Shell starts a first-of-its-kind carbon storage operations at an oil sands facility in Canada to the praise of the International Energy Agency. Photo courtesy of Royal Dutch Shell

PARIS, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- The launch in Canada of the world's first carbon capture project for oil sands is a welcome statement from an industry under the microscope, the IEA said.

With momentum building for the U.N. climate negotiations in Paris, the International Energy Agency said the Canadian oil sands industry was taking remarkable steps with the launch of a novel carbon capture and storage project, which is meant to reduce emissions from oil-sands processing facilities in Alberta.


Royal Dutch Shell last week started operations at its Quest CCS project, which the company said would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1 million tons per year by storing it deep underground.

"The launch of the Quest CCS project in Alberta, Canada, is remarkable, as it provides another excellent example of the fact that CCS is about so much more than just coal-fired power," IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said. "It can be used in many industrial sectors where no other solutions exist to significantly reduce the CO2 footprint."

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Shell in October joined nine of the world's largest oil and natural companies in expressing their support for a climate change agreement on the table for the United Nations in Paris later this month.

"We are committed to playing our part," their joint statement read.

Through the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, the companies said they're committed to "significant actions" to cut greenhouse gas emissions from their operations. The 10 companies combined for about 10 percent of all global energy supplies and said they've reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by around 20 percent over the past 10 years.

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In a 2013 study, the IEA described CCS as a "necessary addition" to other low-carbon energy technologies meant to drive down global greenhouse gas emissions.

The launch of the project in Alberta coincides with a decision from the U.S. government to deny a permit to Canadian pipeline company TransCanada to build its cross-border Keystone XL project, designed in part to carry the heavier form of Canadian crude oil to southern U.S. refineries.

President Barack Obama, in citing environmental concerns about Canadian crude oil, said "shipping dirtier crude oil into our country" did not align with U.S. energy priorities.

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