November 2025

The Pathways Project is a proposed CO₂ transportation network and storage hub designed to transport captured carbon dioxide from multiple oil sands facilities to a capped sandstone formation in the Cold Lake region of Alberta for underground storage. Captured CO₂ would be injected into the Basal Cambrian Sandstone (BCS) formation approximately 1,000 to 2,000 metres below the Earth’s surface. Thick rock salt layers above the BCS act as a natural seal to prevent the stored CO₂ from migrating upward. 

Multi-layered safety and risk management

The Pathways Project would use a multi-layered safety and risk management system that includes: 

• Prevention – Selecting suitable geological formations and determining safe injection pressures
• Detection – Continuous monitoring through instrumentation, pressure monitoring and seismic imaging
• Response – Emergency response planning and safety systems such as subsurface safety valves 

Monitoring, Measurement and Verification (MMV)

Monitoring, Measurement and Verification (MMV) activities would continue throughout the life of the Pathways Project to confirm that CO₂ remains safely contained and that storage conditions remain stable. 

This fact sheet covers:

• The proposed Pathways Project and its underground storage hub
• Geological formations and rock salt layers that contain stored CO₂
• Multi-layered storage safety systems, including prevention, monitoring and emergency response planning
• Monitoring, measurement and verification activities 
• Key questions about CO₂ storage safety, monitoring and long-term containment