To benefit from the gathering of international CCS experts for the IEAGHG members meeting, the Petroleum Technology Research Centre of Regina organised a one day symposium on Canadian and global CCS developments.

After the welcomes by the host Malcolm Wilson(PTRC), Kelly Thabmimuthu (IEAGHG) and the Deputy Minister of the Economy for Saskachewan Kent Campbell, John Gale (IEAGHG) gave an update of CCS project activity around the world. John announced the news that the observatory on Mauna Loa was detecting tat atmposphereic CO2 levels had reached 400ppm. The first time since the Pliocene era.

Of particular note were the presentations on Canadian activities. Boundary Dam power station is well underway in construction of a post-combustion capture system, which in 2014 will capture 1 million tCO2 pa for storage in the Aquistore project and use in the Weyburn EOR operation. This is he first full-scale capture plant on a coal power station in the world. A new CO2 pipeline 41 miles long will be constructed within the next year for this.

Also of interest was the development of CO2-EOR for the heavy oil reservoirs, and the monitoring programme with international collaboration for the Aquistore project.
Canada also led the world with the first standard for CO2 geological storage (CSA Z741) and are leading in the international work of ISO to develop international standards.
Shell's Quest project is also under construction, taking CO2 from an oil upgrader plant to store in a deep saline formation.

Also of note is Cenovus's Weyburn CO2-EOR project, which although the monitoring research project (IEAGHG Weyburn-Midale CO2 Monitoring and Storage Project) completed in 2012 with the production of a best practice guide, Cenovus will continue monitoring the CO2 flood with 3D seismic and testing new techniques in the overburden.
The symposium was sponsored by Stantec, Saskatchewan Ministry of the Economy, Schlumberger Carbon Services, and Suncor Energy.