| | | |

PA Senate Passes Carbon Capture & Sequestration (CCS) Act

With the rapid increase in carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects around the country, including right here in the Marcellus/Utica region, a key issue has arisen. Where does one store (sequester) all that carbon dioxide (CO2)? The answer is underground in a Class VI injection well. Class VI wells are a relatively new classification for injection wells, created by the federal EPA in 2010. Earlier this week, the Pennsylvania State Senate took the first step in establishing a framework that allows for the underground storage of CO2 in the Keystone State.
Continue reading

| | | | |

NY Assembly Passes Bill to Ban Using CO2 to “Frack” Wells

Last month, MDN told you that several New York Democrat legislators introduced a new bill to ban the use of carbon dioxide (CO2) in any process to extract natural gas or oil in the Empire State (see NY Democrats Release Bill to Ban Use of CO2 in Gas Extraction). Following pressure from Big Green groups like Food & Water Watch, the corrupt Democrat legislators in the NY Assembly voted yesterday 97-50 to adopt this illegal bill. Now, it’s on to the Senate, where we’re sure corrupt Senators will pass it, too. Welcome to the People’s Republic of New York.
Continue reading

| | | |

New Resource for WV Landowners on Leasing for Pore Space

In February, MDN brought readers the news that Tenaska, one of the largest privately operated companies in the U.S., is building a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) hub spanning tens of thousands of acres in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia (see Landmen Knocking Doors in PA, OH, WV to Sign for CCS, Pore Rights). Landmen are “knocking on doors again” in all three states, looking to sign up landowners to store carbon dioxide deep underground. The West Virginia Surface Owners’ Rights Association (WVSORA) has done some research and is offering its advice to landowners about leasing pore space.
Continue reading

| | | |

Making the Case for Carbon Capture & Storage in Rural PA Communities

Last week, MDN told you about landmen knocking on doors in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, looking to sign up landowners for a big carbon capture and sequestration project (see Landmen Knocking Doors in PA, OH, WV to Sign for CCS, Pore Rights). Tenaska is looking to sink 20-30 wells across a massive 80,000 acres to create a storage field that can hold upward of 5 million tons of CO2 injected annually for 30 years. But the question is: Is CCS a good thing for landowners and the rural communities where they live? One landowner argues that CCS is a good thing.
Continue reading

| | |

NAPE Speakers Say Carbon Capture & Sequestration a Risky Business

Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is coming on strong everywhere, including the Marcellus/Utica. Two days ago, we told you that Tenaska is looking to lease 80,000 acres in the M-U for CCS (see Landmen Knocking Doors in PA, OH, WV to Sign for CCS, Pore Rights). We also told you about a Marcellus driller, BKV, that’s looking to move into CCS in a big way, although mainly along the Gulf Coast (see Bumpy Financial Road for BKV – Company Bets on Carbon Capture). CCS was a big topic at last week’s NAPE Expo in Houston, Texas. A panel of speakers discussing CCS said the space poses risks, but those risks can be mitigated with proper reservoir assessment.
Continue reading

| | | | | | | |

Landmen Knocking Doors in PA, OH, WV to Sign for CCS, Pore Rights

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has an excellent article reporting on an effort by Tenaska, one of the largest privately operated companies in the U.S., to build a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) hub spanning tens of thousands of acres in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. Landmen are “knocking on doors again” in all three states, looking to sign up landowners to store carbon dioxide deep underground. We have the details below, including how much money Tenaska is paying as a signing bonus and how much is on offer (per acre) each year.
Continue reading

| | | |

Carbon Capture & Storage Coming to Ohio’s Wayne National Forest?

Wayne National Forest

There are federal lands in the Marcellus/Utica. Did you know that? The Wayne National Forest (WNF) is a patchwork of public and private mineral rights that covers over a quarter million acres of Appalachian foothills of southeastern Ohio. For years, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) blocked new permits and drilling in WNF. During the Trump administration, the BLM began to auction off federal leases and permits (see our stories about BLM auction in WNF here). However, a federal judge blocked drilling in WNF in 2021, after Biden had seized control of the White House (see Federal Judge Blocks Permits to Drill in OH’s Wayne Natl Forest). Although drilling in WNF is blocked, the Bidenistas are considering a rule change to allow the drilling of carbon dioxide wells in national parks, including WNF.
Continue reading

| | |

Bumpy Financial Road for BKV – Company Bets on Carbon Capture

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal focuses on BKV Corporation (Banpu Kalnin Ventures), the American arm of Banpu (96% owned by Banpu, Thailand’s largest coal mining company). The article pulls the curtain back and gives us a better view into what happened with the company’s aborted plan to launch an initial public offering in 2023 (see BKV IPO On Hold, M&A Deals Falling Apart Due to Low Gas Prices). The article also reveals that BKV’s strategy is to produce “guilt-free” natural gas by investing in carbon capture.
Continue reading

| | | | | | | | | | |

Tenaska Discusses Plans for CO2 Injection Wells in WV, OH, PA

Yesterday, representatives from Tenaska gave a presentation to the Hancock County (WV) Commission detailing the company’s plans to drill carbon dioxide (CO2) injection wells in West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The company anticipates drilling seven CO2 injection wells/sites in WV, 12 wells/sites in OH, and three wells/sites in PA. Tenaska has established an office in Weirton, WV, as it works toward establishing its carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) process in the region. It hopes to have wells operations by 2027.
Continue reading

