Stationary Combustion/
Oil and Gas Extraction

Emissions from the extraction of oil and gas have risen steadily and enormously over the past three decades.

Google Gemini's assessment of what causes these emissions

This can be a confusing part of the report because "extraction" sounds like a purely mechanical process (digging or drilling), but in Canada, it is actually a massive thermal (heat-based) process.

Stationary Combustion in this context refers to burning fossil fuels (usually natural gas or diesel) in fixed equipment to generate heat or power necessary to run the extraction operations.

It is distinct from "Mobile Combustion" (trucks, excavators) and "Fugitive/Flaring" emissions (leaks or burning waste gas).

Here is a breakdown of the specific processes and why combustion is required for them.

1. Generating Steam for "In-Situ" Oil Sands (The Largest Source)

This is likely the single biggest driver of stationary combustion numbers in Canada's report.

• The Problem: A huge portion of Canada’s oil (bitumen) is underground but is too thick and heavy to flow like normal crude oil. It has the consistency of peanut butter or hockey pucks.
• The Combustion Solution: Companies use massive gas-fired boilers to turn water into high-pressure steam.
• The Process: This steam is injected underground (processes like SAGD - Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage). The heat from the steam melts the bitumen, lowering its viscosity so it can be pumped to the surface.
• Why it counts: You have to burn a significant amount of natural gas to create enough steam to melt the oil. This is why "extraction" has such high combustion emissions.

2. Driving Compressors and Pumps

Oil and gas sites are often in remote areas without access to the electrical grid. To move fluids and gases, they need massive mechanical power.

• The Combustion Solution: Instead of electric motors, they use large stationary internal combustion engines (similar to a giant car engine) or gas turbines (similar to a jet engine bolted to the ground).
• The Process:
  • Gas Extraction: Natural gas doesn't always flow out of the well at high enough pressure to enter a pipeline. Huge compressors, driven by gas-fired engines, suck the gas out of the ground and compress it for transport.
  • Oil Extraction: Pumps (like "pump jacks") need power to lift oil to the surface.
• Why it counts: These engines run 24/7, usually burning the raw natural gas produced at the site (field gas) to keep the operation moving.

3. "Heater Treaters" and Separation

Once oil and gas reach the surface, they are usually a messy mixture of oil, gas, water, and sand. They cannot be put into a sales pipeline in this state.

• The Combustion Solution: The mixture is passed through Heater Treaters or Separators. These are large vessels with a fire-tube inside (burning natural gas).
• The Process:
  • Separation: Heat helps break the emulsion of oil and water (like separating salad dressing) so the water can be removed.
  • Flow Assurance: In Canada's cold climate, the fluids would freeze or turn into a slush without heat. Combustors keep the oil hot enough to flow through the pipes at the surface facility.
  • Dehydration: Natural gas often comes up "wet" (saturated with water). Glycol dehydrators use a gas burner to boil water out of the glycol solution so it can absorb more moisture from the gas.

Summary of Equipment

When you see "Stationary Combustion" in that report, visualize these specific pieces of hardware sitting at the well sites or processing plants:

Equipment	Fuel Source	Purpose
Steam Boilers / Generators	Natural Gas	Creating steam to inject underground to melt bitumen (Oil Sands).
Reciprocating Engines	Field Gas / Diesel	Powering compressors to push gas through pipelines or lift oil.
Gas Turbines	Natural Gas	Generating electricity for the site or driving large compressors.
Process Heaters	Natural Gas	Heating crude oil to separate out water and sand.
Glycol Reboilers	Natural Gas	Boiling off water to dry natural gas.

How might Canada reduce oil and gas extraction emissions to zero?

Critical Success Factors

• extract less oil and gas, especially from oil sands
• use more-efficient extraction equipment, processes

Barriers

• Oil sands extraction operations are high-capital long-duration projects (e.g. ballpark 40 years), for which considerable future extraction is required to pay back sunk-cost investments. Google Gemini estimates that existing extraction facilities can be operated profitably so long as the price of oil is above $25-$35 a barrel (WTI).
• Global demand for oil and natural gas remains high. Global oil consumption does not appear to have peaked (see e.g. our world in data). As long as prices remain above about $60/barrel (WTI), it is potentially profitable to create new oil sands mines and expand production. (Gemini estimate)
• Alberta's oil sands operations leverage relatively cheap energy and already use it cleverly as well. The heat required to melt bitumen to oil already sometimes comes from a co-generation process in which gas turbines generate electricy and their heat exhaust melts the oil. Not only does this power the site operation, such sites actually sell electricity via the provincial grid.

Key Stakeholder Groups

• Domestic Fuel Customers Diesel
• Domestic Fuel Customers Gasoline
• Domestic Fuel Customers Heating Oil
• Domestic Fuel Customers Marine Diesel
• Domestic Fuel Customers Natural Gas
• Equipment Vendors Gas Turbines
• Equipment Vendors Glycol Reboilers
• Equipment Vendors Process Heaters
• Equipment Vendors Steam Boilers
• International Fuel Customers
• International Oil Refinery Operators
• Oil Refinery Operators
• Oil and Gas Extraction Companies
• Oil and Gas Extraction Industry Employees
• Regulators
• Voters

Possible Strategies (feel free to help flesh these out, contribute more)

Who	What	For Whom	Cost / tonne CO2e
Regulators	Incentivize/require gas turbines to have exhaust scrubbers	People Desiring Net Zero
Oil and Gas Project Developers NewCo	Design and implement an oil sands project based on renewable process energy	Oil and Gas Extraction Companies
Regulators	Forbid new oil sands projects and site expansion, find new jobs for industry staff	People Desiring Net Zero
Regulators	Limit and/or discourage (e.g. tax) Canada's energy exports	People Desiring Net Zero

Note: I'm not including here ideas of the form "reduce domestic demand for fuel by doing X". It is not necessarily the case that reducing domestic demand will lead to a reduction in oil and gas extraction. Current federal policy seems open to elevating Canada's oil and natural gas exports (ostensibly to offset economic headwinds from reduced trade with the U.S.). Even with reductions in domestic demand, this sector may expand to serve the international market. I would be open to including ideas of the form "reduce both domestic and international demand for fuel by doing X", although such ideas would belong foremost as reducing emissions in other IPCC sectors.