FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The province has announced that it is investing in projects that will reportedly reduce climate pollution, create job opportunities and support innovation in the industry, including multiple projects in northeastern B.C.
According to a release from the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Energy, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. in Fort St. John is receiving $282,781 of provincial funding.
Canadian Natural will use this funding to install heat exchangers on each of their two condensate trains at the Fort St. John gas processing facility to transfer excess heat from the hot outlet condensate to the cold inlet condensate.
This will recover waste heat, which reduces gas consumption and makes the process more energy efficient.
Oil & Gas Permits Download
Wells Drilled in BC Last 12 Months
NorthRiver Midstream Inc. is receiving $6.43 million of provincial funding to install a system of 15 waste heat recovery units and five diverter valves to capture heat from drivers during planned outages.
This installation will reportedly reduce the annual emissions of the Jedney facility by exchanging heat from the engine exhausts with the process.
NorthRiver Midstream Operations in the District of Taylor and Fort Nelson received $180,000 for a study that will evaluate the opportunity to update a gas-processing facility to produce “blue hydrogen” and includes a feasibility assessment.
The feasibility assessment is on the technology required to produce hydrogen, capture emissions, reservoir storage, hydrogen transportation and commercial hydrogen utilization in the area.
NorthRiver Midstream Operations in the District of Taylor is receiving an additional $150,000 to evaluate the technical feasibility of post-combustion carbon capture technologies and reservoir storage options for the Taylor Cogeneration facility.
This facility is a natural gas power station primarily used as a steam supply to NorthRiver Midstream gas-processing plant to provide power to the electricity grid.
The province is providing Ovintiv Canada ULC with $1.8 million to upgrade four Waukesha compressor engines in compression stations to new high-efficiency units.
This will reportedly reduce the methane leakage and fuel consumed by the older engines.
Ovintiv Canada ULC will receive an additional $2.43 million to upgrade approximately 78 compressors with more efficient valves in processing facilities.
This will reduce the energy and fuel required to run these compressors.
Wells Drilled BC in 2022
The province is funding Petronas Energy Canada with $240,808 for a project that will reportedly eliminate the venting of methane used to operate facility equipment.
Petronas will do this by installing a new instrument air-compression system run by a set of new 25-kilowatt generators.
The smaller generators will allow the facility to shut down a set of 75-kilowatt generators.
The release says this model will reduce fuel consumption and eliminate methane venting.
Petronas is receiving an additional $290,116 of provincial funding for a project that will use remote-sensor technology at their facilities for continuous methane emission detecting, measurement and monitoring.
The release says this leak detection improves on its current practice of conducting methane fugitive surveys a couple of times a year in person.
Tourmaline Oil Corp is receiving $2.65 million in provincial funding to install five waste-heat exchangers on compressors in its natural gas processing facility.
These exchangers are expected to meet the heat demand for the facility, replacing a natural gas-fired boiler as the primary heating source.
This will reportedly reduce the amount of natural gas necessary for heating and increase the facility’s energy efficiency.
Tourmaline Oil Corp is receiving an additional $300,000 to assess the technical and economic feasibility of different post-combustion flue-gas carbon-capture technologies, including chemical solvents, membranes, solid sorbents and hybrid systems at multiple natural gas processing plants.
ConocoPhillips Canada Resource Corp. is receiving $270,946 in provincial funding for the use of remote-sensor technology at their facilities for continuous methane emission detecting, measurement and monitoring.
The release says this leak detection improves on its current practice of conducting methane fugitive surveys a couple of times a year in person.
NOVA Gas Transmissions Ltd. is receiving $47,169 of provincial funding to determine the suitability of installing turboexpander technology at its natural gas compressor stations in B.C.
This technology has been identified as a potential emissions-free energy source that harnesses the energy created through the pressure reduction of natural gas from a high pressure to lower, usable pressure.
The energy from this usable pressure can reportedly be used to generate up to 42 kilowatts of clean power by spinning a direct-drive generator shaft.
The provincial government is giving $96,000 to Veresen Midstream LP to determine the scope, cost and schedule for capturing emissions from the flue gas of two process heat-medium heaters for potential carbon dioxide recovery and underground sequestration.
This would reportedly mitigate a significant part of the emissions at the gas plant.
This funding comes from the CleanBC Industry Fund of $25 million in carbon tax revenue.
The release says the projects are part of the third round of the program, leveraging close to $12 million in additional industry funding into the clean economy.