CRC’s CCS project, which would be the state’s first, will be capable of injecting and storing more than 1 million metric tons of CO2 per year underground once it becomes operational. (Source: Shutterstock/ California Resources Corp.)
California took a leap forward in efforts to store captured CO2 underground in a statewide first, following Kern County’s approval of California Resources Corp.’s (CRC) permit for the Carbon TerraVault 1 carbon capture and storage (CCS) project.
CRC announced the milestone for its Carbon TerraVault carbon management business Oct. 21. The unanimous approval of a conditional use permit by the Kern County Board of Supervisors clears the company to start construction activities for the project.
“This is a significant step forward for Kern County and CRC in supporting energy transition in California,” CRC CEO Francisco Leon said in a news release. “We believe that carbon capture technology will lead to the creation of new energy jobs and improve air quality in Kern County.”
CCS is expected to play a major role in lowering greenhouse-gas emissions. CCS technologies capture CO2 produced by industrial and other emitters, transport the emissions and inject them for permanent storage deep underground in rock formations such as saline aquifers or depleted oil and gas reservoirs.
CRC’s CCS project, which would be the state’s first, will be capable of injecting and storing more than 1 million metric tons of CO2 per year underground once it becomes operational. The Carbon TerraVault 1 storage reservoir has a total estimated capacity of up to 46 million metric tons of CO2 storage, the company said.
The project is located at CRC’s Elk Hills Field in Kern County, California. In the news release, CRC said the field is recognized by the California Energy Commission as “one of the premier CO2 sequestration sites in the U.S.”
Carbon TerraVault 1 is one of several CCS projects that CRC is pursuing across California’s San Joaquin and Sacramento basins. The company has applied for several federal Class VI permits for underground storage vaults in the state.
CRC has said it expects first CO2 injection at Carbon TerraVault 1 by year-end 2025.
The company’s third-quarter 2023 earnings call is scheduled for Nov. 6.
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