Project Clear Horizon Carbon Sequestration Evaluation Agreement assigned to Imperial

Medicine Hat – The Government of Alberta has approved a request by the City of Medicine Hat to assign the Project Clear Horizon Carbon Sequestration Evaluation Agreement (CSEA) to Imperial Oil Limited (Imperial).

The Government of Alberta oversees the development of carbon sequestration hubs in the province and awarded pore space evaluation rights to the City of Medicine Hat in October 2022 through a Carbon Sequestration Evaluation Agreement (CSEA).

“It was important to ensure a carbon capture hub was considered in southeast Alberta and the City took the initiative to secure those rights for the region,” said Rochelle Pancoast, Managing Director of the City’s Energy, Land and Environment division. “We recognize the important economic and environmental role this hub can play in retaining our local emitting industrial partners, bolstering our ability to attract others, and maintaining the option to participate with our own carbon-emitting assets.”

The City of Medicine Hat and Imperial are now finalizing the terms of the transfer of the CSEA to Imperial, which will conduct feasibility work to determine if the geology is appropriate for permanent CO2 storage.

In making the decision to transfer, the City of Medicine Hat identified that Imperial, the Canadian affiliate of ExxonMobil, can leverage extensive global experience in carbon capture, transportation, and storage.

“We’ve completed extensive due diligence and are confident that Imperial has sufficient technical and financial resources – along with an unwavering commitment to safety, the environment, and the Medicine Hat community – to continue exploring the feasibility of a CO₂ sequestration hub,” adds Pancoast.

Natural Resources Canada has also approved a request by the City of Medicine Hat to assign the Project Clear Horizon contribution agreement to Imperial, effective February 18, 2025. The funding was awarded to support early engineering and design studies.

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Backgrounder

About Carbon Capture

• Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is the process of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from large emissions sources, such as power generation and industrial facilities, and storing it in deep underground geologic formations so that it is not emitted into the atmosphere.
• CCS is typically applied to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and is being evaluated in Medicine Hat in response to Canada’s decarbonization targets.

Project Clear Horizon history

• In April 2022, the City of Medicine Hat was one of 11 successful applicants to secure funding from Natural Resources Canada for front-end engineering and design (FEED) studies for large-scale CCUS projects.
• At the same time, the City of Medicine Hat was awarded funding through Emissions Reduction Alberta for the portion of Project Clear Horizon that will investigate carbon capture potential at the City’s electric generation facilities. This work will continue as planned.
• On October 4, 2022 the Government of Alberta announced the City of Medicine Hat had been awarded the right to evaluate the geology for carbon sequestration within a permitted area. The Carbon Sequestration Evaluation Agreement grants the City exclusive rights to evaluate the potential of reservoir rock deep in the subsurface for injection and storage of CO2 within the evaluation area.
• In June 2024, Council authorized staff to contemplate commercial arrangements related to Project Clear Horizon.