By Trelle Burdeniuk

Deepest hole ever in Saskatchewan dug as part of CO2 storage

Oct 13, 2012 | 9:32 AM

A company in Saskatchewan is digging deep – literally.

As part of a project to store carbon dioxide underground, the Petroleum Technology Research Centre (PTRC) has dug the deepest hole ever in the province near Estevan.

“It always feels good to be number one,” said Malcolm Wilson, CEO of PRTC of the 3.3 kilometre deep well.

The well was dug to store CO2 from SaskPower's Boundary Dam power station starting in 2013.

“We wanted to go deeper than the oil producing horizons and of course we're trying to get as far away as we can from ground water or possible ground water.”

Freedom and Flexibility

How App-Based Work Creates Economic Opportunity

Dec 12, 2025

Riderville

Now for the Hard Part

Dec 10, 2025

Seniors Scene

Christmas is Coming

Dec 09, 2025

Wilson said while going so deep, they found a special layer that will help seal in the liquid carbon dioxide when it is pumped into a reservoir.

“The zone we will be injecting into has a very, very good seal at the top…basically like the lid on a jar it won't let any liquid or gas through.”
If that seal was breached, Wilson said a layer of salt above it provides another check.

“Salt is an extremely good and virtually unbreakable seal. Salt has some very interesting properties, so if you crack it, it will self-heal.”

Although the well's main purpose is to store carbon dioxide, it will also be used for research by the University of Saskatchewan, the University of Alberta

and international companies.

“We collect a lot more information as we're going down and afterwards than would a normal well,” said Wilson.

news@panow.com