Weather events linked to global climate change are regularly featured in the news. The Earth has been through many significant climate pattern changes throughout geologic history, as evidenced within the many geologic formations we drill through to access oil and gas resources, and more recent data within sediment and ice core studies. However, the rate of change since human industrialization and related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to the atmosphere, points to a cause and future that may be unsustainable with current activities. Though CO2 average atmospheric concentration is currently only ~420 parts per million, this is a 50 per cent increase from pre-industrial time, and is rising.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS), also referred to as sequestration, describes methods to both prevent additional CO2 emissions and potentially reduce CO2 already in the atmosphere. The prominent technology, already in use at several sites around the world, is the capture of CO2 from industrial site flue stacks (chimneys), compression of the CO2 gas into a liquid state, and injection into the deep subsurface for permanent storage. The geologic conditions of pressure and temperature at depths greater than ~800 meters below the surface keep the CO2 in a dense state, occupying only about 1/300th of the volume that the same mass would in the atmosphere. CCS projects are described as storing megatonnes (millions of tonnes) of CO2.

The BC Energy Regulator (BCER) is responsible, under the Oil and Gas Activities Act and the Energy Resource Activities Act, for the regulation of CCS activity; the facilities compressing the CO2, pipelines transporting this CO2 and the wells and reservoirs of a CCS project.

An applicant is required to own the subsurface rights for the formation in which the CO2 will be stored, administered by the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation. The BCER publishes a CCS application guide, outlining the detailed knowledge required to include in the written application submission. A BCER multidisciplinary team of professionals considers the suitability of the reservoir and the wells for the purpose of CCS; protection of the environment, including aquifers containing useable water, and safety are top of mind. One of many considerations is the avoidance of injection that may result in induced seismicity. In northeast B.C., injection would result in CO2 being locked in formations that have contained fluids for millions of years.

A CCS approval from the BCER would contain numerous enforceable conditions regarding operations, monitoring, measurement, testing and reporting. A CCS project is subject to a Standard published by the Canadian Standards Association. The consultation process with land owners, communities, and First Nations is key to any CCS project.

To date, there are no dedicated CCS projects approved in British Columbia, however the BCER and industry have decades of experience in northeast B.C. with safe deep injection and storage of produced water and acid gas, a combination of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide removed from produced natural gas.

Though northeast B.C. is a primary area of interest for CCS, other areas of the province have geology, which may be suitable for CCS projects utilizing slightly different technology. The BCER is engaged with industry researchers and academics who continue to study CCS.