Feds select CRC, CSUB for carbon management study
Local oil producer California Resources Corp. announced Tuesday the federal government has selected the company, in partnership with Cal State Bakersfield, for nearly $27 million to accelerate carbon dioxide sequestration in western Kern and then share related information as a way of promoting similar projects.
The initiative, called EHStore, was first disclosed last month by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, which said one of its objectives was to ensure local communities participate in the project's planning and benefit from it directly.
The parties involved are still negotiating the grant. If finalized, it would represent the largest award of its kind in CSUB history.
In total, the project is expected to cost $34.4 million, with Long Beach-based CRC putting in the outstanding $7.4 million.
CRC has previously received at least two substantial federal grants supportive of its carbon capture and sequestration projects. As the company noted in a news release, its carbon management business continues to attract federal funding "to help mitigate the impacts of climate change and benefit communities across California by improving air quality and creating new energy transition employment opportunities."
The Department of Energy's October news release said EHStore "plans to accelerate the characterization, permitting and development of safe, secure transport and storage of more than 50 million metric tons of captured CO2 over 30 years in multiple depleted oil and natural gas reservoirs" proposed to be repurposed for storage at the Elk Hills Oil Field.
Such efforts have gained attention locally as a potential economic benefit to Kern County as state government continues to phase out local oil production and related jobs. On the other hand, environmental justice activists question the safety of transporting and storing a gas that might asphyxiate nearby residents if it were to leak to the surface after injection.
The DOE's release said CRC and CSUB personnel will gather data to characterize and support future carbon injection permits and risk assessments in the area.
"EHStore will disseminate results and findings to help facilitate the development of carbon capture and storage and provide valuable information on how to safely repurpose depleted oil and natural gas reservoirs," the agency stated.
CSUB declined to comment on the project until negotiations are finalized.
