaning up inactive wells, facilities and pipelines, the AER reported in October.  

The regulator’s industry-wide minimum “closure” spend for 2022 was set at $422 million. But the final tally showed producers spent $685 million, or about 60 per cent more than the regulator required.  

Industry abandoned 10,334 inactive wells, pipelines and facilities in 2022 – nearly double the amount abandoned in 2019 and 2020, the AER reported.   

Reclamation activity also accelerated, with the AER issuing 461 reclamation certificates, an increase of one third compared to 2021.  

The regulator reports that 17 per cent of licensed wells in Alberta are now considered inactive, down from 21 per cent in 2019. And about 30 per cent of licensed wells are now considered reclaimed, up from 27 per cent in 2019.   

4. Oil sands reclaimed land growing  

Wetland in reclaimed area in the Athabasca oil sands region. Photo by Greg Halinda for the Canadian Energy Centre

Data released by Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance highlights the growing spread of the industry’s reclaimed land. 

As of 2021, oil sands operators had permanently reclaimed 10,344 hectares, the equivalent area of more than 20,000 NFL football fields – a 16 per cent increase from 2019. 

Of this, 1,296 hectares (about 2,500 NFL football fields) is permanently reclaimed to wetlands and aquatics.  

5. Fresh water use per barrel declining 

Photo courtesy Cenovus Energy

New data on water use in Alberta’s oil and gas industry released in December shows producers continue to reduce the use of fresh water from lakes, rivers and shallow groundwater

The oil and gas industry used less than one per cent of Alberta’s available fresh water in 2022, the AER reported.  

Thanks primarily to increased water recycling, fresh water use per barrel in Alberta oil and gas has decreased by 22 per cent since 2013.  

Overall, 82 per cent of water used in Alberta oil and gas in 2022 was recycled; 80 per cent in oil sands mining, and 90 per cent in drilled or “in situ” oil sands production.  

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For Jean-Francois Gauthier, space is the next frontier in the quest to reduce global emissions, and the view from 6,000-kilometres above Earth is that Canada is a leader in curbing the most polluting of greenhouse gases.

In April, Quebec-based GHGSat launched three more methane-sniffing satellites into Earth’s orbit – Mey-Lin, Gaspard and Océane – bringing its high-tech constellation of celestial emissions monitors to nine.

Gauthier, GHGSat’s vice-president of measurements and strategic initiatives, said after eight years of having eyes in the sky, one thing has become crystal clear – Canada is a world leader when it comes to taming methane emissions, a greenhouse gas many times more polluting than CO2.

“Canada’s performance from what we see anyway, with our satellites, is much better than the rest of the world,” he said.

“It’s shedding a light on the fact that Canada continues to be a leader on [methane emissions]. There’s always work to do – that said, if you don’t see as much with satellites, it’s encouraging because those are the biggest leaks that need addressing right away.”

TACKLING METHANE

Canada’s oil and gas industry has been working hard to tackle methane emissions over the last two decades.

Even as Canadian oil production grew 91 per cent between 2000 and 2018, Canada’s methane emissions declined by 16 per cent. Over the same period, worldwide methane emissions increased by 27 per cent while oil production only grew by 38 per cent.

In Alberta, the heart of Canada’s oil and gas sector, efforts to reduce methane emissions are well ahead of schedule, dropping by 44 per cent between 2014 and 2021, including a 10 per cent drop from 2020. That puts the sector within a stone’s throw of reaching (and likely surpassing) its target of reducing methane emissions by 45 per cent by 2025.

Gauthier said GHGSat is looking to launch three more satellites by year’s end and has sky-high ambitions to provide a true daily snapshot of global emissions. And it’s that data, viewable by industry, policy makers and the public, that can help determine the world’s heaviest emitters and act as a catalyst for action.

“Now we’re turning our attention already to the next batches because we have ambitions to get to 100 … ideally by the end of 2026, mid-2027,” he said, noting that would include a suite of satellites and airplanes to spot any major changes in emissions.

“The ambition really is to be able to look at all emitting sites worldwide on a daily basis. So now you can really decide where to take action and start eliminating some of those biggest sources.”

HUMBLE BEGINNING IN SPACE

Seen as a world leader in orbital emissions monitoring, GHGSat started in 2016 with a small, microwave-sized prototype satellite called Claire, in collaboration with Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA) and other industrial partners.

