Energy companies BKV and Enlink Midstream have commenced CO₂ injection at a CCS facility in Texas.
The CO₂ waste has been injected to the Barnett Zero CCS facility. It was collected from EnLink's Bridgeport natural gas processing plant, and neighbouring operations.
The Barnett Zero CCS facility is expected to achieve an average sequestration rate of up to 210,000t of CO₂ equivalent annually.
In a press statement, BKV said: “Barnett Zero is one of the first purpose-drilled, Class II commercial carbon sequestration well[s] injecting CO₂ waste from natural gas processing plants in the United States, and with the initial injection, BKV and EnLink will be among the first energy companies to have commercial carbon capture and sequestration operations in the nation.”
EnLink will be responsible for transporting natural gas generated by BKV in the Barnett Shale to its natural gas processing plant in Bridgeport, Texas.
There, the CO₂ waste stream will be collected, sent to a BKV facility, compressed, and subsequently sequestered through BKV's adjacent subterranean injection control well.
To help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, BKV and EnLink intend to capture CO₂ emissions from their own operations as well as those of third companies involved in the production of natural gas.
BKV CEO Chris Kalnin said: "BKV has an actionable path to net-zero scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions from its upstream operations by the early 2030s and is committed to achieving net-zero scope 1 and 2 emissions from its upstream operations by the end of 2025.”
BKV said its second CCS project, named Cotton Cove, also located in Texas, is due to start commercial operations by the end of 2024.
Three additional potential natural gas processing projects have also been identified by BKV, aimed at sequestering third-party emissions.
“If approved and implemented, these three natural gas processing projects would provide a combined forecasted annual sequestration volume of at least approximately 970,000 tonnes per year of captured CO₂ equivalent,” the company noted.