Air

Canada has implemented stringent greenhouse gas reporting and reduction regulations for all industry in the country. Oil and gas corporations that do not reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to meet the target levels must pay a fee for all excess emissions.

Canadian air quality and emission engineers, scientists and dispersion modelling specialists provide expert technical support to the oil and gas industry. Some of these service areas include:

• air quality assessments
• emission inventories
• control technologies
• dispersion modelling
• regulatory permitting, compliance and reporting
• air quality management systems and related audits
• quality assurance plans
• continuous emission monitoring systems and reporting
• ambient air quality monitoring and stack testing

Canada is one of the only major oil-producing nations to have established an economy-wide GHG reduction target. By signing on to the Copenhagen Accord, Canada has committed to reducing GHG emissions by 17 per cent below 2005 levels by 2020.

The Federal and Provincial governments are investing approximately $3 billion to help make Canada a global leader in carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. Industry and government are cooperating to demonstrate the commercial and technical viability of CCS in Canada. CCS will be responsible for 70 per cent of the 200-megatonne reduction. In oil sands, the bulk of these reductions will occur in production and upgrading.

Industry and governments are making substantial investments to support a range of new technologies.

• Canadian consulting firms have developed state of the art air quality monitoring systems. These systems have been validated under extreme weather conditions and can be used for multiple applications including outdoor, indoor and personal monitoring.
• Industry and government have created tough standards for reducing flared gas and have found an innovative solution for incineration. Incinerators are now 99.99 per cent efficient at burning waste gas, which means better air quality, less greenhouse emissions and reduced fuel gas consumption.

Natural Gas Conservation

Stringent and comprehensive regulations govern both conventional and unconventional natural gas development in Canada. To reduce emissions and energy waste, Canadian companies have improved technologies to conserve natural gas.

• At Cold Lake, Alberta, three projects process bitumen. Steam is injected into wells to enhance recovery. Unused gas is transferred from one plant to another as needed. In the past, that waste gas was flared at each facility.
• In Norman Wells, Northwest Territories, improvements to heat exchange processes have increased the amount of natural gas liquids recovered from the flare stream. This has significantly reduced the amount of flared gas.

Managing Sour Gas

The sour gas produced by Canada's oil and gas industry is a vital part of the continental energy supply. Canadian sales of elemental sulphur on world markets exceeded 5.3 million tonnes in 2010.

New emission standards require the recovery of more than 99 per cent of the sulphur in the gas, thus reducing the amount of sulphur dioxide (SO₂) released in to the atmosphere from flares and incinerators.

To meet the new standards, industry operators are employing new technologies such as titanium catalysts which safely burn compounds before they form noxious gases. Such methods are putting the industry well ahead of the Kyoto commitment deadline. Between 2000 and 2003, sulphur emissions dropped 25 per cent. The latest technologies are applied to meet emission standards and minimize environmental and community impacts.

• The Syncrude Emissions Reduction Project - a $1.6 billion venture- is expected to be complete in 2011. It is designed to contribute to a 60 per cent reduction in sulphur compound emissions from current approved levels once fully operational.
• Other initiatives include streamlined emergency response and hazard reduction training and planning, as well as regular inspection and upgrading of sour gas operations.

Sulphur Recovery

Sour gas processing has been a strength of the Western Canadian oil and gas industry for 50 years. Canadian engineering companies are world leaders in optimizing processes to minimize environmental impacts, including the design of amine, sulphur recovery and incineration units. Canadian specialists have developed sophisticated trouble-shooting techniques, process testing, engineering evaluation routines and optimization programs.

Canadian companies offer expertise to the oil and gas industry in the areas of:

• amine and sour water treating
• sulphur recovery
• tail gas clean-up
• incineration
• sulphur storage
• sulphur handling and shipment

Air Quality - Resource Center