| | | |

Company Seeks to Lease New York Mineral & Pore Rights for Flat $10

A company called Southern Tier CO2 to Clean Energy Solutions, based in Binghamton, NY (where MDN is located), is sending fliers to landowners in Broome, Tioga, and Chemung counties (along the border with Pennsylvania, where there is no doubt large amounts of Marcellus and Utica gas beneath the ground) inviting landowners to sign up for what appears to be an exciting opportunity to sell gas rights. The flier (below) and company website say the company plans to use carbon dioxide (CO2) to (a) store it underground, but also (b) use it to extract natural gas from underground and then (c) either sell the gas via pipeline or burn it to produce electricity. The technology envisioned is an alternative to fracking. Will it work? And, will it be profitable for landowners?
Continue reading

| | | | |

Consolation Prize? PA DCNR Gets $1M from Biden DOE for CCUS Work

Did the Democrats running the Pennsylvania Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) just receive a consolation prize from the Democrats who run the federal Dept. of Energy (DOE)? That’s the question swirling in our heads as we read about the PA DCNR receiving a $1 million grant from the DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) to do some CCUS (carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration) work. Is the DOE about to bypass PA and award a $1 BILLION grand prize to West Virginia for a hydrogen hub (that includes CCUS), and is this $1 million grant the Biden way of preempting sore feelings in PA by throwing them a bone?
Continue reading

| | |

Washington County, PA, Makes a Play to Attract Carbon Capture

click for larger version

Diana Irey Vaughan has been a Washington County, PA commissioner for almost 30 years. She’s learned a thing or two about anticipating economic trends and understanding what’s likely to happen in the future. Vaughan was an early supporter of the Marcellus industry in her county, the county with THE most Marcellus wells drilled in the state. Something new is appearing on Vaughan’s radar: carbon capture and storage. She thinks now is the time for Washington County (and for Gov. Shapiro and the legislature) to pursue landing new CCS projects for the Keystone State.
Continue reading

| | |

PA Geologists Building a Map of Rock Layers for Future CO2 Storage

Core samples at the Pennsylvania Geological Survey on Nov. 15, 2022. Photo: Jeremy Long / WITF

Hydrogen energy is all the rage these days–even though it’s unproven, and there’s no evidence it will ever replace natural gas as a main fuel source. Indeed, there’s plenty of evidence hydrogen will never fully replace gas (see Why 100% Hydrogen Will Never Power Your Home; Why Antis Hate H2). Wrapped up in the “hydrogen is the future of energy” debate is carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), sometimes called CCUS (carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration). In simple terms, CCS is capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from sources like burning oil and natural gas and storing it deep underground where it can’t (please don’t laugh) toast Mom Earth into a cinder, as the left insists is happening. To store CO2 underground, you must know where it can be safely and permanently done. The Pennsylvania Geological Survey and its partners are building a digital tool and testing hundreds of rock core samples to help others know where the safest places to store CO2 in the Keystone State are located.
Continue reading

| | | |

$2B WV Hydrogen Proj Taps Battelle to Develop Carbon Capture System

In August, MDN told you about a new $2 billion hydrogen project coming to West Virginia (see $2B Hydrogen Project Announces for WV – FidelisH2 in Mason Co.). Fidelis New Energy announced it had selected Mason County for a “net-zero” hydrogen production facility and low carbon microgrid, which it has dubbed The Mountaineer GigaSystem. The Fidelis plan includes building data centers powered by net-zero hydrogen. Fidelis will produce hydrogen with “zero lifecycle carbon emissions” from a combination of Marcellus/Utica gas, renewable energy, and CCUS (carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration). Yesterday, Fidelis announced it has tapped Battelle Carbon Services to develop the CCUS portion of the project.
Continue reading

| | | |

Cambridge Study Finds Carbon Offsets Using Trees is a Scam

Carbon offsets are the same thing as carbon taxes. A carbon offset refers to reducing so-called greenhouse gas emissions by buying a credit from someone who plants trees or agrees not to cut down trees. A company gets to keep on polluting as long as it pays a tax to do it–pretending they are helping the precious environment by paying to plant or not chop down trees. It is the darnedest feat of mental gymnastics we’ve ever seen. Who thinks up this stuff? (Hey, wanna buy a bridge in Brooklyn? We have one to sell!) A new study by the leftists at the University of Cambridge published yesterday in the journal Science exposes the sale of carbon credits as a scam.
Continue reading

| | |

BKV Corp Partners with NuQuest Energy on CCS Project in Louisiana

Banpu is Thailand’s largest coal mining company. However, it is looking to reduce the amount of revenue it derives from coal from around 66% today to 50% by 2025. One of the ways Banpu is accomplishing that objective is by investing in American shale gas, American gas-fired power plants, and now, American carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). Banpu partners with Kalnin Ventures and operates BKV Corporation (Banpu Kalnin Ventures), the American arm of Banpu (96% owned by Banpu). Over the past seven years, BKV has become one of the top 20 gas-weighted natural gas producers in the U.S.
Continue reading