Canadian Energy Centre
Top 10 good news stories about Canadian energy in 2024
From the Canadian Energy Centre
Record oil production, more Indigenous ownership and inching closer to LNG
It’s likely 2024 will go down in history as a turning point for Canadian energy, despite challenging headwinds from federal government policy.
Here’s some of the good news.
10. New carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects to proceed
Photo courtesy Shell Canada
In June, Shell announced it will proceed with the Polaris and Atlas CCS projects, expanding emissions reduction at the company’s Scotford energy and chemicals park near Edmonton.
Polaris is designed to capture approximately 650,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, or the equivalent annual emissions of about 150,000 gasoline-powered cars. The CO2 will be transported by a 22-kilometre pipeline to the Atlas underground storage hub.
The projects build on Shell’s experience at the Quest CCS project, also located at the Scotford complex. Since 2015, Quest has stored more than eight million tonnes of CO2. Polaris and Atlas are targeted for startup in 2028.
Meanwhile, Entropy Inc. announced in July it will proceed with its Glacier Phase 2 CCS project. Located at the Glacier gas plant near Grande Prairie, the project is expected onstream in mid-2026 and will capture 160,000 tonnes of emissions per year.
Since 2015, CCS operations in Alberta have safely stored roughly 14 million tonnes of CO2, or the equivalent emissions of more than three million cars.
9. Canada’s U.S. oil exports reach new record
Expanded export capacity at the Trans Mountain Westridge Terminal. Photo courtesy Trans Mountain Corporation
Canada’s exports of oil and petroleum products to the United States averaged a record 4.6 million barrels per day in the first nine months of 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Demand from Midwest states increased, along with the U.S. Gulf Coast, the world’s largest refining hub. Canadian sales to the U.S. West Coast also increased, enabled by the newly completed Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion.
8. Alberta’s oil production never higher
A worker at Suncor Energy’s MacKay River oil sands project. CP Images photo
In early December, ATB Economics analyst Rob Roach reported that Alberta’s oil production has never been higher, averaging 3.9 million barrels per day in the first 10 months of the year.
This is about 190,000 barrels per day higher than during the same period in 2023, enabled by the Trans Mountain expansion, Roach noted.
7. Indigenous energy ownership spreads
Communities of Wapiscanis Waseskwan Nipiy Limited Partnership in December 2023. Photo courtesy Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation
In September, the Bigstone Cree Nation became the latest Indigenous community to acquire an ownership stake in an Alberta energy project.
Bigstone joined 12 other First Nations and Métis settlements in the Wapiscanis Waseskwan Nipiy Holding Limited Partnership, which holds 85 per cent ownership of Tamarack Valley Energy’s Clearwater midstream oil and gas assets.
The Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation (AIOC) is backstopping the agreement with a total $195 million loan guarantee.
In its five years of operations, the AIOC has supported more than 60 Indigenous communities taking ownership of energy projects, with loan guarantees valued at more than $725 million.
6. Oil sands emissions intensity goes down
Oil sands steam generators. Photo courtesy Cenovus Energy
A November report from S&P Global Commodity said that oil sands production growth is beginning to rise faster than emissions growth.
While oil sands production in 2023 was nine per cent higher than in 2019, total emissions rose by just three per cent.
“This is a notable, significant change in oil sands emissions,” said Kevin Birn, head of S&P Global’s Centre for Emissions Excellence.
Average oil sands emissions per barrel, or so-called “emissions intensity” is now 28 per cent lower than it was in 2009.
5. Oil and gas producers beat methane target, again
Photo courtesy Tourmaline
Data released by the Alberta Energy Regulator in November 2024 confirmed that methane emissions from conventional oil and gas production in the province continue to go down, exceeding government targets.
In 2022, producers reached the province’s target to reduce methane emissions by 45 per cent compared to 2014 levels by 2025 three years early.
The new data shows that as of 2023, methane emissions have been reduced by 52 per cent.
4. Cedar LNG gets the green light to proceed
Haisla Nation Chief Councillor Crystal Smith and Pembina Pipeline Corporation CEO Scott Burrows announce the Cedar LNG positive final investment decision on June 25, 2024. Photo courtesy Cedar LNG
The world’s first Indigenous majority-owned liquefied natural gas (LNG) project is now under construction on the coast of Kitimat, B.C., following a positive final investment decision in June.
Cedar LNG is a floating natural gas export terminal owned by the Haisla Nation and Pembina Pipeline Corporation. It will have capacity to produce 3.3 million tonnes of LNG per year for export overseas, primarily to meet growing demand in Asia.
