EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 2/23/23
PIPELINE NEWS
KETV: Oily soils from Keystone spill being sent to Douglas County landfill
World Oil: Pathways Alliance awards $10-million contract to develop carbon capture and storage network in Canada
NWestIowa.com: Lyon revokes CO2 pipeline's right of way
Brownfield Ag News: CO2 PIPELINE BILL HAS ETHANOL GROUP UP IN ARMS
Waverly Newspapers: Bremer Co. supervisors OK second reading of pipeline ordinance, hear concerns
Norfolk Daily News: Joint planning commission gets chance to learn more about proposed pipeline
Columbia-Greene Media: Ralliers protest Iroquois pipeline expansion
South Pierce County Dispatch: County Council renews pipeline agreement
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Washington Post: Democrats urge EPA to strengthen methane rule
E&E News: Ex-president doles out ‘Trump water’ in Ohio
STATE UPDATES
Associated Press: California bill penalizing oil profits makes little progress
The Salt Lake Tribune: As production surges Uinta crude now clogs Indian Canyon
EXTRACTION
Guardian: US energy firms use Ukraine war to lock in long-term gas contracts
Grist: It would take less than 3% of Big Oil’s profits to clean up methane emissions
Washington Post: This project takes energy from Earth's crust to suck carbon out of the sky
OPINION
Farm Forum: David Ganje: In consideration of pipelines
Register-Herald: Fast-tracking the Mountain Valley Pipeline
RBN Energy: Still Not Dead - Petra Nova's New Lease On Life A Critical Test For Carbon-Capture Technology
PIPELINE NEWS
KETV: Oily soils from Keystone spill being sent to Douglas County landfill
2/23/23
“The remnants of the 13,000 barrels of oil that spilled from the Keystone pipeline in Kansas in December and soaked into the ground are now being sent to Nebraska,” KETV reports. “According to documents with the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy, Waste Management, which runs the Pheasant Point Landfill near Bennington, approved the request from TC Energy on Dec. 30, 2022… "Pheasant Point Landfill is designed to handle these types of materials and it's designed to meet Nebraska regulations for landfills," Waste Management of Nebraska spokesperson Lisa Disbrow told KETV. According to the filing, TC Energy will transport 8,000 cubic yards of crude oil impacted soil and 100 cubic yards of crude impacted oily solids, however, when KETV talked with Disbrow, she couldn't verify the exact figures… “When asked about groundwater concerns for the nearby community, Waste Management told KETV its Pheasant Point facility has a liner to prevent the waste from contaminating the surrounding area. There are also groundwater wells that monitor the water quality surrounding the facility… “When asked if nearby residents need to be concerned about contaminants getting into the air or groundwater the EPA said its legal agrement with TC Energy requires the company to meet stringent cleanup objectives to avoid negative health impacts. Those objectives include "remediating soils to concentrations below residential cleanup levels for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and total xylenes (BTEX), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH). Groundwater samples will also continue to be taken from area drinking water wells." According to the EPA, it might also be necessary to install a monitoring well network at the Washington County, Kansas site to continue evaluating groundwater in the vicinity.”
World Oil: Pathways Alliance awards $10-million contract to develop carbon capture and storage network in Canada
2/22/23
“Engineering and field work is progressing rapidly to support a regulatory application later this year for the Pathways Alliance proposed carbon capture and storage (CCS) network,” World Oil reports. “...Pathways Alliance members have awarded a $10 million contract to Wood, a global engineering and consulting company, to develop detailed plans for a 400-kilometre CO2 transportation line that will eventually link more than 20 oil sands facilities with a hub for permanent carbon storage in the Cold Lake, Alberta region. Wood’s engineering work will focus on the main transportation line that will link the initial 14 oil sands facilities to the storage hub. This includes details such as pipe size, materials, design of monitoring stations and route. Wherever possible the line will follow existing pipeline rights-of-ways. Information will also help inform overall capital and operations cost estimates of the transportation line. With anticipated co-funding from governments, Pathways Alliance expects that $16.5 billion will be invested in the CCS network. This project alone is expected to reduce net carbon dioxide emissions by about 10 to 12 million tonnes per year by 2030 from 14 facilities, about half of the Alliance’s 22 million tonne per year goal by the end of the decade.”
