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HomeGovernmentMinerals CouncilCarbon capture not slated for Osage Reservation - just yet

Carbon capture not slated for Osage Reservation – just yet

CapturePoint, one of the leading companies in carbon sequestration technology, has withdrawn their Class VI permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for Osage County

An underground carbon storage hub slated for Osage County in the Burbank Field is currently on hold. CapturePoint, the company charged with building it, withdrew its Class VI permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Jan. 8, citing further assessment was needed to study the site.

Carbon capture, or carbon sequestration, is the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) underground in suitable geological formations. It is one method of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere with the goal of reducing global climate change. CO2 is the most commonly produced greenhouse gas.

“We are withdrawing our permit application so that we may complete a full review and

reassessment of all aspects of our current Class VI siting plans,” the company said in a statement.

“We continue to believe that a deep underground carbon storage hub will serve vital economic needs in Northeast Oklahoma and the surrounding regions, and CapturePoint intends to use the withdrawal as an opportunity to reevaluate and reshape the best pathway forward for our Osage

County plans.”

CapturePoint, along with the University of Oklahoma and the Los Alamos National Laboratory, received an $18.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to study possible sites for CO2 storage in Osage and Kay Counties. The project is called the Oklahoma Carbon Hub. If built, the hub would have the ability to contain 54 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, according to figures from the University of Oklahoma. For reference, the average car in the U.S. will produce one metric ton of CO2 over three months.

The University of Oklahoma says there are three committed customers if the hub is built: CVR Fertilizer Plant near Coffeyville, Kans., the Azure Sustainable Aviation Fuel Production Facility near Cherryvale, Kans., and the Heimdal Direct Air Capture Units on the Osage Reservation.

Heimdal’s Project Bantam Direct Air Capture (DAC) Facility is located near Shidler, Okla., and opened last summer. Osage News

This proposed facility is different from Project Bantam, which was launched by Heimdal and CapturePoint last summer in Shidler. According to Heimdal, that facility, a direct air capture facility, will remove more than 5,000 tons of CO2 per year. Direct Air Capture actively removes carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere and stores it underground.

CapturePoint continues to operate a CO2-enhanced oil recovery unit in Osage County.

CapturePoint did drill what’s known as a stratigraphic test well on the site as part of a technical review phase, but officials with the company say they have only performed assessments and geological surveys.

“We can’t start until a permit is issued,” said Mike Morrill, who is part of the communications team for CapturePoint.

CapturePoint says they need to understand the geology better and then will resubmit the grant once the study is done – which could take 2-3 years.

“It doesn’t mean we’re stopping it,” said Tracy Evans, the CEO of CapturePoint. Evans said the data they have about the Arbuckle Group – which is the rock layer within the Osage Mineral Estate primarily made of limestone and dolomite – is not enough to move forward. The Arbuckle Group, according to research by the University of Oklahoma, has high porosity, and the rock formations above have low porosity and permeability and would act as a seal to keep the stored CO2 in the Arbuckle Group.

CapturePoint is also hoping to get more people willing to get more contractors to commit their CO2 to the site.

Pore Space

Last year, the Osage Nation Congress took up a bill addressing the issue of pore space – which is where the CO2 will be injected. The bill, ONCA 25-21 (sponsored by Congresswoman Maria Whitehorn) defines pore space as part of the Osage Mineral Estate, despite an Oklahoma statute saying it is owned by surface owners.

Evans said the legislation did not factor into CapturePoint’s decision to withdraw their permit.

“There are still, I think, things to be decided in terms of who actually truly owns the pore space,” said Evans. He said they have been working with the Osage Minerals Council and the Osage Nation.

CapturePoint says they did write the Osage Minerals Council into the grant, and they will have access to the information generated from the study.

Morrill said the OMC will receive funding to hire an independent expert to evaluate the information.

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for the Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, the former governor of North Dakota is a big proponent of carbon capture. However, a 2019 study from Stanford University is skeptical that it does enough to reduce emissions and instead increases air pollution. 

Courtesy Photo/Oklahoma Historical Society

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Allison Herrera
Allison Herrerahttps://osagenews.org
Title: Freelance Reporter
Languages spoken: English

Allison Herrera is a radio and print journalist who's worked for PRX's The World, Colorado Public Radio as the climate and environment editor and as a freelance reporter for High Country News’ Indigenous Affairs Desk. Herrera recently worked on Bloomberg and iHeart Media's In Trust with Rachel Adams-Heard, an investigative podcast about Osage Headrights. She currently works for KOSU as their Indigenous Affairs Reporter. Herrera’s Native ties are from her Xolon Salinan tribal heritage. In her free time, she likes buying fancy earrings, running and spending time with her daughter.
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