The $5.5-billion project will receive natural gas through the Coastal GasLink pipeline. Peak construction is expected in 2026, followed by startup in late 2028.
3. Coastal GasLink Pipeline goes into service
Workers celebrate completion of the Coastal GasLink Pipeline. Photo courtesy Coastal GasLink
The countdown is on to Canada’s first large-scale LNG exports, with the official startup of the $14.5-billion Coastal GasLink Pipeline in November.
The 670-kilometre pipeline transports natural gas from near Dawson Creek, B.C. to the LNG Canada project at Kitimat, where it will be supercooled and transformed into LNG.
LNG Canada will have capacity to export 14 million tonnes of LNG per year to overseas markets, primarily in Asia, where it is expected to help reduce emissions by displacing coal-fired power.
The terminal’s owners – Shell, Petronas, PetroChina, Mitsubishi and Korea Gas Corporation – are ramping up natural gas production to record rates, according to RBN Energy.
RBN analyst Martin King expects the first shipments to leave LNG Canada by early next year, setting up for commercial operations in mid-2025.
2. Construction starts on $8.9 billion net zero petrochemical plant
Dow’s manufacturing site in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. Photo courtesy Dow
In April, construction commenced near Edmonton on the world’s first plant designed to produce polyethylene — a widely used, recyclable plastic — with net zero scope 1 and 2 emissions.
Dow Chemicals’ $8.9 billion Path2Zero project is an expansion of the company’s manufacturing site in Fort Saskatchewan. Using natural gas as a feedstock, it will incorporate CCS to reduce emissions.
According to business development agency Edmonton Global, the project is spurring a boom in the region, with nearly 200 industrial projects worth about $96 billion now underway or nearing construction.
Dow’s plant is scheduled for startup in 2027.
1. Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion completed
The “Golden Weld” marked mechanical completion of construction for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project on April 11, 2024. Photo courtesy Trans Mountain Corporation
The long-awaited $34-billion Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion officially went into service in May, in a game-changer for Canadian energy with ripple effects around the world.
The 590,000 barrel-per-day expansion for the first time gives customers outside the United States access to large volumes of Canadian oil, with the benefits flowing to Canada’s economy.
According to the Canada Energy Regulator, exports to non-U.S. locations more than doubled following the expansion startup, averaging 420,000 barrels per day compared to about 130,000 barrels per day in 2023.
The value of Canadian oil exports to Asia has soared from effectively zero to a monthly average of $515 million between June and October, according to ATB Economics.
From the Canadian Energy Centre
Demand for versatile fuels rising to power higher living standards
A deal to supply Asian customers with butane shipped from the coast of B.C. promises to expand Canada’s global energy footprint, underscoring untapped potential and the benefits of diversifying beyond the U.S. market.
Butane and propane are what’s known as liquid petroleum gases (LPGs).
Produced during natural gas processing and oil refining, these versatile energy products are in high demand for a wide range of uses including feedstock for plastics and synthetic rubber production, fuels for heating and cooking, and solvents in industrial applications.
“Demand remains strong going forward for the Asian markets as consumers continue to increase living standards and income levels and use more of the everyday items that we take for granted,” said Martin King, managing director of North America energy market analysis for Houston-based RBN Energy.
The new deal commits Calgary-based AltaGas to supply German chemical giant BASF with butane for chemical manufacturing and industrial use in Asian markets.
Butane and propane from Alberta can be shipped by rail to reach terminals on the West Coast, including the AltaGas Ridley Island Energy Export Facility that is under construction near Prince Rupert.
Known as REEF, it is an expansion of the company’s LPG export operations that is scheduled to start operating in 2027. AltaGas opened Canada’s first marine propane export terminal on Ridley Island in 2019.
BASF president of global procurement Matthias Dohrn said partnering with AltaGas secures “reliable and competitive access” to butane from Western Canada.
While details on the scope of the agreement were not released, King said AltaGas is already talking about expanding REEF capacity by 2030.
“I suspect that the expansion has a good chance of going ahead given that the demand for LPGs out of Asia has remained very robust,” he said.
Canada’s success in growing propane exports offers a model for butane’s potential.
According to the Canada Energy Regulator (CER), propane exports – most of which come from Alberta – have more than doubled over the past decade as the new B.C. terminal infrastructure came online.
As of June 2025, shipments to non-U.S. locations were nearly even with exports south of the border, CER reports.
According to the Canadian Propane Association (CPA), the largest customers after the U.S. are Japan, South Korea and Mexico.