NWestIowa.com: Lyon revokes CO2 pipeline's right of way
Elijah Helton, 2/21/23
“Lyon County repealed the right-of-way permit for Summit Carbon Solutions on Tuesday, Feb. 14, arguing the CO2 pipeline company should get state approval before cooperating locally,” NWestIowa.com reports. “The board of supervisors originally granted right of way for the pending pipeline Dec. 27 — which would have allowed Summit to cross county-controlled roads — but changed its mind after hearing disapproval with constituents and speaking with county engineer Daryl Albertson. “They’re not considered a utility. They’re considered a pipeline that’s a different definition in code,” Albertson said. The utility designation is central to the broader political fight over the CO2 pipeline. Summit needs approval from the Iowa Utilities Board to construct Iowa’s portion of its five-state route. With the utility designation, there also would come the ability for Summit to seek eminent domain, the top objection of many anti-pipeline Iowans… “If you were to take a look at the size of the Iowa project, how many different permits we have to achieve, if every county were to say ‘No, you need IUB approval,’ that could put us a year to a year and a half out further,” Doug Bergold of TurnKey Logistics said. Regardless, supervisors — who have voiced apprehension about the CO2 pipelines in general — said they were not comfortable proceeding while the IUB has yet to allow construction. The unanimous resolution that revoked Permit Number 703 called the original decision “premature.” Bergold indicated Summit will likely reach back out to the board in the future as the issue will remain live at least for the rest of the year… “Opponents say the Summit’s project and others like it are essentially profiteering schemes with little environmental or financial benefit for regular farmers.”
Brownfield Ag News: CO2 PIPELINE BILL HAS ETHANOL GROUP UP IN ARMS
Brent Barnett, 2/22/23
“A bill in the Iowa House would restrict the use of eminent domain to acquire land for carbon pipeline projects,” Brownfield Ag News reports. “House File 368 would require CO2 pipeline companies to gain 90% approval from landowners, and acquire all pipeline construction and zoning permits from the other states the project will be constructed in before being granted eminent domain. Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, told Brownfield his group opposes the legislation. “The practical impact of this bill would be that it would kill the carbon capture and sequestration projects that are ongoing in Iowa that are so vital to the future of Iowa ethanol production,” Shaw told Brownfield… “If we kill these CO2 projects in Iowa, we could see by the end of the decade 75% of Iowa ethanol production migrate to surrounding states that are going to be allowing these projects,” Shaw told Brownfield. At a recent rally outside the Iowa Statehouse, bill sponsor Helena Hayes disputed the study’s findings and said the legislation defends private property rights. “It (the study) pits you,” Hayes said. “You either have to choose to support the ethanol industry, which you do, or try to take a stand for your own personal property rights. That’s not fair because there are options.” The Mahaska County Republican told Brownfield the state’s ethanol industry can survive without CO2 pipelines.”
Waverly Newspapers: Bremer Co. supervisors OK second reading of pipeline ordinance, hear concerns
Mira Schmitt-Cash, 2/22/23
“An attorney for the Bremer County Board of Supervisors heard comments from a pipeline company spokesman at the second reading of a proposed ordinance to restrict land use for hazardous liquid pipelines like the liquefied carbon dioxide pipeline Navigator CO2 Ventures has proposed to go north of Waverly and Readlyn,” Waverly Newspapers reports. “At a hearing at the chambers of the Bremer County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Feb. 21, with 13 people signing in as attending, speakers mentioned the safety and eminent domain as concerns for the proposed CO2 pipeline. After the hearing, the three-member board unanimously passed the second reading of the ordinance. The third and final reading will be held Feb. 27 at 9:30 a.m… “Jo Danielsen, of Denver, chimed in. “In my estimation, the only good plan is that the pipeline does not go through Iowa. It’s too detrimental to the land,” Danielsen said. “The ground will no longer be good,” Danielsen said. “It’s all about making money. It’s not going to do much about changing our carbon imprint on the world.” “...Other elected officials attended the hearing, including Sheriff Dan Pickett, who spoke about an eminent domain issue in Minnesota. Waverly Ward 2 Councilwoman Julie Meyers and Bremer County Attorney Darius Robinson attended but did not speak. Minimum separation distances from a hazardous liquid pipeline, as read at Planning and Zoning Dec. 6, are: Not less than 2 miles from an incorporated city. Not less than one-half mile from: any occupied structure used for residential, commercial, industrial or agricultural purposes at any time during the 12 months preceding an application for a conditional use permit; a church, school, nursing home, long-term care facility or hospital; a public park, (county) conservation area, sensitive area (designated in Bremer County’s Floodplain Overlay District Ordinance 22-08), or public recreation area.”