She was joined in 2020 by her stellar sibling Iris, following a successful launch onboard an 11.7-metre tall Vega rocket from the Kourou International Spaceport in French Guiana. From there the company has launched a steady stream of increasingly refined satellites into orbit, each one bearing the name of one of the team members’ children.

The company contracts out its monitoring services to oil and gas companies, government and increasingly mining, waste management, agriculture and other emissions-intensive industries. While private sector data is owned by clients, GHGSat also offers searchable real-time emissions data available to the general public at a lower level of resolution.

Gauthier said GHGSat continues to work with the European Space Agency to provide ongoing climate data, and is in talks with NASA, which is currently assessing the company’s platform to be part of its commercial small satellite data acquisition program.

Last year, GHGSat’s six operational satellites observed over 500,000 sites in 69 countries, measuring some 179 megatonnes of CO2 equivalent methane emissions, which equates to the same annual emissions of 38.6 million cars.

Gauthier said GHGSat targeted methane not only due to its heavier environmental footprint, but due to the fact that its easier to measure from space.

CO2: THE NEXT FRONTIER

However, he adds with improvements in technology the one of the next trio of satellites set for launch will key in on CO2 in an effort to provide a more complete picture of the planet’s greenhouse gas hotspots.

“We’re confident that using the same techniques that we’ve been using for methane we can use for CO2, and then be able to zero in directly to the sources,” Gauthier said.

“Industrial sites like cement plants, power plants, steel mills, aluminum smelters – these kinds of large CO2 emitters, we should be able to measure quite readily.”

Gauthier said getting a true picture of the problem is the first step. The next step is to find solutions to heavy emitters.

Coal use is expected to reach record levels this year as the global energy crisis continues. Liquefied natural gas from Canada can make an immediate difference in reducing emissions, with a report from Wood Mackenzie showing that if Canada increased its LNG export capacity to Asia, net emissions could decline by 188 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year – about the annual impact of taking 41 million cars off the road.

Canada is also a world leader in developing carbon capture and storage technology, accounting for 15 per cent of global capacity despite producing less than 2 per cent of global emissions.

“The bottom line is that technologies are here, not just to measure, but to fix leaks and take care of these greenhouse gas emissions,”

“It’s really time to take action. That is, I think, is probably the most exciting thing is that the tools are there, and now it’s time to use them.”

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Canada’s oil and gas producers are a stone’s throw away from reaching a major emissions reduction target, demonstrating Canadian energy leadership as the world’s reliance on high emissions coal-fired power continues to grow.  

New data reveals producers in Alberta decreased methane emissions by 44 per cent between 2014 and 2021, a 10 per cent drop from 2020. The sector is now expected to surpass the target of reducing methane emissions by 45 per cent by 2025.  

“Technologies are helping Alberta’s oil and gas producers reach their methane reduction targets and develop a robust clean tech industry, which reduces methane emissions on a global scale,” says Soheil Asgarpour, CEO of Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada, a non-profit that focuses on methane emissions reduction.  

The AER report analyzes the performance of nearly 35,000 oil and gas facilities and more than 100,000 wells, primarily producing natural gas. Total methane emissions for 2021 were 15 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, compared to 27 million tonnes in 2014.  

Reducing methane emissions comes primarily from reducing small leaks from valves, pump seals, and other equipment, as well as reducing flaring and venting.  

Canada’s natural gas sector is recognized as a leader in methane emissions reduction. For example, the permit for the Tacoma LNG project in Washington state requires its natural gas supply to come from B.C. or Alberta.    

The regulator found that comparative methane emissions from natural gas in the U.S. “may be as much as five times higher than those from Canada.”  

World LNG demand is booming, driven primarily by growing Asian economies looking to reduce reliance on coal. The latest industry outlook projects LNG requirements will reach 700 million tonnes by 2040, a 75 per cent increase from 2022.  

Meanwhile, global coal use continues to rise. Last year set a new record for coal consumption, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Led by China, enough new coal plants were built last year to power about 15 million homes, according to a report by Global Energy Monitor. 

In part due to lower methane emissions from natural gas production, researchers expect LNG from Canada to have among the world’s lowest emissions per tonne.  

According to Wood Mackenzie, LNG from Canada could reduce Asia’s net emissions by 188 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year through 2050 – or the annual impact of taking 41 million cars off the road.   

