Utica Shale in Quebec (click for larger version)
Quebec has approved Questerre Energy's application to run a carbon storage pilot on its Utica Shale acreage near Bécancour — but don't mistake this for Quebec lifting its ban on Utica gas drilling. The Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Energy approved the five-year pilot (extendable two more years) on August 19, letting Questerre drill injection and observation wells — including one existing well — to test the subsurface for long-term CO2 storage. CEO Michael Binnion is using the approval to push two bigger arguments: that Questerre's pre-existing exploration rights survived Bill 21, the 2022 law that outlawed oil and gas production province-wide, and that gas and carbon storage should be developed together as Quebec's "made in Quebec" answer to emissions and energy security. Buried in the release: Quebec has also given Questerre a decommissioning notice for its 12 suspended wells, due within 36 months — a deadline the company is now contesting using a separate bill that allows old wells to be repurposed for carbon storage.
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