Norfolk Daily News: Joint planning commission gets chance to learn more about proposed pipeline
JERRY GUENTHER, 2/22/23
“Summit Carbon Solutions continues to meet in person with groups or landowners interested in learning more about its proposed pipeline,” Norfolk Daily News reports. “Starting with an open house more than a year ago, then meeting with individual landowners, along with providing regular updates to county boards, representatives of the company met last week with the Madison County Joint Planning Commission about its proposed carbon pipeline… “The Ames, Iowa-based company met recently with Holt County planners and met last Thursday with Madison County planners… “One change was that the physical construction of the pipeline isn’t scheduled to take place now until 2024. “It was 2023,” Fuller said. “We’ve now readjusted. That was a little aggressive. We are hoping to start construction in early 2024.” “...The pipeline will be used only to transport carbon, he said. And there are shutoff valves within 10 miles, with sensors in it, and it is monitored around the clock in Ames, Iowa, Niese said.”
Columbia-Greene Media: Ralliers protest Iroquois pipeline expansion
Nancy Kern, 2/22/23
“Protesters gathered at the regional headquarters of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation on Wednesday afternoon to voice their opposition to Iroquois Gas’ application for air permits to construct the energy company’s ExC project,” Columbia-Greene Media reports. “Speeches, chants and marching band music aimed at influencing the Department’s forthcoming decision charged the cold and cloudy afternoon with an atmosphere of hope, determination and unity. Organized by Concerned Citizens of Dover, Mid-Hudson Group of the Sierra Club, Sane Energy Project, the New York Public Interest Research Group, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest and Food and Water Watch, Wednesday’s protest was the culmination of a months-long campaign to stop the project. Iroquois has proposed plans to increase the natural gas flow and pressure of its pipeline by adding additional horsepower to the compressors stationed along the mainline including a compressor unit in Athens. Residents of the region who oppose the plan view the move as environmentally unsafe and imprudent. “They’re expanding a pipeline that got the second largest fine from the DEC for messing up the environment,” Carlin Meyer of Palenville and a member of the Mountaintop Progressives, told CGM. “It’s an ancient pipeline, and now they want to put more gas through the same set of lines. All of the construcution part of it is going to go through land, some of which is pristine. We just witnessed a train derailment [in Ohio]. Now we’re going to have a gas explosion.” Carol Auer of Ulster Activists based in New Paltz, told CGM she worries that the pipeline will run under the Hudson River and affect the water supply.”
South Pierce County Dispatch: County Council renews pipeline agreement
Brett Davis, 2/22/23
“It was nothing but love for Northwest Pipeline LLC at the Feb. 14 — Valentine’s Day — meeting of the Pierce County Council,” the South Pierce County Dispatch reports. “The council unanimously approved, 5-0, an ordinance granting Northwest Pipeline — an energy company that distributes natural gas, petroleum and diesel products to customers in the United States and Canada — a five-year renewal for location of certain pipelines on certain county rights-of-way… “I’m confident this bidirectional petroleum pipeline is working well and provides the needed fuel for our economy,” Councilmember Dave Morell said before the vote.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
Washington Post: Democrats urge EPA to strengthen methane rule
Maxine Joselow, 2/22/23
“Led by Sen. Martin Heinrich (N.M.) and Rep. Diana DeGette (Colo.), 76 congressional Democrats are urging the Environmental Protection Agency to strengthen its proposal to regulate methane emissions from U.S. oil and gas operations,” the Washington Post reports. “In a letter dated Feb. 17 and made public this morning, the lawmakers praised the proposal but urged the EPA to go further. In particular, they called on the agency to do more to curb the routine flaring of gas across the country. “While the supplemental proposal takes some important steps to reduce pollution from routine flaring of gas at oil wells, stricter safeguards against this harmful practice are critical to reduce pollution and protect health,” they wrote.
E&E News: Ex-president doles out ‘Trump water’ in Ohio
Robin Bravender, 2/22/23
“Former President Donald Trump visited the community of East Palestine, Ohio, on Wednesday, where he assailed the Biden administration’s response to a train carrying toxic chemicals that derailed earlier this month,” E&E News reports. “Trump, who is running to reclaim the presidency in 2024, held a press conference, spoke to local officials and dropped off bottled water. “We’re bringing in thousands of bottles of water — Trump water, actually, most of it,” the former president said during a news conference. “Some of it we had to go to a much lesser quality water. You want to get those Trump bottles,” said Trump, who wore a bright red “Make America Great Again” hat… “Trump’s critics have slammed his visit as a photo op and a political stunt and accused his administration of loosening rail safety regulations when he was in office. “We’re gonna find time to come back if necessary,” Trump said Wednesday.”
