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Cenovus Energy will get a shot at promoting Canada’s oil and gas industry as secure, reliable and sustainable to power brokers at the upcoming Pacific NorthWest Economic Region summit in Calgary.
The company’s president and CEO, Alex Pourbaix, will team up with Mark Summers, chief strategy officer at Emissions Reduction Alberta, to deliver a progress report on the industry’s Pathway Alliance to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
The 31st annual PNWER conference on July 24-28 will draw hundreds of provincial and state legislators and businesses from across Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest states to discuss common issues from energy security and sustainability to supply chains, agriculture, forestry and tourism.
“These forums are extremely important for Canada and its oil and natural gas industry to showcase our abilities to provide reliable, secure and sustainable energy to our largest trading partner,” said Cenovus spokesperson Reg Curren.
“Given the push toward a lower-emissions energy mix, it’s more critical than ever that we have the opportunity to provide the U.S. and other Canadian jurisdictions with a strong understanding of our industry’s net zero ambition by 2050 and how we can all work together to achieve it.”
Cenovus is one of several players in the Oil Sands Pathways to Net Zero Alliance with plans to develop a major carbon capture, utilization and storage project.
Pourbaix will make PNWER leaders aware the Alliance just applied to the Alberta government in June to secure underground carbon storage rights near Cold Lake.
If approved, the storage hub could begin safely injecting and storing captured CO2 deep underground in a saline aquifer from a number of oil sands facilities by late 2026.
“There is no better way to create advocates for our industry than for them to hear directly from the people steering this important initiative that will help ensure that Cenovus and its industry peers continue to play a significant role in meeting the world’s energy demand, even as it moves toward a lower-carbon future,” said Curren.
The federal government plans to cut emissions in the sector by 42 per cent by 2030.
The federal environment minister issued a discussion paper on Monday outlining a cap and trade system and steeper carbon prices as options to cut emissions.
Curren says the conference gives legislators and business people from both sides of the border an understanding of Canada’s large, long-life, low-cost and geographically concentrated reserves and our strong track record of companies working together on emission reductions.
“Canadian companies, including Cenovus, are among the most sustainable among global peers when it comes to environmental, social and governance scores,” said Curren.
“Our oil and gas industry is simultaneously working to decarbonize barrels of oil and ensure a secure energy supply produced sustainably.”
Cenovus will be providing a pre-conference tour of one of its oil sands operations in northern Alberta for delegates to see first-hand how it is responsibly developing Canada’s oil resource.
Vermilion-Lloydminster-Wainwright MLA, Garth Roswell, will be on tour with the health minister during the summit and is unable to attend PNWER, but he plans to keep an ear to the ground on energy and agriculture issues of interest to his constituency.
“With regards to energy specifically some of the concentration will be adding another “S” to the acronym ESG (environmental social governance),” said Rowswell in an email statement.
He notes the second S stands for security.
“With recent geopolitical events around the world and how they have added to our cost of living in Canada, we are being reminded of how crucial fossil fuels are to our existence and how we need to have secure local supply.”
There will also be a cleantech showcase at PNWER highlighting innovative technology being pioneered across Alberta focused on reducing GHG emissions.
The list of speakers includes Saskatchewan minister of agriculture David Marit, who will be participating as part of a panel on supply chain challenges during the Agriculture Working Group.
Cross-border livestock health and transboundary wild boar are also on the agenda, along with presentations on invasive species emerging threats and countermeasures.
