Canada to Face Challenge in Remaining Oil Power
Canada will face challenges in retaining its status as a global oil and gas power in a world transitioning toward net zero carbon emissions by mid-century, the International Energy Agency said.
The country, holder of the world’s third-largest oil reserves, seeks to remain “a major global oil and gas supplier” beyond 2050 even as countries, including Canada itself, push toward emission cuts, the agency said in its Canada 2022 Energy Policy Review Thursday.
Canada’s largest oil producers pledged to zero out carbon emissions from their operations by the middle of the century, primarily through the use of carbon capture and storage, in a bid to preserve the sector. But those targets don’t include anything about the much larger volumes of emissions that result from burning the fuel they produce by refineries, factories, vehicles and homes.
While the IEA lauded Canada’s leadership in policies to cut emissions, it added the country “should pay close attention to shifting demand for oil and gas globally.”
“Canada must focus on significantly decarbonizing its oil and gas sectors while at the same time ensuring competitiveness in increasingly well-supplied world markets,” the agency said.
Worldwide oil consumption will have to decline “substantially” in the coming decades from the 100 million barrels a day currently, but output will not fall to zero, Fatih Birol, IEA director, said in a webinar.
“I would like to get this oil from good partners, like Canada, who want to reduced emissions from oil and gas,” he said.
Birol recommended that the country define a specific pathway for achieving its net zero emissions goal by 2050 and said that carbon capture, a key technology for reducing emissions in the oil sands, will be essential for achieving climate goals.
The country’s own oil sands will pose a further challenge even as “Canada scores well on overall ESG indicators relative to many other oil and gas producers,” the IEA said. In recent years, many funds and banks have pulled funding from the Canadian oil sands sector, where some of the most carbon intensive oil in the world is extracted.
“The environmental profile of oil sands production, in particular, will become a greater focus for importing countries and warrants action,” the IEA said.
What do you think? We’d love to hear from you, join the conversation on the
Rigzone Energy Network.
The Rigzone Energy Network is a new social experience created for you and all energy professionals to Speak Up about our industry, share knowledge, connect with peers and industry insiders and engage in a professional community that will empower your career in energy.
- ExxonMobil Racks Up Discoveries in Guyana Block Eyed by Chevron
- Oil Market Sentiment Has Improved Significantly
- EU, US Eye Collaboration on Nuclear Materials
- USA Driving Activity to Increase to All-Time Highs
- TC Energy to Sell Prince Rupert Gas Pipeline Project to First Nation
- EU Electricity Export to Ukraine Up 94 Percent in Two Years
- China Coal Output Falls for First Time since Government Ordered More
- BP Pulse Buys One of Europe's Largest Truck Stops
- UK CCUS Plans Outdated: Think Tank
- North America Enters Rig Loss Streak
- Norway Regulator Blasts Proposal to Halt New Oil and Gas Permits
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Major Oilfield Discovery
- EIA Drops 2024 Henry Hub Gas Price Forecast
- EIA and Standard Chartered Offer Up Latest Oil Price Predictions
- Red Sea Region Sees Another Watershed Incident
- Chevron Oil Project in Kazakhstan to Cost $48.5B
- OPEC Voices Encouragement after IEA Affirms Support for Oil Security
- Biden Govt Bares Strategy for Freight Charging, Hydrogen Fueling Infra
- Ukraine Hits Third Russian Refinery In Escalating Drone Strikes
- Rystad Looks at the Buzz Around White Hydrogen
- VIDEO: Missile Attack Kills Crew Transiting Gulf of Aden
- Norway Regulator Blasts Proposal to Halt New Oil and Gas Permits
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Major Oilfield Discovery
- What Is the Biggest Risk to Offshore Oil and Gas Personnel in 2024?
- Is Peak Oil Demand Close?
- Vessel Sinks in Red Sea After Missile Strike
- JP Morgan, Standard Chartered Reveal Latest Oil Price Forecasts
- Exxon Rights in Stabroek Do Not Apply to Hess Merger with Chevron: Hess
- Rystad Forecasts Net Production of Top Permian Producers in 2024
- Analysts Reveal Latest Oil Price Outlook Following OPEC+ Cut Extension