One of world’s largest carbon sequestration projects begins permitting process

Gulf Coast Sequestration (GCS) announced on 13 October 2020 that it initiated the process for obtaining a Class VI Underground Injection Control permit from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Designed to permanently store more than 80 million tons of carbon in deep geologic formations, GCS is planning one of the largest carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects in the world. "With the capacity to sequester 2,700,000 tons of CO₂ annually, it will be equivalent to removing about 600,000 passenger vehicles from the road every year or the equivalent annual carbon avoided from 2,000 wind turbines," the company said.

GCS controls both the surface and subsurface rights for a large, contiguous landholding in southwest Louisiana, and it said it has determined that the area's geologic pore space is ideally suited to build and operate a world-class carbon sequestration project.

"This filing is a long time coming and an exciting moment for GCS," said Gray Stream, president of Matilda Stream Management, Inc., the owner of GCS. "We have done our homework, and our permit application reflects our commitment to robust environmental compliance. We look forward to working with EPA to secure the approvals needed to develop, construct, and operate one of the leading carbon sequestration projects in the world."

"At GCS, we believe that CCS is the best way to tackle industrial greenhouse gas emissions," said GCS Principal Benjamin Heard. "By providing safe and secure storage for carbon dioxide, GCS will assist industrial customers in achieving their sustainability goals. Working together, we can help to steer the United States toward a more economically and environmentally sustainable future."

In addition to superior geology, the site is close to the Louisiana petrochemical and refining complex, thus making it ideally situated for serving facilities that are emission large amounts of CO2, the company said.