No ‘science experiment’

Re: “Prentice calls for stronger environment department,” July 10 I’m writing on behalf of ICO2N (the Integrated CO2 Network), a consortium of international and Alberta energy companies who are demonstrating climate change leadership through advancing a vision for carbon capture and storage (CCS) development in Canada.

I agree with Tory leadership candidate Jim Prentice’s comment that CCS is “important and we should not abandon it.” However, it’s important to respond to the statement that CCS is a “science experiment.” It is a proven, technically viable, safe, environmentally effective means of reducing greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2). CCS is currently used around the world, including France and Australia. The Sleipner CCS project in Norway has safely sequestered roughly one million tonnes of CO2 a year since 1996. In Saskatchewan, Cenovus Energy has been operating a CCS project for more than a decade which uses the captured CO2 for enhanced oil recovery.

CCS can be deployed at a variety of industrial sites, including coal-fired power plants, oil and gas, petrochemical, fertilizer and cement plants.

The Alberta government has shown leadership on CCS and its commitment is evident through its investment of more than $1.2 billion to support two world-scale oilsands-related CCS projects, the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line and the Shell Quest Project. These two projects will store more than 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 every year. Government support for these early projects is important as we need to build and operate these facilities to begin to further reduce the costs of CCS. Enhanced oil recovery from CO2 will create jobs, defray costs and increase royalties to the province. Robert Craig , managing director, ICO2N