A landscape view in southwest Wyoming.
While plans for the future of carbon capture projects in southwest Wyoming are constantly readjusting, they continue to steadily move forward.
In a recent update, plans for the Sweetwater Carbon Storage Hub have taken the next step forward after receiving necessary approvals from the Bureau of Land Management. This will lead toward companies storing carbon dioxide in federal pore space underground across 44,350 acres in Sweetwater, Uinta, and Lincoln Counties, according to a BLM press release.
"The Bureau of Land Management has approved a right-of-way authorization for the use of subsurface BLM-administered federal pore space for the Sweetwater Carbon Storage Hub CO2 sequestration project," the press release explained. "This authorization does not apply to pore space managed by the State of Wyoming or on private lands. Carbon sequestration is the process of injecting carbon dioxide deep underground, preventing it from entering the atmosphere."
Pond Field, LLC and its affiliate Frontier Carbon Solutions, LLC previously received approval from the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality to construct three Class VI Underground Injection Control wells on non-federal lands, the BLM explained. These wells are permitted and regulated by the state of Wyoming.
Class VI Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage refers to the process in which carbon is captured from industrial processes and either utilized by turning the carbon into a new product or stored by injecting the carbon into a storage site, usually underground in a geologic formation, according to the Wyoming DEQ's website.
The BLM analyzed the effects of issuing the right-of-way to Pond Field, LLC to permanently store CO2 in pore space in southwest Wyoming before granting the right-of-way. The current application does not include any proposed surface infrastructure on BLM-managed public lands, the press release added.
Frontier Carbon Solutions was previously working together with CarbonCapture Inc. on Project Bison, a large-scale carbon storage project. However, development of Project Bison halted last September, when CarbonCaputre Inc. announced it was pausing the project and looking to relocate to another state.
In December, Frontier Carbon Solutions announced the launch of its Sweetwater Carbon Storage Hub project. With plans to utilize the three Class VI storage wells approved for the company, Frontier intends to create a hub to store captured CO2 underground.
"The Sweetwater Carbon Storage Hub (SCS Hub) is one of the first open-source, multipurpose carbon storage hubs in North America," the Frontier website explains. "Spanning more than 100,000 acres in southwestern Wyoming, the SCS Hub provides a comprehensive carbon management solution for key industrial emitters. Backed by three Class VI UIC permits from the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality-the first of their kind in the state-the SCS Hub will securely store over 350 million metric tons of CO2 when fully operational."
Frontier states that CO2 injection technology has been safely used for more than 30 years, especially for enhanced oil recovery operations.
"The Mountain West is uniquely equipped with the natural resources and geologic formations needed for large-scale carbon capture and storage," the website explains regarding why Wyoming is a good site for the storage hub. "Its deep, stable reservoirs are ideal for long-term sequestration, while the region's established industrial infrastructure, including rail and pipelines, supports efficient carbon management."
Additional information can be found at frontierccus.com. More details from the BLM's study and approval, including the final environmental assessment, decision record, and supporting documents, is available at the BLM National NEPA Register. For more information, contact BLM Project Coordinator Kelly Lamborn at 307-828-4505 or klamborn@blm.gov.
Reader Comments(0)