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2020-03-24 the Oilsands in a Carbon-Constrained Canada FINAL

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2020-03-24 the Oilsands in a Carbon-Constrained Canada FINAL The oilsands in a carbon- constrained Canada The collision course between overall emissions and national climate commitments Benjamin Israel Jan Gorski, Nina Lothian, Chris Severson-Baker, Nikki Way February 2020 updated March 2020 Photo: Kris Krüg, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 The oilsands in a carbon- constrained Canada The collision course between overall emissions and national climate commitments Benjamin Israel Jan Gorski, Nina Lothian, Chris Severson-Baker and Nikki Way February 2020 updated March 2020 Production management: Michelle Bartleman Editors: Michelle Bartleman, Roberta Franchuk, ISBN 1-897390-44-0 Sarah MacWhirter Contributors: Nichole Dusyk, Simon Dyer, The Pembina Institute Duncan Kenyon, Morrigan Simpson-Marran 219 19 Street NW Calgary, AB ©2020 The Pembina Institute Canada T2N 2H9 All rights reserved. Permission is granted to Phone: 403-269-3344 reproduce all or part of this publication for non- commercial purposes, as long as you cite the Additional copies of this publication may be source. downloaded from the Pembina Institute website, www.pembina.org. Recommended citation: Israel, Benjamin. The oilsands in a carbon-constrained Canada. The Pembina Institute, 2020. Pembina Institute The oilsands in a carbon-constrained Canada | ii About the Pembina Institute The Pembina Institute is a national non-partisan think tank that advocates for strong, effective policies to support Canada’s clean energy transition. We employ multi-faceted and highly collaborative approaches to change. Producing credible, evidence-based research and analysis, we consult directly with organizations to design and implement clean energy solutions, and convene diverse sets of stakeholders to identify and move toward common solutions. ————————————————— pembina.org ————————————————— twitter.com/pembina facebook.com/pembina.institute Donate to the Pembina Institute Together, we can lead Canada's transition to clean energy. Your gift to the Pembina Institute directly supports environmental education and innovative research that advances understanding and action on critical energy and environmental issues. pembina.org/donate Acknowledgements The Pembina Institute would like to sincerely thank those who provided us feedback and expert advice during the development of this report. We appreciate the generosity of their time and effort, their thoughtful comments and critiques, and their willingness to engage in this challenging but important discussion. We would also like to dedicate this report to the memory of our former colleague and friend Jodi McNeill — a passionate advocate of the environment, a bright and independent spirit, a bridge-builder in an increasingly polarized environment — whom we deeply miss. Pembina Institute The oilsands in a carbon-constrained Canada | iii Contents Foreword .............................................................................................................................................. 2 Executive summary ............................................................................................................................. 4 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 8 2. The oilsands in context .......................................................................................................... 12 2.1. Canada’s annual emissions by sector ........................................................................... 12 2.2. Canada’s annual emissions by province ...................................................................... 14 2.3. Our international commitments ................................................................................... 15 2.4. Projecting oilsands emissions ....................................................................................... 16 2.5. Projecting global oil demand ......................................................................................... 19 3. Emissions intensity of oilsands ............................................................................................. 21 3.1. Measuring emissions intensity ...................................................................................... 21 3.2. Oilsands emissions intensity ......................................................................................... 22 3.3. How do the oilsands compare? ..................................................................................... 26 3.4. Emissions intensity summary ........................................................................................ 34 4. Looking forward: Is the power of technology enough? ..................................................... 35 5. Recommendations to improve oilsands climate performance ........................................ 39 6. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 45 Appendix A. Glossary ................................................................................................................... 46 Appendix B. Estimate of future Alberta oilsands’ GHG emissions ......................................... 50 Appendix C. Approved Alberta oilsands projects or expansions ........................................... 53 Appendix D. Past studies on oilsands life cycle GHG emissions ............................................ 55 Pembina Institute The oilsands in a carbon-constrained Canada | iv List of figures Figure 1. Share of the oilsands emissions in national carbon budget to meet Canada’s 2030 target ................................................................................................................. 5 Figure 2. Capacity of existing oilsands pathways (thousand barrels per day) ........................... 10 Figure 3. Breakdown of emissions associated with oil and gas extraction and processing in Canada in 2017 ................................................................................................. 12 Figure 4. Provincial GHG emissions by sector in 2017 ................................................................. 14 Figure 5. Historic and projected emissions growth by Canadian economic sectors ................ 16 Figure 6. Share of the oilsands emissions in national carbon budget to meet Canada’s 2030 target ............................................................................................................... 17 Figure 7. Comparison of oil demand scenarios from the IEA, BP and McKinsey ...................... 19 Figure 8. Scopes of life cycle GHG emissions from transportation fuels ................................... 21 Figure 9. Range of upstream GHG intensity of oilsands marketed product .............................. 23 Figure 10. Historical and forecast upstream GHG intensity of oilsands marketed products .. 25 Figure 11. Well-to-refinery carbon intensity of oil production by country ................................. 28 Figure 12. Life cycle GHG emissions of various crude oils included in the OCI (oilsands crudes as indicated) .............................................................................................................................. 30 Figure 13. Well-to-wheels life cycle GHG emissions of selected oilsands crudes and a few representative North American crudes included in the OCI ............................................... 31 Figure 14. Carbon intensity of crudes refined in California in 2018 ........................................... 33 Figure 15. Share of the oilsands emissions in Canada’s carbon commitments under a range of improvement scenarios ...................................................................................................... 37 List of tables Table 1. Global and Canadian oil production in 2018 ................................................................... 11 Table 2. Projected oilsands emissions in 2020 .............................................................................. 18 Table 3. Emissions intensity of oilsands technologies in 2017 .................................................... 51 Table 4. Projected cumulative emissions from oilsands sector per status as of Dec. 2019 .... 51 Table 5. Oilsands projects approved by the Alberta Energy Regulator as of Dec. 2019 .......... 53 Pembina Institute The oilsands in a carbon-constrained Canada | v Foreword Foreword The Pembina Institute is a non-partisan, evidence-based, national research organization, founded in central Alberta as a response to the Lodgepole sour gas blowout in 1982. For more than 30 years, we have collaborated with oil and gas companies, communities, stakeholders, and all levels of government from across the political spectrum to find practical solutions for shared energy issues. Our long record of working with the oilsands industry, assessing its impacts on Alberta’s environment and communities, as well as on Canada's greenhouse gas emissions overall, have helped form policies that have led to Simon Dyer significant environmental improvements. Executive Director In 2006, the Pembina Institute identified the need for and mapped out a pathway to carbon-neutral oilsands — a goal which many years later is now being embraced by oilsands companies. For more than 30 years, we have collaborated … to find practical solutions for shared energy issues. We helped develop the regulatory framework for carbon capture and storage project development in Alberta, and helped to pioneer environmental, social and governance performance indicators
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