STATE UPDATES
Associated Press: California bill penalizing oil profits makes little progress
ADAM BEAM, 2/23/23
“After gas prices in California spiked to more than $6.40 per gallon last summer, Gov. Gavin Newsom led a charge against an industry he says is “ripping you off.” Months later, it’s not clear if California’s Legislature is following him,” the Associated Press reports. “Newsom, a Democrat, called lawmakers into a rare special session in December to pass what would be the nation’s first penalty on excessive oil company profits. But the bill is still sitting in the Democratic-controlled Legislature three months later, with no details on how much the penalty would be or when oil companies would have to pay it. The oil industry spent about $34 million lobbying the Legislature in the last two-year session and remains a powerful political force, particularly among Democrats who represent parts of the state where the industry provides jobs. The proposal would need support from a majority of lawmakers to pass… “During the bill’s first public hearing in the state Senate on Wednesday, many Democrats were sympathetic to drivers hit by price spikes. But several Democrats appeared to be skeptical… “Newsom told AP the reason it’s taking so long to advance the bill is a “lack of transparency” from the big five oil refiners, which supply nearly all of California’s gasoline. Those companies — Valero, Phillips 66, PBF Energy, Marathon and Chevron — have declined to testify during public hearings. “Today’s hearing provided even more evidence that we need to crack down on Big Oil’s price gouging at the pump,” Newsom told AP. “Big Oil’s lobbyists again used scare tactics and refused to provide answers or solutions to last year’s price spikes.”
The Salt Lake Tribune: As production surges Uinta crude now clogs Indian Canyon
Brian Maffly, 2/20/23
“Say what you will about President Joe Biden’s alleged war on fossil fuels, but crude oil production in the Uinta Basin is hitting all-time records and is projected to keep growing for the foreseeable future. And that means heavy tanker traffic through Indian Canyon, where U.S. Highway 191 is in need of major upgrades, lawmakers say,” The Salt Lake Tribune reports. “Driving that growth is the recent expansion of rail loading facilities outside the basin in Carbon County, where more and more of the waxy crude is trucked and transferred into tanker cars headed to Gulf Coast refineries. Spurred by soaring commodity prices, production has grown to more than 135,000 barrels a day, increasing the revenues coming into Utah state coffers. Now lawmakers want to invest this windfall into a major upgrade of the highway through Indian Canyon and bulldoze a new one for oil tankers through quiet Gate Canyon… “Historic preservationists and others tell the Tribune the project would ruin one of Utah’s finest archaeological destinations by putting speeding tanker trucks within feet of Nine Mile Canyon’s walls where ancient Native Americans left a visual record in images chiseled in the rock. The historic 6-mile road through Gate Canyon was built in the 19th century by African-American Buffalo soldiers, J. Michael Hansen, chairman of the preservation group Nine Mile Canyon Coalition, told the Tribune. Straightening this road would destroy 23 historical and cultural sites in Gate Canyon and result in a tanker truck passing every three minutes through Nine Mile on their way to the rail loading terminals in Wellington, he told the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee… “The Uinta Basin Railway, which would tie future terminals at Myton and Leland Bench with the Union Pacific tracks at the head of Price Canyon, is not expected to be built and operating for another couple of years, Winterton said. “If we wait for that railroad, we’re going to be in a well of hurt and public safety is at risk here,” Winterton said, “because we are going to be doubling the number of trucks going over there [to Carbon County rail loadouts] to keep the contracts alive for when the rail is finally activated.”
