CRC has applied for permits and the environmental review has begun for two initial permanent carbon capture and storage (CCS) vaults, collectively referred to as Carbon TerraVault I (CTV I), located within the proposed CTV Clean Energy Park (previously Net Zero Industrial Park) at Elk Hills in Kern County, California. This park is a growing assemblage of emerging green projects that have — and will continue to — come to Kern County as a Carbon Management Center of Excellence in California. Industries are attracted not only by Elk Hills’ reservoirs, but also by a well-understood permitting path that adheres to California’s stringent environmental regulations. These are ideal conditions for CCS projects with companies that are leading the energy transition in California and beyond.
With a total estimated capacity of up to 46 million metric tons (MT) of storage, CTV I is expected to be capable of injecting over 1 million MT of CO2 per year, equivalent to the annual emissions of approximately 200,000 passenger vehicles.
In December 2022, Carbon TerraVault JV Holdco, LLC (CTV JV) entered into a Carbon Dioxide Management Agreement (CDMA) with Lone Cypress Energy Services, LLC. Called the Elk Hills Hydrogen Project, the proposed project would sequester 205,000 MT of CO2 per annum in the CTV I carbon storage vault from a newly constructed clean hydrogen plant at the proposed CTV Clean Energy Park at Elk Hills.
In May 2023, CTV entered into a CDMA with InEnTec, Inc., to build a new renewable dimethyl ether (rDME) production facility at the CTV Clean Energy Park at Elk Hills. Under the proposal, CTV would sequester initially a minimum 100,000 MT of CO2 per annum from the InEnTec Facility in the CTV I carbon storage vault.
In July 2023, CTV JV entered into a CDMA with Verde Clean Fuels proposing to sequester a minimum of 100,000 metric tons of CO2 per annum at the CTV I vault from a new renewable gasoline plant that would be constructed at the CTV Clean Energy Park at Elk Hills.
In November 2023, CTV JV entered into a CDMA with NLC Energy (NLCE) to build a new waste-to-energy production facility to produce renewable natural gas (RNG) from biomass and other agricultural waste feedstock. Under the proposal, CTV would sequester a minimum of 150,000 MT of CO2 per annum from the NLCE Facility in the CTV I carbon storage vault.
CRC also announced plans to construct a capture-to-storage facility at the proposed CTV Clean Energy Park at Elk Hills that would remove approximately 100,000 MT per annum of associated CO2 from inlet gas used for the Elk Hills Power Plant for permanent sequestration at the CTV I reservoir.
Future CCS projects located at the proposed CTV Clean Energy Park at Elk Hills would not require off-site transportation as the projects would be located close to the sequestration injection points.
CCS projects can have immediate and long-lasting environmental, economic, and employment benefits to nearby communities. The Elk Hills Field is of particular focus given the ample availability of multiple depleted reservoirs. The rural Elk Hills oil complex spans nearly 75 square miles, with no burden on local communities, and includes more than 25,000 acres of habitat conservation lands.