More R&D spending in oil and gas helps reduce emissions and improve efficiency. Photo for Canadian Energy Centre
Canada’s energy sector is developing clean energy technology like carbon capture and storage
By James Snell,
Canadian Energy Centre
Major Canadian oil and gas companies are cranking up spending on research and development aimed at reducing emissions and improving operational efficiency.
Suncor Energy, Canadian Natural Resources, Imperial Oil, Syncrude, and TC Energy spent $1.17 billion in 2021 compared to $1.01 billion in 2020, says a recent Research Infosource report. That maintains a world-leading trend since 2012 of major oil and gas companies collectively spending more than $1 billion per year on research and development (R&D).
“We’ve noticed in the last decade that Canadian companies on a per barrel basis have invested the most compared to the global oil and gas majors,” said Jared Dziuba, director of oil and gas equity research with BMO Capital Markets.
Canada’s energy sector has played a pioneering role in the development of clean energy technology like carbon capture and storage (CCS), said James Millar, president and CEO of the International CCS Knowledge Centre, adding the experience is providing a foundation for the massive scale-up of CCS across heavy-emitting industries. Large-scale CCS, he said, is one of the only ways to meet emission reduction targets. Canadian CCS projects have reduced emissions by the equivalent of taking more than 10 million cars off the road.
“From building the world’s largest CO2 pipeline to the first CCS facility on a commercial power plant and the one million tonne per year Quest CCS project in Alberta, Canada has created the roadmap for how industry, governments, and academia can work together to tackle the toughest challenges related to decarbonizing the global economy,” said Millar.
“This commitment continues today, with the significant investments taking place through initiatives like the Pathways Alliance – which will see Canada’s six largest oil sands companies invest more than $24 billion in CCS projects and other emissions reduction technologies by the end of this decade.”
The trend of rising R&D spending among large Canadian oil and gas companies will likely continue in the coming years, said Dziuba.
“Some of these initiatives may not necessarily be directed towards decarbonization or emissions reduction, but a lot of times they are directly related,” he said, adding most operational improvements related to oil sands production result in lower emissions.
“A significant amount of R&D goes into tailings reduction at oil sands mines, as well,” he said. “There are several other key technologies in the oil sands R&D pipeline that are also awaiting roll-out and could have a meaningful impact on sustainability initiatives in coming years.”
- 0079 Ministry of Energy Business_incentive PO0079 Ministry of Energy Business_incentive PO
- 0078 LHOS 20240078 LHOS 2024
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
- 0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda
- 0076 Latus only0076 Latus only
- 0073 SaskWorks-Pipeline Online0073 SaskWorks-Pipeline Online
- 0063 Turnbull Excavating hiring crusher0063 Turnbull Excavating hiring crusher
- 0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
- 0058 Royal Helium Steveville opens anonymous rocket0058 Royal Helium Steveville opens anonymous rocket
- 0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
- 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan
- 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
- 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
- 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
- 0011
- 0006 JK Junior
- 0002 gilliss casing services0002 gilliss casing services
- 9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
- 9001