Reposting Sarah Stogner's comments in case you don't follow her on LinkedIn:
Save the date - public comment for Oxy's application to the EPA to operate three Class VI carbon capture underground sequestration wells in Ector County will be at the MCM Elegante on October 3, 2024 from 11 am - 2 pm, and from 6 pm - 9 pm. I will be there to submit public comments about how absolutely stupid this plan is.
My biggest concerns - how do we think we're going to keep CO2 in the San Andres formation when we can't keep produced water where it's supposed to be? Hundreds of pages have been submitted by Oxy (link to those in comments). And yet none of the well records in the area of review are available on the RRC's website. Over 5 mile area of review with hundreds of wellbores in that radius, and yet Oxy will only have to re-plug three dry holes before being allowed to inject in an already over-pressurized zone. They admit there is shallow faulting in the area. And they don't give any specifics for how they're going to replug dry holes so old they don't even have API numbers.
The worst part? No evidence that direct air carbon capture will have any impact on our global climate. But who cares when there's money to be made on a grift, right? I guess our air and water isn't important in West Texas. Because private companies and State and Federal regulators are continuing full steam ahead with one of the dumbest ideas I've ever heard of.
Foreign companies are all over Schleicher County trying to double and triple dip tax credits and use up water that isn't there for elaborate projects to maximize credits - "green hydrogen", methanol, CO2
Anne,
You make a very valid comment. CO2 sequestration sounds great but is full of flaws. If it is injected in as a super critical liquid it is going to float on the water and may be trapped in an anticline, but there is no guarantee it will not spill over, or even leak through the cap rock. The other option is to dissolve the CO2 in water and go for mineralisation if you have the right rock to form calcite. The jury is out on the efficacy of CO2 sequestration. Personally I am a little more than sceptical about this process as there is very little data and too few projects that are a success.
The cynic I am lends me to consider this another boondoggle, and highly risky. Rest assured there will be those of the Upton Sinclair model whose salary will depend upon them not understanding the complexities of CO2 sequestration.
I'll see you there Anne! Will you explain what a Class VI carbon sequestration well is for us and will the Texas RRC have regulatory authority over the EPA?