This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Sustainability
Methane
A single CVW™ project can abate up to 500,000 tonnes per annum of CO2 equivalents (primarily methane).
Solvent lost to tailings ponds via froth treatment tailings serves as a substrate for methanogenic fermentation in tailings ponds. Solvent deposited into a mature tailings pond results in fugitive methane release from ponds to the atmosphere. This is a serious issue reported in numerous science based studies.
What is Methane and its Health Effects
Methane is a colourless, odourless gas that occurs in nature and as a product of human activities. Methane is the simplest member of the paraffin series of hydrocarbons and is among the most potent of the greenhouse gases (GHGs). According to Environment and Climate Change Canada’s National Inventory Report (2024), the oil and gas sector is responsible for 50% of Canada’s methane emissions, making the sector the largest methane emitter in Canada.
The oil and gas sector is the largest source of methane emissions in Canada
Methane has significant impacts on both the environment and human health. GHGs, including methane, are a major contributor to climate change. Increased concentrations of methane in the atmosphere contribute to the greenhouse effect, whereby GHGs absorb heat energy and reradiate it back to Earth’s surface, trapping heat and producing substantial negative changes in climate.
According to the International Energy Agency, methane is responsible for around 30% of the current rise in global temperature
Methane results in poor air quality by contributing to the formation of ground level ozone and particulate pollution. Human exposure to ozone and particulate pollution damages airways, aggravates lung diseases, causes asthma attacks, increases rates of preterm birth, increases the risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, and heightens the risk of stroke.
The Impact of Methane is Understated
Per direction from the Government of Alberta, methane is currently reported by the oil sands operators using a ‘global warming potential’ factor of 28 (1 tonne of methane = 28 tonnes of CO2 equivalent). However, the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has identified three other GWPs for methane, depending on the time horizon being evaluated.
| GWP – 20 years horizon | GWP – 100 years horizon | |
| Upper Bound | 84 | 36 |
| Lower Bound | 87 | 28 |
Over a near-term period, methane is 84-87 times the impact of CO2, and over a 100 year horizon, methane is 28-36 times the impact of CO2. Current methane emissions are reported to the government using the lowest factor in the range.
GHG Abatement From a CVW™ Implementation
The CVW™ technology is designed to deliver significant emissions avoidance and reductions at an oil sands mining site. The key to abating these fugitive methane emissions from tailings is to prevent solvents from entering tailings ponds. CVW™ reduces naphtha lost to froth treatment tailings by over 90% and, through an industry wide deployment, would abate of up to 3,000,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalents per year.