Earlier this year, the CPA joined Alberta government officials, industry representatives and Indigenous leaders on a trade mission to Japan aimed at diversifying Canada’s energy exports.
“Canadian propane, with its lower carbon footprint, is uniquely positioned to support Japan’s decarbonization efforts,” said the CPA’s President and CEO Shannon Watt.
“By collaborating with Japan, we can demonstrate how Canadian propane meets the demand for sustainable energy solutions while enhancing energy security in a complex geopolitical landscape.”
From the Canadian Energy Centre
New standards to build on rules already in place for other mining sectors
In what the former Chief of the Fort McKay First Nation calls “a critical step in the right direction,” the Alberta government is moving to accelerate reclamation of more than 1.3 trillion litres of water stored in oil sands tailings ponds.
On Sept. 5, the province announced it will expedite setting standards that allow for “mine water” to be treated and released into the environment, building on the rules that are already in place for other mining operations across Canada.
“We cannot ignore this challenge, we need to keep working together to find practical and effective solutions that protect Indigenous rights, people and the environment,” said Chief Jim Boucher, a member of Alberta’s Oil Sands Mine Water Steering Committee.
That committee is behind a suite of nine recommendations that Alberta is putting into action to improve mine water management and tailings pond reclamation.
The Mining Association of Canada (MAC) says decades of research give the industry confidence that mine water can be safely treated and released once regulations are in place.
But that will take the federal government moving faster too.
Both the federal and provincial governments play a role in potential regulations for the treatment and release of oil sands mine water.
“Alberta is proposing science-based parameters to ensure the safe return of treated water used in oil sands mining, just as other provincial governments do for their respective mining sectors,” MAC CEO Pierre Gratton said in a statement.
“We are hopeful that this will accelerate the development of federal regulations – which we requested almost 15 years ago – to be similarly advanced.”
Gratton said setting standards for safe mine water release could unlock “significant investments” in oil sands reclamation and water treatment.
What are tailings ponds?
Tailings are a byproduct of mining operations around the world.
Oil sands tailings ponds are engineered basins holding a mix of mine water, sand, silt, clay and residual bitumen generated during the extraction process. There are eight operating oil sands mines with tailings ponds in northern Alberta.
Recycling water held in these basins helps operators reduce the amount of fresh water withdrawn from the Athabasca River.
In 2023, 79 per cent of the water used for oil sands mining was recycled, according to the Alberta Energy Regulator.
What is oil sands mine water?
Oil sands mine water is water that comes into contact with the various stages of oil sands mining operations, including bitumen extraction and processing.
Tailings ponds in the oil sands also hold water from significant amounts of rain and snow collected in the decades since the first mines began operating.
While the oil sands mining sector has reduced the amount of fresh water it uses per barrel of oil produced by nearly one-third since 2013, the total volume of mine water in tailings storage has grown as production has increased.
What’s in oil sands mine water?
The constituents of oil sands mine water requiring treatment for safe release are both typical of water in other industrial processes and unique to the oil sands sector.
MAC says common materials are suspended solids like sand, silt and clay, as well as a range of metals. These can be treated by a wide range of proven technologies already in use in Canada and globally.
Unique to oil sands mine water are organic compounds such as naphthenic acids. According to MAC, operators have demonstrated and continue to invest in processes to treat these to levels safe for environmental release.
How does mine water impact reclamation?
At the end of an oil sands mine’s life, operators must remove all infrastructure and restore the land to features of a self-sustaining boreal forest similar to what was there before.
Addressing the challenge of tailings ponds and the mine water stored in them is critical to the overall success of oil sands mining reclamation.
Why is mine water release important?
MAC says the only way to remove mine water in tailings ponds is to treat it for safe release to the environment.
Strict regulations allow for this process across Canadian copper, nickel, gold, iron ore, and diamond mining operations. But it is prohibited in the oil sands.
The safe release of treated oil sands mine water into the environment can reduce the need to store it, minimize further land disturbance and help reclamation happen faster.
MAC says operators have shown they can treat mine water to safe release levels, using processes that include innovative technologies developed through Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance.
What is Alberta doing?
Alberta has accepted the Oil Sands Mine Water Steering Committee’s nine recommendations aimed at speeding up solutions for safe mine water release.
The province says the recommendations, developed with input from industry, technology providers, Indigenous communities and scientists, will now be evaluated to determine how they can be put into practice.
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How Alberta is moving to speed up oil sands reclamation with mine water treatment
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