Canada’s first exports are targeted to commence in 2025, following completion of the LNG Canada terminal at Kitimat, B.C. 

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Canada’s oil and gas industry is working to reduce emissions while continuing to provide the reliable, affordable, and responsibly produced energy the world needs.  

From each of Canada’s top ten oil and gas producers’ latest environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting, here’s one example of actions underway to reduce emissions.  

Companies are ranked by 2021 production measured in barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), according to data in the Daily Oil Bulletin’s 2022 Top Operator’s Report.  

10. Peyto Exploration & Development
    2021 production: 91,051 boe/d

Peyto Exploration & Development is a natural gas producer in the Alberta Deep Basin play located along the northeastern edge of the Rocky Mountains. 

Like many companies, Peyto specifically targets reducing methane emissions from its operations.  

One way it does this is by powering electrical instrumentation and pumps on drilling and production sites using solar panels and battery storage. 

In 2021, Peyto reported it had cumulatively installed 3,325 solar panels to help eliminate the need to burn fuel gas.  

Read More: Peyto 2022 ESG Report 

9. MEG Energy
   2021 production: 93,733 boe/d

Many oil sands producers use SAGD technology, where steam is injected deep underground to heat and mobilize bitumen so it can be pumped to the surface.  

One way MEG Energy is working to reduce emissions is by incorporating a technology it calls eMSAGP. 

This enables the production of more oil using less steam. Producing steam requires burning natural gas, so using less steam means reduced emissions from gas combustion.  

eMSAGP involves drilling production wells between SAGD well pairs and injecting a non-condensable gas, like natural gas, into the reservoir. This maintains pressure while retaining heat from steam that was previously injected, allowing mobilized bitumen to flow without having to add more steam.   

eMSAGP is estimated to result in 14 per cent lower emissions than conventional SAGD.  

MEG Energy is a member of the Pathways Alliance of oil sands producers committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. 

Read More: MEG Energy 2022 ESG Report 

8. Whitecap Resources
   2021 production: 112,222 boe/d

Whitecap Resources produces oil and gas from northeast B.C., central Alberta and southeast Saskatchewan.  

Because of its ownership of the Weyburn and Joffre carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects, the company removes more CO2 than it emits. 

Weyburn, in Saskatchewan, is the world’s largest CCS project using CO2 for enhanced oil recovery.  

For more than two decades, CO2 captured at the Great Plains Synfuels Plant in North Dakota has been carried by pipeline to Weyburn for ultimate storage deep underground.  

Since 2000, Weyburn and Joffre together removed more than 37 million tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere, or the equivalent of taking more than 7.9 million cars off the road.  

Read More: Whitecap 2021 ESG Report 

7. Crescent Point Energy
   2021 production: 112,632 boe/d

Crescent Point Energy produces oil from the Shaunavon play in southwest Saskatchewan, the Bakken play in southeast Saskatchewan, and the Duvernay play in central Alberta. 

The company has identified so-called associated gas, or natural gas produced in small volumes during oil production, as one opportunity to reduce emissions.  

A solution is combustors, enclosed devices where no smoke, odor or visible flame is emitted, installed to manage associated gas during oil production. 

This is unlike flaring, which burns the associated gas into the atmosphere. 

In 2021, Crescent Point installed combustors on all new wells, and on a portion of existing sites, in the Dodsland region of Saskatchewan.  

Read More: Crescent Point 2022 ESG Report 

6. ARC Resources
   2021 production: 302,003 boe/d

ARC Resources produces natural gas, natural gas liquids, and crude oil from the Montney play that straddles the northern border between B.C. and Alberta.  

The company is electrifying its facilities in B.C., connecting to the provincial power grid and renewable hydroelectricity. 

Electrification resulted in a 36 per cent reduction in GHG intensity from 2016 to 2020, despite the company growing oil and gas production by 37 per cent.   

Read More: ARC Resources 2022 ESG Report 

5. Imperial
   2021 production: 383,167 boe/d

Imperial has oil and gas production, processing and refining operations across Canada. In the oil sands, the company operates both in situ (drilling) and mining projects.   

To help address emissions at its Kearl oil sands mine, Imperial is incorporating new mobile equipment that uses advanced exhaust gas after-treatment technologies to improve air quality and reduce emissions.  

