A gas and oil exploration company says the government and its partner are preparing to use its own research and wells for carbon sequestration projects in Quebec.
On November 16, the Minister of the Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, announced an investment of 25 million from Investissement Québec in Deep Sky. This company, co-founded by the CEO of the travel app Hopper Frédéric Lalonde, says it wants to capture billions of tons of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere or in water, then bury it underground in suitable geological formations.
In addition to the Crown corporation, the Business Development Bank of Canada and the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) are participating in the $75 million financing, along with Brightspark Ventures and Whitecap Venture Partners.
However, the CEO of Utica Resources, Mario Lévesque, says he proposed a similar project to the government in 2020.
Both Quebec and Deep Sky defend themselves and assure that the two proposals have nothing to do with each other.
Mario Lévesque knew last summer that Quebec was planning to team up with another company.
“We have just learned, with shock and anger, that this CO2 sequestration project is about to be undertaken by another company, called Deep Sky, in which the government of Quebec, via its financial arm, invested,” mentions a letter he sent to Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon last July.
These statements come in a context that is, to say the least, tense with the government, since Utica has been suing Quebec since 2022 for… $18 billion.
The company criticizes the State for having encouraged its exploration efforts to find hydrocarbons, before completely banning this activity in 2022.
Deep Sky chief technology officer and co-founder Joost Ouwerkerk reached out to Mario Lévesque in July to talk about his project.
According to him, the company was particularly interested in its permits in Bécancour.
The day after their meeting, Joost Ouwerkerk sent Mario Lévesque an email asking for “the list of wells owned by Utica and an inventory of its seismic data.” Then two weeks later, he returned to the charge, specifying that he was about to hire a firm to evaluate the storage potential of wells.
“There is no link between the Deep Sky projects and Utica Resources,” assures Mathieu St-Amand, director of communications in Minister Fitzgibbon’s office. According to him, the company has no intention of exploiting wells for which Utica held permits.
Same story with Deep Sky. The company’s co-founder and chairman, Frédéric Lalonde, presented its $75 million in funding last week, but was not available for comment Monday. Public relations specialist Louis-Martin Leclerc, from Tact, explains, however, that the purpose of the meeting with Utica was to “discuss their expertise here in Quebec.” “However, it was never our intention to use the old Utica wells for CO2 injection. »
Quebec adds that the Utica project in 2020 “was aimed in particular at the exploitation of hydrocarbons, which is now prohibited by law”.
In addition to speaking to three ministries and Investissement Québec, the businessman also reportedly had a discussion on this subject with an economic advisor to Prime Minister François Legault.
“At that time, Mr. Fitzgibbon, he thought it was a good idea, and he said he would like to push it,” he said. That was the message we got. But afterward, nothing else came out of that. »
Deep Sky has never said where it plans to find the sinks to sequester its carbon. Neither the company nor Quebec has come forward on this subject. “Several locations are being evaluated,” simply mentions Mathieu St-Amand, in Minister Fitzgibbon’s office.
Mario Lévesque says he has “the impression that there is favoritism.” “Why wouldn’t we want to talk to people who know the geology, as we move forward with them? “, he asks.
The 2022 law banning hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation activities only allows “pilot projects”. Mario Lévesque therefore notes that “the law currently prohibits moving forward with a commercial project.”
“There is no possible return on the investment, unless you already have an agreement with someone who will ensure that it will become permitted. »
