Emissions management
Lowering our carbon footprint
At the core of our efforts to improve our environmental performance is emissions management. We are proud to have one of the lowest GHG emissions intensities in our Canadian peer group, and aspire to be the lowest in North America. Our emissions management efforts focus on:
- strategic evaluation of current and emerging technologies to proactively meet or exceed regulations (REDUCE)
- electrification of our facilities (SHIFT)
- generation of carbon credits and offsets to fund additional environmental initiatives (OFFSET)
Reduce: Clean technology
Clean technologies are critical to reducing our emissions. Technology pilot projects are evaluated based on operability, scalability, cost and overall impact to environmental performance.
To-date, we have implemented waste heat recovery, electricity optimization and lower carbon fuel and engine conversions. Through facility design, process optimization and retrofitting existing assets, we are making measurable improvements in our emissions performance. We are also focused on reducing methane emissions by implementing initiatives that reduce fuel consumption and target methane emissions from venting and fugitive sources.
Through waste heat recovery, more than 35,000 tCO2e was avoided in 2021.
Displacing diesel with fuel gas has reduced emissions by approximately 15% per pad in 2021.
In 2021, instrument air conversions accounted for more than 175,000 tCO2e avoided.
Shift: Electrification
Our focus on electrification began in 2011, with the electrification of our Dawson I and II facilities. We have continued to electrify additional facilities, including a substation at our Sunrise and Parkland facilities. We also plan to electrify our Dawson III and IV facilities which we anticipate will eliminate approximately 125,000 tCO2e per year. Electrification has contributed to our ability to deliver industry-leading, low-emissions production.
Through electrification, we avoid approximately 275,000 tCO2e per year – the equivalent of taking 60,000 cars off the road.
Offset: Carbon credits
For emissions that cannot be eliminated or shifted, offsets are required to achieve low emissions. Our primary sources for carbon offsets are instrument air conversions, high-to-low bleed pneumatic conversions, waste heat recovery and electrification.
Revenue generated from carbon offsets is reinvested into additional emissions reduction projects to further improve performance.
In 2020 and 2021, we generated approximately $15.8 million in carbon offset revenue.
Methane management
Today, ARC has one of the lowest methane emissions intensities in our Canadian peer group. Our goal is to reduce our methane emissions intensity by 20% by 2025.
Initiatives focused on reducing our instrument gas fuel consumption, fugitive emissions leaks, electrification and flaring optimization, are improving our methane emissions performance.
Since 2019, we have reduced our methane emissions intensity by 18%.
Learn more
For more information on our emissions management program and performance, read our 2022 ESG Report.
