Alberta plans to build drilling site to act as testing ground for new technologies

Alberta's government says it will invest up to $50 million to support the creation of a first-in-Canada drilling test site to support technology development in the oil, gas, geothermal and lithium industries.

The Alberta Drilling Accelerator is intended to be an open-access, industry-led site where companies can test drilling technologies at deep depths, high temperatures and varying rock types.

The site would would allow companies to test and develop drilling techniques, accelerating the geothermal, helium, critical minerals, carbon capture and other industries relying on the drilling sector, the province said in a news release Monday.

A location for the hub site has yet to be determined.

"What we're doing here today is setting the stage for innovation," Premier Danielle Smith said in a statement. 

""The Alberta Drilling Accelerator means big things for oil and gas exploration in our province, but also for industries that will be vital for achieving our goal of carbon neutrality by 2050." 

While no binding contracts have been signed, the province says several companies have expressed strong interest in serving as anchor tenants, including Calgary-based geothermal company Eavor Technologies, Tourmaline Oil Corp. and international oilfield service supermajor Halliburton.

The money the province is providing will come from the industry-funded Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) program, which Alberta's heavy emitters are required to pay into as part of the province's industrial carbon pricing system.

The provincial government says the Alberta Drilling Accelerator could start drilling in 2026.