EXTRACTION
Guardian: US energy firms use Ukraine war to lock in long-term gas contracts
Amy Westervelt, 2/22/23
“American oil and gas companies are pushing to solve the short-term problem of a tight European gas supply, driven by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) contracts, a new report shows,” the Guardian reports. “The US fossil fuel industry has locked in 45 long-term contracts and contract expansions since the start of the war, according to research by Friends of the Earth, Public Citizen and BailoutWatch. That’s a major increase from the 14 such contracts signed in 2021. While price volatility for gas in Europe is already easing, most of the new contracts won’t deliver gas until 2026 or later, after which they will lock in purchases for 20 years or more. “LNG terminals are massively expensive, multi-decade investments,” Lukas Ross, a co-author of the report and program manager for Friends of the Earth, told the Guardian. “How many of these projects are built – and how many years of extraction and emissions are locked in – is perhaps the most urgent climate policy question in the US today.” The US government has fast-tracked the permitting process for several of the proposed LNG terminals, many of which had been stalled for years before the invasion of Ukraine… “Meanwhile, US ratepayers are experiencing soaring prices at home… “His colleague Tyson Slocum testified on this point to Congress recently. “Natural gas exports are directly responsible for Americans paying higher prices to heat and cool their homes,” Slocum said. “American households, power producers and other consumers are now forced to directly compete with their counterparts in Berlin and Beijing, which has globalized domestic benchmark prices, exposing Americans to higher prices and increased volatility. Spot benchmark natural gas prices on the west and east coast United States have been higher than prices in Ukraine.”
Grist: It would take less than 3% of Big Oil’s profits to clean up methane emissions
Emily Pontecorvo, 2/22/23
“Oil companies and governments have pledged to slash methane emissions in recent years, but so far have little to show for it. Emissions of this potent greenhouse gas by the fossil fuel industry continued to climb in 2022, the International Energy Agency said Tuesday,” Grist reports. “The group condemned the oil and gas industry for failing to address this problem even as it saw record profits last year, driven up by a tighter energy market following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The technology needed to eliminate most methane emissions already exists and would require spending only a tiny percentage of those profits to deploy, the agency said. “Methane cuts are among the cheapest options to limit near-term global warming,” Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, or IEA, said in a statement outlining the findings. “There is just no excuse.” “...Fortunately, 75 percent of energy-related methane emissions can be eliminated with readily available technologies, the IEA said Tuesday, at a cost of about $100 billion. That’s less than 3 percent of the profits that oil and gas companies earned last year, the group pointed out. The industry would not even have to dip into its profits to implement some of these solutions. Producers could capture and sell methane instead of venting it.”
Washington Post: This project takes energy from Earth's crust to suck carbon out of the sky
Maxine Joselow, 2/23/23
“Sucking carbon dioxide out of the sky is a bit like a time machine for climate change. It removes CO2 from the atmosphere and stores it deep underground, almost exactly the reverse of what humanity has been doing for centuries by burning fossil fuels,” the Washington Post reports. “But the problem with “direct air capture,” as it’s known by experts and scientists, has been that it takes energy — a lot of energy. If the energy powering that process comes from fossil fuels, direct air capture starts to look less like a time machine and more like an accelerator: a way to emit even more CO2. Now, however, a company is working to combine direct air capture with a relatively untapped source of energy: Heat from Earth’s crust. Fervo Energy, a geothermal company headquartered in Houston, announced Thursday it will design and engineer the first purpose-built geothermal and direct air capture plant. With the help of a grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the company hopes to have a pilot facility online in three to five years… “Even after generating electricity, most geothermal plants have a lot of waste heat — often clocking in around 212 degrees. And, conveniently, that happens to be the exact temperature needed to pull carbon dioxide out of an air filter and bury it underground… “There are still many details to work out. It’s not enough to simply take carbon dioxide out of the air. Ideally, it also needs to be stored deep underground, often in porous stones filled with salty water. One potential criticism of the project is that it focuses on drawing CO2 out of the air instead of preventing it from getting there in the first place.”
OPINION
Farm Forum: David Ganje: In consideration of pipelines
David Ganje, 2/22/23
“Underground (and sometimes aboveground) pipelines are a necessary part of the fabric of a developed nation,” David Ganje writes for Farm Forum. “Yes, they are necessary. Yes, they are everywhere. When dealing with land sales a goodly number of buyers, sellers and their advisers give little head to the passing reference in the paperwork for “rights of way and easements of record.” “...Approximately 5,000 miles of pipeline carry CO2 in the United States, primarily linking natural CO2 sources to aging oil fields where the CO2 is used for enhanced oil recovery. According to the federal government a much more expansive CO2 pipeline network could be needed for carbon capture and storage systems to meet national goals for greenhouse gas reduction… “Have the risks to human health and livestock, including the potential for loss of life from ruptures of a pipeline which could spread carbon-related gases for more than a mile from the point of rupture been adequately studied?.. “Have the risks and potential loss of reduced crop yields been calculated and restrictions for the use of productive farmland which may occur due to the existence of the pipeline been adequately studied? Has the absence of competent federal regulation and oversight, as suggested by the federal agency with jurisdiction - the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) concerning the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the carbon pipeline been addressed? Critics say that the PHMSA has missed congressional deadlines on safety rules because of technical issues, industry pushback and limited staffing, with some rules finished more than a decade behind schedule. Have reduced property values for land acquired for construction and operation of the pipeline as well as reduced values for properties that are located up to a mile or more from the carbon pipeline which are at risk from a pipeline rupture been adequately studied? What is the current status or readiness and training of local first responders to correctly assist parties or victims in the event of a rupture been addressed? Are current safety radius distances around planned pipelines adequate? One former federal official who is now a pipeline consultant stated in an article that the federal regulatory body, the PHMSA, chose to use an industry-commissioned formula in order to avoid opposition from pipeline companies.”
