For CCS to have an impact on global CO₂ emissions, it needs to be supported by governments and taken up widely by industry. Effective government support and robust regulatory frameworks will continue to be critical to accelerating the momentum of CCS implementation worldwide.

Quest is the first commercial application of CCS in the oil sands industry. It is part of the Athabasca Oil Sands Project. It is operated by Shell on behalf of the Athabasca Oil Sands Project (AOSP), a joint venture, whereby assets are held in aggregate, directly and indirectly between Canadian Natural Resources Limited and an affiliate (CNRL) 70%, Chevron Canada Limited (Chevron) 20% and Shell Canada Limited and certain subsidiaries (Shell) 10%. Additionally, Quest was made possible through funding for CCS from the governments of Alberta and Canada (C$745 million and C$120 million). From the outset, any intellectual property or data generated by Quest has been publicly available, in collaboration with the governments of Alberta and Canada, to help bring down future costs of CCS and encourage wider use of the technology around the world.

In September 2016, the Global CCS Institute [D1] held a global CCS classroom event at Quest with CCS experts from around the world to explore lessons from our experience.

Shell and the US Department of Energy are field-testing advanced monitoring technologies alongside the state-of-the-art, comprehensive monitoring program already in place for Quest.

The United Kingdom’s Energy Technologies Institute, the University of Birmingham, the British government and Shell will support an eight-month secondment of a doctoral university student at Quest to focus on carbon capture and CO₂ transportation. This delivers on the UK Canada Joint Statement on CCS [D2] issued in 2014.

In addition to Quest, Shell is involved in a slate of leading CCS projects worldwide. Building know-how in carbon capture and storage is one of the immediate actions Shell is taking to address climate change.

Our focus in Canada at the moment is on knowledge sharing through Quest.