Oilsands operators confident they can meet Canada’s net zero goals

Alberta's oilsands sector generates around 70 million tonnes of emissions each year — around one-tenth of Canada's entire emissions profile.

An industry that has employed thousands of Canadians, generated billions of dollars worth of economic investment and annual government revenues now finds itself staring down perhaps it’s biggest challenge yet: dramatically slashing greenhouse gas emissions in a relatively short timeframe.

Alberta’s oilsands sector generates around 70 million tonnes of emissions each year — around one-tenth of Canada’s entire emissions profile.

The industry itself has acknowledged it needs to dramatically cut those emissions, and that was a main topic of conversation at the annual Oil Sands Conference and Trade Show in Fort McMurray.

“With what we’ve solved in the last five decades, I’m not too concerned our industry won’t solve this next one,” Drew Zieglgansberger told a luncheon audience on the second day of the conference.

Zieglgansberger is an executive vice-president with Cenovus Energy and oversees the company’s environmental innovations.

Cenovus is one of six major oilsands operators which have teamed up to form the Pathways Alliance, a team effort to achieve net zero by 2050.

The others involved are Suncor, Canadian Natural Resorces, MEG Energy, Imperial Oil and ConocoPhillips. The six companies operate about 90 per cent of Canada’s oilsands production.

“If you think back to the oilsands from decades ago, I think a lot of people were looking to understand, ‘How do we make this economically viable?'” Zieglgansberger told Global News at the oil sands conference.