The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday granted Texas permission to authorize companies to capture and store carbon dioxide underground, fulfilling a key wish for the state’s oil and gas industry.
The approval comes after a two-year federal review of the Railroad Commission of Texas, the agency regulating oil and gas. The agency needed to prove it could enforce federal rules, a requirement that supporters of the effort said it could do better than the EPA. Critics have said that state regulators have a history of being too lax on the oil and gas industry. In a statement, the Texas Oil and Gas Association, which represents the industry’s political interests, lauded the approval.
“Today’s approval is a watershed moment that launches the next chapter of Texas energy leadership,” said Todd Staples, the association’s president. “Texas is now poised to lead the world in (carbon capture and sequestration), which means more investment and more jobs for Texans.”
There are more than 60 pending applications for carbon dioxide injection wells before the EPA. It’s unclear whether the EPA or the Railroad Commission will review those applications.
Carbon capture and sequestration is the process of trapping carbon dioxide molecules, which contribute most to climate change. Oil companies ordinarily retrofit their field equipment, such as pipes, with technology to prevent gas leaks. The technology has been around for decades.
But in recent years, oil companies in Texas began building facilities dedicated solely to absorbing ambient carbon dioxide, known as direct air capture facilities. Inspiring this effort were generous tax credits offered under President Joe Biden, which continue under his successor, President Donald Trump.
Oil companies capturing the gas had nowhere to put it. The permit required to store it underground, known as a Class VI permit, is notoriously hard to obtain, with yearslong review periods. Advocates of the oil and gas industry said the lengthy review kept oil companies from expanding their efforts, which they say are aimed at combating climate change. Some scientists researching carbon capture and sequestration said the Permian Basin, the oil-rich desert in West Texas, has the right geology for permanently injecting carbon.