About 36 per cent of Imperial’s Kearl mobile mine fleet meets these standards, the company says. 

Imperial is a member of the Pathways Alliance of oil sands producers committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. 

Read More: Imperial 2022 ESG Report 

4. Tourmaline
   2021 production: 441,145 boe/d

Tourmaline primarily produces natural gas from the Alberta Deep Basin and the Montney play in northeast B.C. 

Over the last five years the company says it has been systematically displacing the use of diesel to power its operations in the field with natural gas it produces itself.  

Natural gas is used to operate hybrid-fuel drilling rigs and portable generators that generate on-site electricity.  

Displacing high-carbon diesel with cleaner natural gas allows the company to reduce both emissions and costs, Tourmaline says. 

Read More: Tourmaline 2020 Sustainability Report 

3. Suncor Energy
   2021 production: 698,600 boe/d

With operations across Canada, Suncor Energy is helping reduce emissions from Alberta’s power grid through cogeneration, or the production of steam and electricity from natural gas.  

Suncor exports to the Alberta grid about 40 per cent of the 1,400 megawatts of electricity it generates, which is helping reduce reliance on coal-fired power. 

The company is now replacing two coke-fired boilers at its oil sands base plant with new natural gas-fired cogeneration units, to be complete in 2024.  

The project is expected to enable a further 800 MW of electricity exports to the Alberta grid, or about seven per cent of current demand, reducing emissions by five million tonnes per year compared to coal-fired power.  

Suncor Energy is a member of the Pathways Alliance of oil sands producers committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. 

Read More: Suncor Energy’s 2022 Sustainability Report 

2. Cenovus Energy
   2021 production: 731,300 boe/d

Reducing methane emissions is a central focus for Cenovus Energy, particularly in its conventional oil and gas operations.  

The company says in 2021 it reduced methane emissions by 25 per cent from 2020 levels, or by about 520,000 tonnes of CO2e – about the impact of taking 113,000 cars off the road.  

One of the ways Cenovus is reducing methane emissions is by converting older equipment to low- or no-emissions systems.  

In 2021, the company converted more than 3,000 instruments, such as transducers and pressure controllers, to devices that consume and emit less natural gas. This alone cut methane emissions by close to 200,000 tonnes.  

Cenovus is also converting facility equipment like controllers and pumps to run on instrument air (compressed air) instead of natural gas to help continue reducing methane emissions. 

Cenovus Energy is a member of the Pathways Alliance of oil sands producers committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. 

Read More: Cenovus Energy 2021 ESG Report 

1. Canadian Natural Resources
   2021 production: 1,080,522 boe/d

Canada’s largest oil and gas producer is also the sixth largest owner of carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects globally.  

Canadian Natural Resources is majority owner of the Quest CCS project at the Scotford Refinery, as well as 50 per cent owner of the Sturgeon Refinery, where CO2 is captured and fed into the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line, the world’s largest CO2 transportation system.  

The company also captures CO2 from hydrogen production at its Horizon project and sequesters the CO2 in oil sands tailings.  

In total, Canadian Natural has capacity to capture 2.7 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year, or the equivalent of taking about 576,000 cars off the road.  

Canadian Natural is a member of the Pathways Alliance of oil sands producers committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. 

Read More: Canadian Natural’s 2022 Stewardship Report

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Global interest in reducing methane emissions from oil and gas is rising, but in Canada it’s been an area of focus — and success — for nearly two decades.  

According to CEC research, Canada’s methane emissions fell by 16 per cent between 2000 and 2018, even as oil production increased by 91 per cent. Meanwhile, worldwide methane emissions increased by 27 per cent while oil production increased by 38 per cent.   

“Canada, and especially Alberta, is the global leader in technologies to reduce methane emissions,” says Soheil Asgarpour, CEO of Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada (PTAC), a non-profit that helps technology developers cross the bridge from R&D to commercial success.  

The governments of both Alberta and Canada now expect oil and gas producers to meet the target of reducing methane emissions by 45 per cent in 2025 compared to levels in 2012.  

A reduction of 34 per cent in 2020 compared to 2014 has already been achieved in Alberta. 

“We’re seeing a shift in mindset of the industry to where oil and gas producers are seeing it as a strategic choice with economic upside to improve their emissions performance,” says Connor O’Shea, president of Calgary-based cleantech company Westgen Technologies. 

