Project would be first in Wyoming

CASPER — Texas-based Frontier Carbon Solutions is seeking approval for what would be Wyoming’s first permanent carbon storage injection well in Sweetwater County.

The well will be vital for the region’s energy-intensive industries to stay competitive in a global market where emissions standards are tightening quickly, representatives with the company testified to the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.

The project would inject millions of tons of CO2 into an underground cavity known as the “Nugget” formation, which lies almost 14,000 feet underground. The well would be a piece of the bigger Sweetwater Carbon Storage Hub, a public-private partnership designed to position Wyoming at the forefront of a nascent market for decarbonization services.

In addition to helping industry meet future emissions requirements, the firm says the project will benefit private landowners and the state.

Property owners in the project area would be paid a storage royalty of $1 per ton, which could add up fast; the company anticipates sequestering 1.5 million tons of CO2 annually, with a project lifespan of around 20 years.

The project will come with a significant price tag of its own, which the company puts at around $50 million while admitting that costs are liable to increase in response to inflation over a 20-year project lifespan.

A large portion of expense is related to the project’s “emergency and remedial response” plan and associated environmental insurance bonds required for permanent storage wells known as Class VI wells, whose permits are famously rigorous.

“I would say Class VI is the most robust, comprehensive application out there today. By no means an easy task. Frontier has been at work on this application for more than a year,” said Frontier Carbon Solutions Chief Development Officer Alicia Summers.

The oversight doesn’t end there.

The project would deploy ultrasonic imaging, downhole pressure monitoring instruments along with regular seismic profile tests to ensure C02 plumes behave as expected.

The company has a leg up with a $40 million grant from the Department of Energy to drill initial test wells, along with a $9 million grant from the Wyoming Energy Authority.

Commissioners expressed excitement for the project but deferred action and implied they’d reach a decision in October.