Imperial Oil gives OK to $720M renewable diesel project near Edmonton
Imperial Oil Ltd. is going ahead with a $720-million project to build a renewable diesel facility at its Strathcona refinery near Edmonton.
The project, first announced in August 2021, is expected to produce 20,000 barrels per day of renewable diesel once it is complete.
That will make it the largest facility of its kind in Canada, upon its expected completion in 2025, and one of the largest renewable diesel complexes in North America.
"We would consider ourselves world-class. When you look around the world, there are not many (renewable diesel) plants at 20,000 barrels per day or higher," said Jon Wetmore, Imperial's vice-president for downstream, in an interview Thursday.
Renewable diesel is the term given to a biomass-based fuel that is chemically equivalent to petroleum diesel. This means it can be transported directly in petroleum pipelines or sold at retail stations without any infrastructure modifications or fuel blending.
Renewable diesel can be made from vegetable oil, animal fats, used cooking oil or even algae. In Imperial's case, the Strathcona refinery facility will use locally sourced vegetable oils — such as canola, soybean and sunflower.
Imperial will also be partnering with Pennsylvania-based Air Products — which is building a hydrogen facility near Edmonton — to supply hydrogen via pipeline to the Strathcona refinery. The low-carbon hydrogen will also be used in the production of the renewable diesel.
As a non-fossil fuel-based product, the renewable diesel produced at the Imperial facility is expected to reduce annual greenhouse emissions by about three million tonnes compared to conventional fuels, the company said.
A significant portion of the production from the Strathcona renewable diesel facility will be sent to British Columbia to support the province’s plan to lower carbon emissions, and the company also plans to use renewable diesel in its own operations as part of its emission reduction plans.
The facility's construction will create about 600 direct construction jobs, Imperial said.
"A big day for Alberta, for Canada, and above all for workers with this new step forward from Imperial Oil," federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said on Twitter.
"This investment will create and support jobs, lower emissions, and help ensure Canada’s economic prosperity."
The news was also praised by clean energy think-tank the Pembina Institute, which called it a "positive announcement."
Pembina, as well as other environmental organizations, has been critical of the Canadian oilsands industry over the last year for what the think-tank believes is the industry's failure to move quickly on decarbonization plans during a period of high commodity prices and record profits for oil companies.
Imperial, for example, reported its 2022 third-quarter profit more than doubled compared with a year ago, totalling $2.03 billion — an impressive figure that's been used as ammunition by critics who believe the company, and others like it, can afford to invest more into environmental initiatives.
Imperial is also a member of the Pathways Alliance, a consortium of oil and gas companies that have committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from operations by 2050. Among that group's proposals is a massive carbon capture and storage network in northern Alberta, though a final investment decision for that project has not yet been made.
Jan Gorski, the Pembina Institute's oil and gas program director, said in order to thrive in a net-zero world, Canadian energy companies need to diversify away from fossil fuels, while at the same time reducing the carbon footprint of their oil and gas production methods.
The renewable diesel announcement, Gorski said, falls into that first category.
"It's a perfect example of that," Gorski said. "But we’re still waiting to see investments in reducing emissions from their existing operations."
Wetmore said from Imperial's perspective, renewable diesel is just one piece within a "layered" emissions reduction challenge.
“Decarbonization is such a diverse set of issues that there is no one item here that is a silver bullet that can be done quickly and easily," he said. "If that was the case, the oil industry would have already moved on to the very, quick urgent projects that we could drive home very quickly.
"(Renewable diesel) can be implemented sooner than things like carbon capture, and some of the technologies that are not quite ready."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 26, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
Body of Quebec man who died in Cuba found in Russia, family confirms
A Montreal-area family confirmed to CTV News that the body of their loved one who died while on vacation in Cuba is being repatriated to Canada after it was mistakenly sent to Russia.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
Saskatchewan isn't remitting the carbon tax on home heating. Why isn't my province following suit?
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
Montreal actress calls Weinstein ruling 'discouraging' but not surprising
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
RCMP officers had no legal authority to enter man's home, make arrest: B.C. court
A B.C. man has been found not guilty of assaulting two RCMP officers – with the court finding he was resisting an "unlawful entry and arrest" in his home before he was tasered, taken down and hauled away in handcuffs.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.