The Pathways Alliance found itself both a new president and a growing presence at the centre of some of the world’s most important climate and energy security discussions as it advanced its ambitious emissions reduction plans during its first full year of operations in 2022.
While 2023 is shaping up as a critical year for collaboration with governments to help implement the right policy and co-funding frameworks to advance major industry decarbonization projects, Pathways Alliance president Kendall Dilling said foundational work in 2022 set the organization up for success as it proceeds toward its net zero goal.
“This past year exceeded my expectations in many ways as we continued to develop collaborative and productive relationships with governments to advance our collective goals to sharply reduce emissions and ensure Canada is the world’s preferred supplier of responsibly produced energy,” said Dilling who was named president in June.
“While policies are still forming, we were very pleased to have contributed meaningfully to global discussions that we are confident will lead to ambitious and achievable policies to help Canada meet its climate commitments and ensure our country has a future role as a secure provider of energy in a net zero world.”
Here are some highlights:
- 2022 saw pooled resources to advance the Pathways Alliance foundational carbon capture and storage (CCS) project and advance other decarbonization technologies number approximately 500 people, including core staff, experts from the six member companies and contractors working on early-stage engineering and environmental baseline work.
- In Houston in March, a Pathways Alliance delegation brought short- and long-term solutions for responsibly produced and more secure energy supplies to U.S. decision makers, investors and media at CERAWeek, the world’s premier energy conference.
- The Alliance provided constructive responses to various government policy announcements including the federal Emissions Reduction Plan, the Investment Tax Credit and the Fall Economic Statement and contributed thoughtful opinion pieces like these to the Globe and Mail, Red Deer Advocate and Research Money.
- Early-stage engagement began in 2022 with Indigenous communities in northeastern Alberta on the foundational CCS project and company CEOs met directly with community leaders in June. In October, open house information sessions were held in Fort McMurray and Cold Lake with several Indigenous representatives.
- Also in June, the Pathways Alliance strengthened its efforts to produce the world’s most preferred barrel of responsibly produced oil by integrating the work of Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA), and the Oil Sands Community Alliance (OSCA) into the single Pathways Alliance organization. Kendall Dilling was appointed to lead the integration and the work of the new Pathways Alliance as the organization’s President.
- In late summer, Pathways Alliance responded directly to Canadians who told us they want our industry to clear the air by communicating openly and transparently with them about how oil sands producers are working together on our path to net zero. The Clear the Air advertising and public awareness campaign, currently in market, is one of the most wide-ranging in the industry’s history.
- In October, the Pathways Alliance achieved a significant milestone as it was selected by the Government of Alberta to continue evaluation work on our ambitious carbon capture and storage project. Work will help inform a regulatory application on the project that is expected to be filed in the second half of 2023.
- Also in October, Pathways Alliance announced an estimated spend of about $24 billion on its foundational project along with significant early-stage progress towards what would be one of the world’s largest CCS projects.
- In November, Pathways Alliance was pleased to be part of a diverse and dynamic Canadian delegation at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, to contribute, collaborate and listen to others on solutions to address climate change.
- Also in November, we zeroed in on the suite of technologies to help us achieve our net zero plan.
“I’m pleased to see how far we have come in 2022 and I’m optimistic about the path forward and with continued collaboration with governments, I’m excited to see what we will achieve next year,” Dilling said.