Project Pioneer and enhanced oil recovery
Project Pioneer is situated approximately 70 kilometers from the large Pembina Oil Field, which is ideal for enhanced oil recovery opportunities. By injecting CO2 underground, there is the potential to generate 22 million barrels of incremental oil production from this area alone.
Oil companies in the U.S. have been piping CO2 into declining oil fields in Texas since the 1970s. According to a report in Scientific American, 650,000 additional barrels of oil are produced daily thanks to carbon capture and storage (CCS). That's more than 10 per cent of the daily U.S. total production.1
Canadian companies have also been using CO2 for enhanced oil recovery, including pilot projects supported by the Alberta Research Council.
CCS will help Alberta energy companies become more efficient and competitive and the province could benefit from additional royalties and taxes worth up to $850 million.
1 Published online, April 9, 2009 - www.scientificamerican.com