Carbon capture coming to Co-op Refinery Complex

There will be a lot less carbon dioxide sent into the air over the refinery in Regina in the next few years.

Federated Co-operatives Limited announced Thursday it plans to spend more than $510 million to build carbon capture facilities at both the refinery and the company’s ethanol complex near Belle Plaine.

The company expects carbon capture at the ethanol complex to be completed in 2024, with the process at the Co-op Refinery Complex to start in 2026.

The project will capture nearly half a million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, which will be sent to the biggest storage facility of its kind in the world near Weyburn.

FCL signed a memorandum of understanding Thursday with Whitecap Resources.

“The transition to a low-carbon economy is one of the largest, but most necessary, shifts we’ll have to make in our long history,” FCL CEO Scott Banda said in a media release.

“Carbon capture and the work we’re doing with Whitecap is just one of multiple paths we’re exploring as part of a strategic plan to integrate sustainable solutions into our operations to improve environmental performance.”

Federated Co-op wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 per cent below 2015 levels by 2030. The company also hopes to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

The facility in Weyburn has taken in more than 36 million tonnes of carbon dioxide since 2000. It’s expected to hold about two million tonnes of carbon per year.

“Today’s announcement firmly positions Saskatchewan as a world leader in innovative carbon capture technology and is just the beginning of significant private investment opportunities in the CO2 sequestration value chain,” Saskatchewan Energy and Resources Minister Bronwyn Eyre said in the release.

“This proposed project will include CO2 enhanced oil recovery, which lowers GHG emissions by 82 per cent compared to traditional extraction methods while increasing production. This is good news for the environment and the economy.”