Wood secures engineering contract for Pathways Alliance CCS pipeline

Wood will perform engineering services for a significant carbon capture and storage (CCS) pipeline project involving Canada’s six largest oil sands producers.

The contract, awarded by the Pathways Alliance, will support the engineering and design of an approximately 400-kilometre main transportation line and laterals linking oil sands facilities in Fort McMurray, Christina Lake and Cold Lake regions with a subsurface carbon sequestration hub near Cold Lake. The distribution system, along with the required metering and booster stations will gather and transport up to 40 Mt/year of carbon dioxide from more than 20 oil sands facilities by 2050.

The transportation pipeline system with varying diameters is a key component of the Pathways Alliance foundational project that is expected to reduce emissions by 10 to 12 million tonnes annually by 2030, about half of the Alliance’s 22 million tonne goal by the end of this decade.

Established in 2021, the Pathways Alliance operates about 95% of Canada’s oil sands production and is working, with the support of the Canadian and Alberta governments, to achieve the goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions from oil sands production by 2050.

John Day, Senior Vice President of Oil and Gas, Americas, at Wood, said: “The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is imperative for our energy future. The collaboration and innovation fostered by the members of the Pathways Alliance is a prominent response to the world’s growing emissions while maintaining critical energy supply from these important assets.

“We are proud to partner with the Pathways Alliance as we incorporate learnings from our initial studies to inform the next stage of engineering for the transportation pipeline system. Wood is a recognised leader in carbon capture and carbon dioxide pipelines, and we have been aiding emission reduction projects for decades.

“Our detailed knowledge of the Canadian oil sands and their producing organisations allows us to make a significant impact on this project which will help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Canada and further afield.”