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ODESSA – The Environmental Protection Agency has approved the Texas Company’s application to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and inject it underground, making it the first project in a state that has been granted such a permit.
Occiden Petroleum Corporation, a Houston-based oil company, will soon begin to accumulate 500,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide in 4,400 feet of underground this year. The facility is located 20 miles southwest of Odessa.
“This is an important milestone for the company as we continue to develop critical infrastructure that will help the US achieve energy security,” said Vicky Hollub, the company’s president and CEO, in a statement. She said these permits will help energy companies “measure their emissions or produce important resources and fuels.”
Carbon dioxide is a by-product of oil and gas production and is the biggest contributor to climate change. Oil and gas facilities leak or emit greenhouse gases that trap heat in the atmosphere and prevent cooling. Environmentalists and the oil and gas industry are divided into the environmental benefits of carbon capture.
The industry is hedging technology climate targets, but environmental policy experts are skeptical about whether to significantly reduce air pollution and say the world should move to other fuel sources to slow climate change. Some Texas scientists say the injection method has been tested and proven to work for years, but it needs to be implemented now.
Oxy attempts to reduce gas output through a technology called Direct Air Capture (DAC). It grabs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and separates it from other particles in the air. The equipment then compresses the gas into brine before being permanently transported and stored underground.
According to a permit presented to the public for feedback last fall, Oxy monitors wells and downholes pressure and temperature. On the surface, measure every 10 seconds in the well and provide reading every 10 minutes. Workers occupy corrosion and groundwater every three months. The company should warn you 30 days before most testing or if there are any changes. You must also warn of malfunctions within 24 hours.
Virginia Palacios, executive director of Commission Shift, an oil and gas watchdog group, said the Oxy permit application compiled certain details about the layer in which carbon dioxide is stored, and only the EPA can review it. She said hiding this information would not give residents any assurance that gas would remain on the ground and that the public should have been allowed to evaluate the information. The permit includes information and rock layers that indicate the depth and structure of the injection.
If Texas regulators gain authority to grant such permissions, more businesses can track Oxy leads and win faster approvals. The Texas Railroad Commission, a state agency that regulates oil and gas companies, has applied to the EPA for authority to issue similar permits. The EPA is currently accepting public testimony. There is no hearing set up for the public to issue feedback.
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