Environmental, social and governance (ESG) leadership and the road to net zero carbon are increasingly important to all industries. Understanding the Environmental impact of operations, how to minimize pollutants and highlighting the sustainability for future generations is forefront in today’s society. Socially responsible actions tie into the relevant benefits to society as a whole, and corporate Governance ensures that success. CDL believes that these initiatives are critical to ensuring a diverse and responsible future in Clean Technology. As world leaders in basin evaluation, we specialize in assessing reservoir properties, pressure, fluid flow, fluid chemistry and geomechanics. CDL’s extensive subsurface knowledge and GIS capabilities support Clean Technologies including Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS), Geothermal Energy, Critical Minerals and Water Disposal and Sourcing Solutions. Our deep understanding of depositional environments and fluid interactions in the subsurface has been CDL’s core competency for nearly 35 years and we are using this foundation to strategically deliver CCUS site identification, Deep Geothermal and Critical Mineral assessments to clients world-wide.

Carbon Capture Utilization & Storage

CCUS has become an important topic in today’s world. Carbon capture and storage technology is critical for Canada meeting its climate targets and assisting other countries around the world. We have completed a BC Carbon Sequestration and Storage Atlas, and will utilize this established workflow to evaluate carbon sequestration targets in Alberta and the US. The Alberta Atlas will build on our foundation of subsurface expertise in the world-class WCSB, with multiple extensive saline aquifers, seals, depleted gas pools and EOR opportunities. CDL’s preliminary estimate for economic CO₂ storage capacity is 150–300 million tonnes per annum. The Alberta CCUS Atlas will consist of two Phases:

• Phase I–Depleted Pools and EOR Opportunities
• Phase II–Geologic Storage

The US CO₂ Storage Atlas (joint venture with TGS), which is initially targeting the US onshore Gulf Coast region with consistent volumetrics, risk assessments and prospect ranking, has a target release date of Q3 2021.

Geothermal Energy

Geothermal Energy Extraction provides a low carbon and environmentally friendly baseload power opportunity with up to 3.7X the capacity factor of Solar. In 2021, there is ~15GW of Geothermal Energy development worldwide, with zero in Canada, although a number of projects are underway. The WCSB has multiple well-defined high deliverability aquifers in the 90°C to 140°C range. Rapid technological advancements in heat transfer technologies also provide promise for exploitation of Geothermal Energy at the lower end of this temperature range. Geothermal Energy development also leverages the Upstream Oil and Gas industries vast technical skill sets. CDL’s deep knowledge of the Basin’s geothermics and hydrogeology is ideally suited to identify viable aquifers as geothermal heat source targets and optimize their development relative to electrical transmission and distribution networks.

Critical & Strategic Minerals

Canada unveiled its Critical Minerals List in March 2021, comprising 31 minerals considered integral to the Canadian economy. These minerals will contribute to Canada’s economic and energy security, while playing a role in achieving Canada’s transition to a low-carbon environment. Lithium is garnering significant interest for its applications in lithium-ion batteries — a necessary technology to decarbonize energy infrastructure in the coming decades. CDL and its partner, Matrix Solutions, are leveraging each other’s strengths, in field execution and subsurface analysis, in a number of Lithium brine sampling and mapping programs across Western Canada.

• Synergies between existing oil and gas infrastructure of enriched brines
• Assessing current lithium and critical concentrations and quantities in these subsurface brines for future resource development
• Inform evolving regulatory policies and feasibility studies with geologic criteria and natural variability.

In the Digest

• A Brief But DEEP Update: Geothermal Energy Heats Up in SE Saskatchewan

  Tableland, SK

  Deep Earth Energy has completed its geothermal resource evaluation activities in southeast Saskatchewan. The Cambrian/Ordovician age reservoir is multi-zonal, comprising two fracture-connected porous units. Read more.

• Shell’s Quest for the Holy Grail of Carbon Capture and Storage

  Thorhild/Radway, AB

  Shell’s Quest facility in central Alberta is the world’s first commercial-scale carbon capture and storage project to sequester carbon dioxide emissions arising from oil sands development.Read more.

• Can Lithium Fuel Alberta’s Future?

  Petro-Lithium in Alberta

  The recovery of lithium from oilfield brines in Alberta is expected to help meet increasing demand for this metal, which is an important component of the rapidly growing rechargeable battery and power storage industry. This article examines the distribution of the element within the province and compares the two operators with the largest land bases (permit areas), that are poised to begin commercial recovery of this valuable resource.Read more.

• Hydrogen from Oil and Gas Reservoirs

  Sparking a Potentially Explosive Revolution?

  Proton Technologies is currently field testing production and collection of hydrogen gas from a heavy oil reservoir in west-central Saskatchewan. The process uses the reservoir as a reactor to produce hydrogen at depth while trapping the other reaction products underground. If successful, this method could significantly lower the costs of low (or zero) carbon emission hydrogen production for both industrial and transportation uses in the future.Read more.

• 2020 Western Canada Year in Review: Low Carbon and Critical Minerals

  The World of Tomorrow—Today!

  A growing number of operators continue to drive a gradual, but steady transformation of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin’s existing oil and gas industry to a lower carbon footprint. Other innovators are pursuing new sources of energy and new commodities outside of oil and gas.Read more.

Browse more Clean Technology articles in the Digest 

Contact Us

For over 30 years, CDL has worked with clients to explore new basins, optimize operations and assess opportunities in Western Canada, the U.S. and around the world. If you're looking for support with your Clean Technology projects and operations, contact us to discuss exclusive consultancy and consortia options tailored to fit your needs!