Shell, province invest in research
Bruce Johnstone
Leader-Post
Friday, November 07, 2008
The provincial government and Shell Canada are each investing $5 million into an international research centre at the University of Regina to develop, test and ultimately commercialize carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.
The new centre, called the International Performance Assessment Centre for Geologic Storage of CO2 (IPAC-CO2), will assess and advise CCS projects around the world and share findings with other research organizations.
In addition, the province is putting another $2 million into the European CO2 Test Centre at Mongstad, Norway, which will test carbon capture technology developed at the U of R.
"If Canada is to continue to produce and use fossil fuels, we will need to learn how to find a way to effectively store CO2,'' said Crown Corporations Minister Ken Cheveldayoff at a news conference at the U of R Thursday.
"With the University of Regina solidifying its position as a world-leader in CCS research and technology development, an important next step is establishing ties around the globe with other institutions pursuing similar goals.''
Brian Straub, president of Shell Canada, said the company's parent, Royal Dutch Shell, believes world demand for energy is growing far faster than supply, conventional oil and gas are becoming harder to find and the world is turning towards alternative forms of energy, including renewables, nuclear and biomass.
"So we're going to need hydrocarbons, like the oilsands in both Alberta and Saskatchewan, but they require more technology, more energy, more money and significant patience to extract.''
Unfortunately, these unconventional sources of fossil fuels are going to create more greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, he said. "Therefore, the big energy challenge is how to meet the increasing global demand for energy with unconventional resources, while significantly reducing these emissions.''
CCS technology represents the one of a number of solutions to the global energy-climate change challenge, Straub said.
"The large volume of GHG emission reductions that could be realized through CCS make this technology a promising solution to address climate change in the near future.''
Shell's investment of $5 million into IPAC-CO2 will test the technology of carbon capture and storage and ultimately help make CCS "commercially viable.''
"Shell's ambition is to develop substantial CCS capability around the world,'' Straub said. "Western Canada is a key area for us."
For example, Shell is a sponsor of the Weyburn-Midale CO2 monitoring project -- "one of the world's three largest in-field carbon storage research projects and largest CO2 enhanced oil recovery project on land,'' Straub said.
Vianne Timmons, president of the U of R, said the province and Shell are making "an important investment in our environmental future'' by establishing and supporting IPAC-CO2.
"Climate change is a global problem that requires global solutions and IPAC-CO2 will go beyond the province's borders to work with, and build on, the best CCS research available...
"We're entering a new stage of carbon capture and storage (technology) development, not just at the U of R, but also Western Canada.''
Malcolm Wilson, acting director of IPAC-CO2, said the centre will help research scientists better understand what happens when CO2 is injected several kilometres beneath the earth's surface.
"When we look at the subsurface, we really know very little about it. There's always uncertainty involved. What the centre will do is provide a mechanism for reducing that uncertainty.''
© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2008
