Alberta: The Natural Choice for Gas Manufacturing

Why is Alberta a natural choice for ISCG development?

Alberta, with its deep coal resource, represents one of the best locations globally to develop commercial ISCG projects, through an ideal convergence of technical and economic factors.

Improved horizontal drilling technology and European test projects in the 1990s, demonstrating the technical, economic and environmental benefits resulting from deep coal ISCG, have advanced the industry.

Economic factors in recent times, including energy prices and the ability to secure value for CO₂ produced in the ISCG process, are encouraging developments in this field.

Alberta offers great potential for ISCG:

• Deep, thick coal seams
• Access to the coal for ISCG development
• Support for energy innovation
• Proximity to oil development provides opportunity to sell CO₂ for enhanced oil recovery (EOR)
• CO₂ sequestration capabilities
• Access to energy transmission infrastructure and markets
• Experienced well-drilling service providers
• Provincial and industry initiatives to produce clean energy

How is it possible that the unmineable coal resources in Alberta could potentially generate more energy than all of the Province’s oil sands and conventional oil and gas reserves combined?

Alberta has an abundance of deep coal, too deep to do much else with because it would be cost prohibitive and technically difficult to mine. The environmental attractiveness of the ISCG process could facilitate multiple ISCG projects across Alberta without significant cumulative environmental effects.