Canada’s largest carbon capture project now sits on the same timeline as its largest export project.
On October 1 in Fort McMurray, Prime Minister Mark Carney listed the West Coast Oil Pipeline, now known as Pacific Link, as a project of national interest under the Building Canada Act. In the same release, the Prime Minister’s Office said Ottawa is working with the Government of Alberta to advance “the Pathways Project, one of the world’s largest carbon capture and storage projects.”
The two projects are formally linked. Under the trilateral memorandum of understanding signed by Canada, Alberta and the Oil Sands Alliance on July 2, the parties state that the pipeline and Pathways are mutually dependent. Progress on one is progress on the other.
That makes the October designation a meaningful signal for Canadian CCUS.
What the Designation Sets in Motion
Listing Pacific Link under the Building Canada Act moves it into a single federal review led by the Major Projects Office, with support from the Canada Energy Regulator. According to the Prime Minister’s Office, the office will work to finalise the project’s conditions by September 1, 2027, clearing the way for construction.
The ownership structure is also taking shape. Canada and Alberta will share equal ownership, Indigenous communities will be offered a minimum 10% ownership interest, and Pembina Pipeline will hold a 10% economic interest through construction, according to Oil & Gas Journal. Trans Mountain Corporation leads project development.
The pipeline is designed to export an additional one million barrels a day.
Alberta’s own project page is explicit about the connection, stating that the July agreement to advance Pathways “will support the development of Pacific Link.”
Pathways by the Numbers
Pathways is being developed by the five members of the Oil Sands Alliance: Canadian Natural, Cenovus Energy, ConocoPhillips Canada, Imperial and Suncor. The alliance describes it as a CO2 transportation network and storage hub, with Canadian Natural holding the permits on the members’ behalf.
The federal backgrounder on the July memorandum sets out the core commitments:
- 6 million tonnes per year of net emissions reductions through Pathways CCS, fully in place by January 1, 2035
- Shared transportation and storage infrastructure operating by January 1, 2032
- A further 10 million tonnes per year as a shared goal, 5 million by 2040 and 5 million by 2045
- Definitive legal agreements targeted on or before November 15, 2026
World Oil, reporting on the framework on September 30, notes that the overall target across the period reaches 16 million tonnes per year. The Prime Minister’s Office said in July that Pathways would contribute more than $16 billion to Canada’s GDP and support more than 40,000 jobs annually.
A Policy Package Built Around Storage
What distinguishes Pathways from earlier rounds of Canadian CCS policy is how many levers are being pulled at once.
Alberta has committed to extend its Carbon Capture Incentive Program to 2035, issue a Carbon Sequestration Agreement for the Pathways projects and their planned storage complex, and apply a 120 day approval timeline for qualified projects.
Ottawa has committed to advance financing for CCS operating costs, including measures to strengthen the durability of the Clean Fuel Regulations, and to review technical clarifications and industry concerns on the CCUS investment tax credit.
The carbon pricing design adds a performance incentive. Under Alberta’s TIER system, benchmark stringency drops from 2% to 1% for companies that deliver their share of the 6 million tonnes through CCS.
That combination matters. Capital support has long been available. Operating cost support, faster approvals and a pricing incentive tied directly to delivered tonnes address the parts of the business case that have been hardest to close.
Building on a Proven Base
Pathways is not starting from zero.
Alberta’s Quest project has operated since 2015, with capture capacity of more than 1 million tonnes of CO2 per year and more than 9 million tonnes captured to date, according to the Oil Sands Alliance. Canadian Natural holds a majority interest in the Athabasca Oil Sands Project that includes Quest, and the CO2 is stored more than 2,000 metres underground.
That operating record gives regulators, investors and engineers a decade of Canadian injection and monitoring experience to draw on as Pathways moves from framework to construction.
What Comes Next for Canadian CCUS
The next milestone is clear: definitive agreements targeted on or before November 15, 2026. Those agreements will set each company’s specific commitments and milestones.
For the wider industry, the implications reach beyond the oil sands. A shared trunk network and storage complex of this scale creates demand for engineering, compression, pipe, wells and monitoring services. It also builds regulatory muscle, from sequestration agreements to approval timelines, that other Canadian emitters in cement, fertilizer and power can use.
Will the November agreements hold to schedule?
Will the 2032 infrastructure date become the anchor for a broader Alberta storage network?
Those answers will define the next phase of Canadian carbon management.
Pacific Link put Canada’s export ambitions on a federal timeline. Pathways is what makes that timeline credible.
