{"id":761149,"date":"2026-07-13T21:59:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T21:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/761149\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T21:59:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T21:59:09","slug":"alberta-ottawa-and-top-oil-producers-agree-to-advance-the-pathways-carbon-capture-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/761149\/","title":{"rendered":"Alberta, Ottawa and top oil producers agree to advance the Pathways carbon capture project"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Pipelines run at Suncor’s McKay River oilsands operation near Fort McMurray, Alta., in 2014. Suncor is one of five major oil producers that has signed on to the Pathways project.Todd Korol\/Reuters<\/p>\n

Alberta, Ottawa and Canada\u2019s five largest oil sands companies have signed an agreement to push forward a massive carbon capture project in the province\u2019s north, while setting the stage for a substantial increase in crude production.<\/p>\n

The agreement stems from a memorandum of understanding signed by the provincial and federal governments in November, which tied a new oil pipeline from Alberta to the West Coast to lowering emissions through the carbon capture project, called Pathways.<\/p>\n

Under the new tripartite agreement \u2013 signed July 2 but made public Monday \u2013 the governments and companies signalled their support for the development of financial and regulatory frameworks that would \u201cenable sustained and substantial oil sands development and production growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

The companies that signed the agreement are Suncor SU-T<\/a>, Cenovus CVE-T<\/a>, ConocoPhillips COP-N<\/a>, Canadian Natural Resources CNQ-N<\/a> and Imperial IMO-T<\/a>. Collectively, they make up the Oil Sands Alliance.<\/p>\n

West Coast oil pipeline has yet to secure private-sector backing, Carney confirms<\/a><\/p>\n

The Pathways project will be built in stages, but is expected to be in service by Jan. 1, 2032 and completed by Jan. 1, 2035. The agreement sets the expectation that through the carbon capture project, the companies will reduce emissions by six megatonnes per year beginning in 2035. They will be expected to find an additional 10 megatonnes per year of emissions cuts by 2045 from a \u201crange of technologies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under the agreement, the federal government said it would update its clean fuel regulations and offer financing support for the operating costs of carbon capture projects, such as Pathways.<\/p>\n

The provincial government said it would \u201cimplement financial supports\u201d to encourage oil production growth to fill its proposed new pipeline from Alberta to the West Coast, along with various lines that are expanding their capacity, such as the Trans Mountain and Enbridge Mainline systems.<\/p>\n

Andrew Willis: Alberta plays weak hand in poker game over Pathways carbon capture project<\/a><\/p>\n

Under the terms, each one that meets its reduction milestone will be entitled to a smaller increase in the amount it would otherwise have to pay under the province\u2019s carbon price. But should they fail to meet the target, or have no plan on how to get there, a 2-per-cent increase will apply.<\/p>\n

Companies must also make \u201creasonable efforts\u201d to prioritize Canadian technologies, service providers, steel and aluminum in their emissions-reduction projects.<\/p>\n

Alberta recently legislated a 120-day, streamlined approval timeline for \u201cqualified projects,\u201d such as those that would ramp up production in the oil sands. It noted in the new agreement that it would also establish a bilateral working group with the Oil Sands Alliance to \u201creview and address\u201d issues and development barriers identified by oil companies. <\/p>\n

All signatories agreed to consult and work with Indigenous groups, including pursuing their participation in the Pathways project.<\/p>\n

A second agreement with more details is due by Nov. 15, 2026.<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: This story has been updated to correct the date when the Pathways comes into service and to clarify the target for emissions reductions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Pipelines run at Suncor’s McKay River oilsands operation near Fort McMurray, Alta., in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":761150,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[2428,2416,2429,4,2408,2430,103,2407,2422,2423,2418,2409,2406,101,526,192,2421,2414,2441,2410,2411,2420,2417,149,983,2431,2413,2436,2437,2439,2434,2438,2432,2435,2412,2425,2426,111,2424,2433,79,2415,74,2427,2419,194,965,2440],"class_list":["post-761149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-science","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/761149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=761149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/761149\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/761150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=761149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=761149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=761149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}