Latest news with #MurrayEdwards

Calgary Herald

Varcoe: With election over, can government and oilsands industry find path forward for $16.5B carbon capture project?

Article content With the 2025 federal election in the books, can the mammoth $16.5-billion carbon capture network proposed by the Pathways Alliance — one of the most ambitious developments in the Canadian oilsands — get back on track? Article content Article content It's an important question for the province, the industry and the country. Article content 'I have been surprised how long it has taken to get a consensus among all the participants, and I was more optimistic probably two years ago than I am today,' Murray Edwards, executive chair of Canadian Natural Resources, said in an interview Thursday. Article content Article content 'Given the change in global politics, the election of a new president south of the border, clearly, there has been a step back on some of the social-environmental initiatives. And where Pathways fits in that, I think is still to be determined.' Article content Article content Oil and gas remains the country's largest export, a huge creator of jobs, royalties and government revenues. Article content With rising oilsands production, it's also the largest emitting sector in Canada, and Pathways Alliance was formed to tackle that issue amid growing climate concerns. Article content The group includes the country's largest oilsands operators — Suncor Energy, Imperial Oil, MEG Energy, Canadian Natural Resources, Cenovus Energy and ConocoPhillips Canada. Article content The alliance's foundational project would see a 400-kilometre pipeline built to connect more than 20 oilsands facilities in northern Alberta to an underground storage hub near Cold Lake, where CO2 would be sequestered deep underground. Article content Article content Article content Yet, negotiations between Ottawa, the province and the oilsands producers surrounding the proposed development — including the sharing of costs — have progressed slowly. Article content Article content Cenovus Energy CEO Jon McKenzie said Thursday that discussions were in a 'holding pattern' recently with the election. Article content 'We need those two levels of government to come together and create a path forward for us where those projects can get done and the industry can remain competitive,' McKenzie said.