Westgen’s technology reduces methane emissions from oil and gas well sites. In the last three years its revenues have increased by 1,400 per cent, and they’re expected to more than triple again in 2022.  

O’Shea says the company’s explosive growth is because customers are increasingly seeing the value of lowering their environmental footprint. 

“I don’t think it’s going to stop,” he says. “I think management teams are going to continue to want and go get those year-over-year improvements in emissions performance. And there’s lots of opportunity.” 

PTAC has been working for more than a decade on the challenge and opportunity of methane emissions reduction.  

Late last year the research organization achieved a major milestone. As of October 2021, the technologies field tested through PTAC have capacity to reduce methane emissions by more than 45 per cent  — if adopted by oil and gas producers. 

The opportunity for these technology providers isn’t just within Canada. During last year’s COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, over 100 countries including Canada signed the Global Methane Pledge, with the goal to reduce world methane emissions by at least 30 per cent from 2020 levels by 2030. 

“If we can maintain our global leadership on technologies that reduce methane emissions, there’s going to be huge market created globally,” Asgarpour says. 

PTAC chief operating officer Allan Fogwill says the success in Canada – both of reducing emissions and developing technologies that address the challenge – could help the world meet its methane targets.  

“There’s nothing to suggest we couldn’t have similar impacts in the United States, the Middle East, or former Soviet countries that also are involved in oil and natural gas production. It could be quite significant,” Fogwill says.  

“I don’t know of any other jurisdiction that is as far forward in terms of its methane management as Canada.” 

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Albert Einstein said that “in the midst of every crisis lies great opportunity.” There is no better example than Alberta start-up company Westgen Technologies, which is gaining international attention for helping to eliminate a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions.

Westgen’s co-founder Ben Klepacki was working as a facilities engineer for a major natural gas producer in Western Canada three years ago when a fire occurred at one of the company’s remote well sites, injuring an employee. The incident was caused by a build-up of gas in a separator building, which was sparked when the maintenance worker entered the building. The company tasked Klepacki with finding a way to stop the small but frequent releases of natural gas that are common on gas wells around the world, as pressure from the well is used to move valves and other pneumatic devices, resulting in a puff of gas escaping each time the equipment is activated. The solution he developed was a small air compressor run off a hybrid natural gas/solar generator that provided just enough electricity provides enough air to operate the pneumatics and power to run the site, while eliminating the release of natural gas.

By fixing a safety hazard, Klepacki also addressed a pressing environmental problem. As the main component of natural gas, methane is also a potent greenhouse gas that is 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. And with Canada recently adopting some of the world’s strongest regulations to reduce methane emissions, the Canadian energy sector is seen as a frontrunner in managing the issue thanks to its proactive approach to limiting emissions over the last decade.

“Methane is a great case study for how Canada is a leader when it comes to responsible energy development,” says Klepacki. “In our case, we knew that the rules around methane emissions were just going to get tighter, so we focused on solutions that are cost-effective and provide an incentive for companies beyond just meeting the regulations because they improve safety, reduce emissions and save natural gas that can be sold to their customers.”

Klepacki teamed up with his friend Connor O’Shea to further develop the technology as a business venture, resulting in the launch of Westgen last fall. They have already inked deals with several small and large Canadian gas producers, they are getting calls from potential customers in the United States and South America, and Westgen has been nominated for the Emerging Clean Technologies category of this year’s Global Energy Awards.

“Methane emissions are a really important subject right now and Canada is leading the path on emissions reductions,” says O’Shea. “Alberta’s approach of using carbon credits to incentivize early action, combined with clever financing options, have made using products like ours an attractive proposition for producers. It is the carrot rather than the stick approach, and it has resulted in significant reductions.”

Methane emissions account for 13 per cent of Canada’s total GHG emissions, with 43 per cent coming from the oil and gas sector. The industry’s emissions decreased 14 per cent between 2005 and 2017, and new federal targets that came into effect on Jan. 1 require a 45 per cent reduction from 2012 levels by 2025.

