Enhanced Oil Recovery
The Sturgeon Refinery supplies its CO2 as a feedstock to an independent company specializing in enhanced oil recovery (EOR). This feedstock is necessary to unlock the additional light oil trapped in nearly depleted reservoirs throughout Alberta.
By injecting pure CO2 into reservoirs, Alberta can recover nearly a billion barrels of light oil that would have otherwise gone untouched, while at the same time safely and permanently storing the CO2.
While traditionally the CO2 emissions are contaminated and difficult to sequester, this proven gasification technology produces high purity CO2 that is ideal for EOR. This puts the Sturgeon Refinery at the forefront of being a catalyst for the EOR industry in Alberta. This first step will lead to the development of critical infrastructure that allows others to manage CO2 more effectively.
NWR has an agreement in place to supply its CO2 to an independent third party company, which has built the province’s first CO2 gathering and distribution pipeline, the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line (ACTL). To learn more, visit ACTL.ca.
Video courtesy of Enhance Energy Inc.