Oilsands emissions intensity 35% lower than reported and could drop another 19%, new study says
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Bergerson, who is also Canada Research Chair in energy technology assessment, added that more accurate emissions models will help policy-makers “in making better climate-wise decisions.”
The study compared 2018 to 2015 emissions from multiple oilsands projects operated by MEG Energy Corp., Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. and Imperial Oil Ltd. The researchers found carbon emissions intensities are 14 per cent to 35 per cent lower than data presented in a previous study, which was attributed to technological improvements.
That previous study, led by Stanford University post-doctoral researcher Mohmmad Masnadi and published in the journal Science in 2018, considered 2015 emissions data from almost 9,000 oilfields in 90 different countries and found that Canadian and Venezuelan heavy oil were among the world’s most carbon-intensive barrels.
Masnadi’s study also found that operators that flare large volumes of natural gas have higher emissions intensity. For example, Algeria produces the world’s lightest oil, but has the highest carbon intensity as a result of flaring.
Alberta Innovates chief executive Laura Kilcrease said in a release that the new study shows “that innovation has enabled reductions of GHG emissions in oilsands production and emerging technologies provide the potential for even greater results.”
The Canadian oil industry is widely expected to pour billions into emissions reducing technology in the coming years after Ottawa last week announced it would hike its carbon tax by more than 500 per cent, to $170 per tonne in 2030 from $30 per tonne now.
