Canada's Oil Sands Alliance reaches agreement to advance Pathways Carbon Capture and Storage Project

Canada announced in early July plans to build a new oil pipeline from Alberta to the Pacific coast, which would give the world's fourth-largest oil producer greater capacity to export to Asia and ease its reliance on the United States.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has sought to balance Alberta's aim of increasing oil production with environmental concerns. He has repeatedly said federal support for a new crude export pipeline in Canada is contingent on Canada's oil sands producers going ahead with a large-scale carbon capture and storage project that would help to reduce emissions from the country's heaviest-polluting sector.

Canada's biggest oil sands producers — Suncor Energy, Canadian Natural Resources, Cenovus Energy, Imperial Oil and ConocoPhillips Canada — first proposed the Pathways project in 2022, but have balked at assuming the costs of building it. The project was initially estimated to cost C$16.5 billion, though the companies and government have since agreed to build the project in phases and scale it down from what was originally envisioned.

The government-owned Trans Mountain Corp will build a new 1-million-barrel-per-day pipeline in coordination with Pembina Pipeline Corp. Pembina would have a 10% stake through construction, with the opportunity for up to an additional 10% once the project enters operation. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's government has said construction would begin as early as September 2027.

July 13 (Reuters) - Canada's federal government, the province of Alberta and the Oil Sands Alliance on Monday said they reached an agreement to advance the Pathways Carbon Capture and Storage Project, a government condition to move forward with a new West Coast oil pipeline.

When operational, the Pathways Project will have the capacity to safely transport and store about 6 million metric tons a year of captured CO2 by the mid-2030s, the Oil Sands Alliance said in a statement.