The Petroleum Technology Research Centre (PTRC), manager of the Aquistore carbon dioxide storage project near Estevan, announced the signing of a letter of understanding with Dr. Rick Chalaturnyk at the University of Alberta where future work and collaboration will focus on carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) research and capacity-building in Mexico.
Dr. Chalaturnyk is the research chair in reservoir geomechanics for unconventional resources at the U of A and a former research lead with the PTRC’s Weyburn- Midale Project, the world’s largest monitored CCUS project.
The letter of understanding was signed during the recent North American Energy Ministers Trilateral Meeting on CCUS in Mexico City in April. It allows the U of A access to valuable research work conducted at Aquistore. These data and results will be leveraged against the C$16 million in research funding provided to the university by Secreteria de Energia de Mexico (SENER) to improve and expand Mexico’s hydrocarbon sector.
“The site characterization, modelling, geomechanical and geophysical research undertaken at Aquistore will be a valuable resource for Mexican research projects and planned CCUS deployment,” said Ken From, CEO of the PTRC. “Dr. Chalaturnyk currently provides research guidance to Aquistore as part of his membership on the Science and Engineering Research Committee.”
“We are developing a five-year work plan centred on hydrocarbon-related joint research,” Chalaturnyk said, “to assist Mexico in developing and training scientists and other specialists, including graduate students, in the areas of carbon capture, utilization, storage, and hydrocarbon development.”
Aquistore, the world’s first carbon dioxide storage project from a coal-fired power plant, has been injecting into a deep saline geologic formation for over a year with cumulative injection now over 65,000 tonnes. PTRC is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions globally through the research and deployment of CCUS technologies. The letter of understanding will increase opportunities for research projects and knowledge sharing opportunities between Mexico and PTRC.