“We have been working on the methane file for more than 10 years now, and it is clear that conserving methane pays off in the long run because you are utilizing it and not wasting it,” says Soheil Asgarpour, president of the Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada (PTAC), which co-ordinates research and development work on behalf of industry, government and academia. PTAC has invested $5.75 million in projects to improve leak detection and mitigation that have eliminated more than 820,000 tonnes of CO2-equivalent GHG emissions per year– equal to taking 164,000 cars off the road. Through technology and best practices, PTAC estimates the industry stands to save an estimated $550 million per year by achieving the 45 per cent reduction.

“Most of the technological capacity is already in place, our focus now is on doing what we can to fast-track the uptake and implementation across the industry at a time when the producers are facing significant challenges,” Asgarpour says.

From the international majors to small independent operators, Canadian energy companies invest more in environmental protection than any other industry. They have a long track record of innovation and making significant investments in minimizing methane emissions – most of which occur during the production and transportation of natural gas.

Shell Canada has reduced GHG emissions by 91 per cent at its gas wells built in northeastern B.C. since 2018 by using electric-powered valves. The company is aiming to replace equipment at many of the older sites in its 500-well Groundbirch project as well, even though the facilities already exceed Shell’s global methane emissions targets.

Pipeline giant TC Energy has been investing in research and development to reduce methane loss from its facilities for decades, and is sought out by peers around the world to learn from their expertise. The company, which transports most of the natural gas produced in Western Canada to markets across North America, holds patents to numerous devices that minimize or eliminate methane leaks from valves and seals and pioneered the use of hand-held leak detection devices as part of its inspection practices. It also invented a fleet of mobile compressor stations that capture large volumes of gas that are traditionally released into the atmosphere during pipeline maintenance work – saving an estimated one million tonnes of GHG emissions per year, equivalent to taking 225,000 cars off the road.

Many mid-sized gas producers are constantly striving to stay ahead of environmental regulations as well, explaining that using best practices for reducing greenhouse gas emissions pays off in the long run in terms of cost savings, as well as the reputational benefits of being known as leaders in sustainable energy development.

“We don’t wait to be told what is acceptable. We know that the eyes of the world are on us and we are constantly improving because it’s the right thing to do for our shareholders as well as the broader community,” says Jeff Tonken, the CEO of Birchcliff Energy, which produces natural gas and light oil in the Peace River Arch area of northwestern Alberta. Birchcliff’s GHG intensity has steadily declined over the last three years, as the company employs solar panels, micro wind turbines and other forms of electric generation to avoid gas-driven pneumatics at most of its sites, and also uses vapour recovery devices to capture vented methane and return it to the system.

Similarly, Seven Generations Energy (7G) has the lowest GHG emissions intensity in its peer group, thanks to ongoing efforts to install and retrofit its facilities with the latest technology. In advance of the current methane regulations coming into effect, 7G conducted a sweeping leak detection and methane emissions reduction program, reducing emissions by more than 19,000 tonnes of CO2-equivalent per year. The company’s emissions reduction efforts were a key piece in becoming the first company to be designated a ‘responsible natural gas producer’ by New York-based Equitable Origin. The certification enables 7G to supply gas at a premium price to Energir, Quebec’s largest gas provider, through a supply contract announced earlier this year.

Even some of the smallest oil and gas companies are leaders in emissions reduction, proving that size doesn’t matter when it comes to being committed to sustainability. Calgary-based Modern Resources beat out Saudi Aramco for the Global Petroleum Show’s environmental excellence award in 2018. The win was largely due to the company’s drive to eliminate methane emissions from its well sites in northwest Alberta through smart engineering and use of the latest technology such as solar powered valves and vapour recovery units at its remote sites.

“We have taken our methane emissions to zero, but we say that our facilities are ultra-low emissions because they still emit a small amount of CO2 – less than a newborn baby,” says CEO Chris Slubicki, adding that his company has already met the new methane regulations. “Some like to say that the oil and gas industry is against solutions, but that’s not the case at all. We are all for solutions because they are generally win-win and make us money.”

With global demand for oil and gas dropping significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Westgen Technologies is expecting some of its growth plans may take longer than expected. But they are hopeful that the federal government’s $750 million loan program for methane emissions reduction projects in the energy sector will yield new opportunities.

“It could have a big impact on our industry,” says O’Shea, adding that all of his company’s equipment is manufactured in the Calgary area with technology and supplies from across Canada. “It would accelerate employment across the supply chain and help our industry become even more of a leader on the international stage.”