Register-Herald: Fast-tracking the Mountain Valley Pipeline
Barbara Daniels, Craigsville, 2/22/23
“Senators Capito and Manchin are both fracking proponents who support natural gas conduits to lucrative overseas markets. But fast-tracking the Mountain Valley Pipeline will create untenable economic burdens by exponentially raising US rates and endlessly prolonging fracking,” Barbara Daniels writes for the Register-Herald. “Proclaimed to be in the National interest, by enabling fracking, the MVP also creates other, untold problems: For decades our under-financed and understaffed Department of Health and DEP have been unable to effectively oversee fossil-fuel activities--and the gutting of US EPA oil and gas rules promotes fracking. The Halliburton Loophole, where radioactive and toxic frack waste must all be classified as NON-hazardous, has been responsible for poisoning WV drinking water sources since the early 2000s. Yet, touted by industry as a job-producer, according to the Ohio River Valley Institute, in the most heavily fracked county in West Virginia, Wetzel, the oil and gas promise of jobs never materialized… “Moreover, extraordinarily generous fossil-fuel subsidies hide the true cost of fracking wherein average well production declines by 60% in the first year, according to a Bloomberg report… “For such reasons, in October of 2016, the Pennsylvania Medical Society called for a moratorium on new shale gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing, stating that “growing evidence has shown [fracking’s] increasing deleterious effects outweigh any economic benefit.” However the US Forest Service is proposing a 125‘-wide, 3.5 mile, bulldozed MVP route through the Jefferson National Forest, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.”
RBN Energy: Still Not Dead - Petra Nova's New Lease On Life A Critical Test For Carbon-Capture Technology
Jason Lindquist, 2/22/23
“The lack of successful projects has long been a thorn in the side of the carbon-capture industry, with a few high-profile cases falling short of expectations for a variety of economic and technological reasons,” Jason Lindquist writes for RBN Energy. “ When looking for a prime example of how a highly touted (and taxpayer-supported) project can still fall short, the Petra Nova facility southwest of Houston, which completed its three-year demonstration period shortly before being shut in 2020, often comes to mind. But now it’s just a few months away from getting another shot, courtesy of its new owner and recovering oil prices… “The costs of carbon capture can vary tremendously, and this is especially true of projects that fall into the power-generation category. Generally speaking, facilities emitting CO2 can be put into two buckets: high-purity and low-purity. For the most part, high-purity sources include processes where the CO2 is highly concentrated in the exhaust stream, making it much easier to separate and capture (such as ethanol and ammonia production or natural gas processing). In low-purity sources, the CO2 is generally a product of combustion — such as a coal- or gas-fired power plant — or commingled with other emissions, making them harder (and more expensive) to separate and capture. That’s where Petra Nova — the first large-scale U.S. project to capture emissions from coal-fired power generation — came into play… “Of the six coal-related demonstration projects focusing on carbon capture and storage that received funding from the DOE, Petra Nova was the only one to begin operations, and it’s important to note that while the project was shut down for economic reasons (more on that in a bit), it was largely considered to be a technical success, based on the project’s original objectives and results… “Total capture over three years was about 3.9 million ST (3.5 million MT), or 3,566 ST/d (3,235 MT/d), which works out to a capacity factor of 68% for the entire three-year period based on the maximum capture rate noted above… “Petra Nova is often held up by critics as evidence that projects intended to capture CO2 emissions from coal-fired power generation and use them to boost oil output via EOR are inefficient and expensive at best, a boondoggle at worst — and counterproductive to any long-term decarbonization plan. However, proponents point out that oil produced by EOR displaces oil that was produced with no associated CO2 reduction. The project’s planned restart will serve as an important test case for carbon-capture technologies that might have a new lease on life after the IRA’s passage.”