Session 8: Canada’s Oil Sands in a Net Zero World – Futureproofing Canada’s Oil Sands

International and domestic governments and industry are making declarations of “Net Zero” ambitions yet demand for hydrocarbons will remain for decades to come.  So, what are the implications for Canada’s oil sands industry?  While the industry has deployed technologies and optimized operations to achieve notable improvements in environmental performance, the gap to Net Zero is very significant.  This presentation will explore opportunities in innovation across Scopes 1, 2, and 3.  In Scope 1 (direct operations) opportunities remain in energy efficiency, electrification, carbon capture and storage, blue hydrogen, and novel extraction processes.  Scope 2 (indirect emissions e.g. purchased electricity) opportunities include Small Modular Nuclear Reactors, integration of Renewables, biofuels, and Direct Air Capture.  Finally in Scope 3 (downstream including combustion), where the vast majority of emissions actually exist, there is a compelling opportunity to divert the product mix away from combustible fuels and instead manufacture materials like carbon fibre, asphalt binder, and other high value carbon products.  Realizing this future will require innovation and collaboration on a massive scale, but with the industry’s AOSTRA experience and current partnership models there are many reasons to be optimistic about the industry’s competitiveness in a Net Zero World.

 Presenter: Bryan Helfenbaum, Executive Director, Advanced Hydrocarbons, Alberta Innovates