Medicine Hat: Exploring potential carbon capture and storage

Imperial is working with the City of Medicine Hat to explore the potential for a carbon capture and storage hub in the area, which would transport and store carbon dioxide from local industries. Carbon capture and storage technology is being used to help reduce the amount of CO₂ in our atmosphere by collecting it from industrial sources and injecting it thousands of feet underground for safe, secure and permanent storage.

We are still very early in the assessment process and no final investment decision has been made. Imperial has received approval from the Province of Alberta to transfer the local pore space rights from the City of Medicine Hat. Feasibility work is underway, with plans to drill appraisal wells that will allow us to determine if the geology is appropriate for permanent CO₂ storage.  

We are meeting with local stakeholders and sharing information about the project. If feasible and approved, operations could potentially start up later this decade.

About carbon capture and storage

Carbon storage projects inject carbon for permanent storage thousands of metres underground, where it is sealed in place by layers of impermeable rock often hundreds of metres thick. Before selecting a carbon storage site, extensive testing is conducted to ensure optimal geological conditions for injection.

Once stored, the storage sites are monitored for any potential geologic changes. We use a three-tier system of technologies to monitor sites for any potential leaks at the atmospheric, near-surface and deep sub-surface levels.

Industry has been safely moving CO₂ via pipelines and injecting CO₂ into subsurface formations around the world for decades, successfully demonstrating there are no technical barriers that prevent permanent CO₂ storage.