Michael (Mike) Monea holds designations as a Professional Engineer, Professional Geoscientist and is a member of the Canadian Institute of Corporate Directors. His passion for geology, paired with an entrepreneurial vision and a breadth of knowledge only gained from first-hand experience and deep understanding has fuelled his many career successes — from developing oil companies to directing and overseeing the construction of industry-disrupting mega-projects.

Monea is the past President and CEO of the International Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Knowledge Centre, a non-profit organization founded by BHP and SaskPower, dedicated to advancing the understanding and use of CCS as a way of managing GHG emissions.

The establishment of the Knowledge Centre was the direct result of Monea’s industry-leading work as the President of CCS Initiatives at SaskPower, where he was in charge of creating and building the world’s first carbon capture plant for a coal electric unit, valued at CAD $1.67 billion.

As a world-leading scientist, research and development is a key component in Monea’s mission to help reduce greenhouse gases through CCS technologies. His oversight of a scale-sized Carbon Capture Test Facility has ensured that progress continues to be made with international vendors on post-combustion capture systems. Progress gained in these areas can help reduce costs and advance CCS.

Additionally, past experience in oil and gas uniquely enables Monea to understand the benefits of and opportunities for carbon dioxide for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and deep saline reservoir storage. Monea successfully secured sales of CO2 from the Boundary Dam CCS Facility to oil fields in Southern Saskatchewan.

Throughout his career, Monea has always valued and understood the importance of partnerships at a local, national and international level. He has worked with most power, oil and regulatory agencies in China on CCS knowledge transfer, has travelled the world speaking on CCS, and is a sought-after panelist and advisor for this ground-breaking technology.

Prior to his work with SaskPower and the International CCS Knowledge Centre, Monea built an oil company for a China-based group, and held the title of the CEO of the Petroleum Technology Research Centre, where he worked on the Weyburn EOR project. Nominated as a Distinguished Lecturer for the Society of Petroleum Engineers in the area of EOR processes, Monea’s oil and gas background has also been thoroughly referenced and highlights.