Producing a barrel of oil in Saskatchewan causes much higher emissions compared to the rest of Western Canada, and the province’s emissions intensity is getting worse, according to data compiled by Enverus Intelligence Research.
An August report from the┬аenergy analytics firm focused on emissions intensity, which is a measure of greenhouse gas emissions that are released when producing┬аa unit of oil and natural gas.
Since the beginning of 2021, the emissions intensity of Alberta and British Columbia has decreased, while it rose in Saskatchewan. Notably, the report also remarked on the overall slow rate of change in the three provinces.
“There was surprise around how flat the lines were on average, and also the uptick from Saskatchewan,” said Ivana Petrich, a Calgary-based analyst with Enverus.
The increase in Saskatchewan’s numbers is mainly due to its focus on the production of emissions-intensive heavy oil. In comparison, the emissions┬аintensity of B.C.’s oilpatch┬аis much lower because it’s mainly focused on natural gas production.
One of the key challenges in Saskatchewan is venting and flaring.
When oil is pumped out of the ground, a certain amount of methane typically comes to the surface. Some companies capture those gases and transport them in a pipeline to be sold as natural gas. Other companies may release the gases into the atmosphere (venting) or burn them (flaring).
“If you were to compare the provinces, we see venting and flaring accounting for 42 per cent of emissions in Saskatchewan, compared to 15 per cent in Alberta and 13 per cent in B.C.,” said Petrich.
Alberta’s large┬аexisting network of natural gas pipelines helps to minimize the amount of┬аventing and flaring that occurs. When a new well is drilled, a company may only have to build a short pipeline to connect to a main natural gas system.
But┬аin Saskatchewan, a company may have to build a much longer тАФ and more expensive тАФ pipeline.
Ivana Petrich with Enverus Intelligence Research and Phil Tomlinson with Highwood Emissions Management discuss why the oil and natural gas sector in Saskatchewan is more emissions intensive compared to Alberta.
It’s a well-known issue,┬аaccording to Phil Tomlinson, an emissions engineer with Calgary-based Highwood Emissions Management, which┬аhelps industrial companies understand and reduce their emissions.
“In Saskatchewan, we don’t have that [pipeline] infrastructure,” he said.┬а“It means that it’s generally not economical.”
Rather than venting methane gases, Saskatchewan oil producers should consider other options, like burning them or using them to heat nearby buildings,┬аTomlinson said.┬а┬а
Methane is considered to be 25 times as harmful to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
“You are better to burn off the methane than to vent it straight into the atmosphere,” he said. “There are ways of destroying the methane with relatively high efficiency. It still produces CO2┬аbut it produces less CO2 [compared to venting].”
Another factor impacting Saskatchewan’s higher emissions intensity┬аis that its oil wells┬аare generally older than ones in Alberta, he added.
Smaller overall
Saskatchewan’s oil industry is smaller than Alberta’s energy industry, meaning┬аits overall emissions are lower.
Since the start of the pandemic, Saskatchewan’s total emissions have fallen┬аbut that’s largely the result of a drop in oil production. The province’s oilpatch emissions declined by about two per cent since the beginning of 2021, while oil and gas production has fallen by about 12 per cent, said Petrich.
Data used┬аincludes the production, transportation┬аand processing of oil and natural gas. In Alberta, Enverus includes oilsands SAGD production but excludes oilsands mining.
Overall, total oilsands emissions were flat in 2022 even as production grew slightly, according to an August analysis┬аreleased by S&P Global Commodity Insights.
In an emailed statement, Saskatchewan’s energy department said its┬аoil and gas emissions management regulations have “reduced greenhouse gas emissions┬а(GHG) from reported venting and flaring by over 60 per cent below 2015 levels.
“This is significantly ahead of the previously announced goal of 40 to 45 per cent reduction in GHG reductions by 2025,” said spokesperson Jacob Fergus.
The main oilpatch lobby group, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, would not provide comment. The group instead pointed to its recent report┬аthat showed overall emissions in the conventional oil and gas sector declining over the last decade.
