Shell Canada announced the Quest carbon capture and storage project in the northern region of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada has reached a milestone of four million tonnes of stored carbon dioxide, which is equivalent to the annual emissions of about one million cars. This accomplishment is ahead of schedule and has been attained at a lower cost than expected, according to Shell.
Quest opened in 2015 and cost about $1.35 billion CAD, with $745 CAD million from the Alberta government and $120 million CAD from Ottawa. The project was sold to Natural Resources Ltd. in 2017, along with most of Shell’s Alberta oil sands assets, but is still operated solely by Shell.
The facility captures and stores underground about a third of the carbon emissions from the Scotford Upgrader, which turns oil sands sediment into synthetic crude that can be refined into fuel or other products.
Shell Canada President, Michael Crothers, said in a press release, “Quest continues to show the world that carbon capture and storage (CCS) is working, its costs are coming down and that Canadians are leaders in CCS,” said Michael Crothers, Shell Canada President and Country Chair. “If Quest were to be built today, we estimate it would cost about 20-30% less to construct and operate. With our know-how, strong regulatory frameworks and ideal geology, Canada is uniquely positioned to capitalize on CCS technology.”
Image Courtesy of Shell.