BLM Offers Nearly 650,000 Wyoming Acres for CO2 Storage

The Bureau of Land Management offered right-of-way grants on September 21, 2026 covering nearly 650,000 acres of federal pore space in southwest Wyoming. Two carbon storage projects received the offers. The grants would let developers use deep underground rock for permanent CO2 storage. Injection still requires Wyoming approvals and a federal Notice to Proceed.

How Much Federal Pore Space Did BLM Offer in Wyoming?

BLM offered grants covering nearly 650,000 acres of federal pore space on September 21, 2026. The agency manages about 245 million acres of public land, mostly in 12 western states.

Moxa Carbon Storage LLC received an offer for approximately 605,091 acres across Lincoln, Uinta and Sweetwater counties. That acreage sits inside a project area of about 1 million acres. The wider area also includes state and private lands.

Pond Field LLC, an affiliate of Frontier Carbon Solutions, received an offer for approximately 44,347 acres. That pore space serves the Sweetwater Carbon Storage Hub. Neither grant authorizes surface occupancy or surface-disturbing activity on BLM land.

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What Does a Pore Space Right Actually Give a Developer?

A pore space right gives a developer legal access to the underground rock where CO2 can be stored. It does not authorize injection by itself.

Pore space means the microscopic openings inside deep rock formations. Compressed CO2 is injected into those openings for permanent storage.

Suitable geology does not automatically equal available storage capacity. A project also needs the legal right to use that subsurface space.

BLM Kemmerer Field Manager Brandon Teppo framed the offers as a process milestone. "These milestones demonstrate how responsible management of federal resources can support innovative projects while ensuring development moves forward through the appropriate state and federal processes," he said.

Before injection begins, both companies must satisfy applicable Wyoming requirements. Each must also receive a Notice to Proceed from BLM.

Why Are Pore Space Rights Different From Class VI Permits?

BLM controls access to federal pore space. The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality permits the Class VI injection wells.

Wyoming DEQ received Class VI primacy on September 3, 2020. That means the state, not the EPA, runs Wyoming's geological CO2 injection permitting program.

The first permits show the pace. DEQ took 10 months to review the three Class VI permits it issued in December 2023.

Project	Developer / Operator	Federal Pore Space	Current Step
Southwest Wyoming CO2 Sequestration	Moxa Carbon Storage / Tallgrass	605,091 acres	Grant offered September 21, 2026. Wyoming requirements and Notice to Proceed still needed.
Sweetwater Carbon Storage Hub	Pond Field / Frontier Carbon Solutions	44,347 acres	Grant offered September 21, 2026. Frontier holds three Class VI permits on non-federal land.
Southeast Wyoming CO2 Sequestration	Tallgrass Energy	About 480 acres	Grant offered September 22, 2026. State authorizations still needed.

Each project holds a different mix of pore space rights and injection approvals. Those steps can advance on parallel tracks.

>> RELATED: Frontier Carbon Solutions Secures First Class VI UIC Permits in Wyoming

How Are Moxa and Sweetwater Moving Through the Process?

Moxa holds a 605,091-acre federal grant offer. Sweetwater already has state well permits on non-federal land, plus its own 44,347-acre federal offer.

Moxa is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tallgrass, a Kansas-based energy infrastructure company. Its offer is the larger share of the 650,000 acres.

Frontier Carbon Solutions, a Dallas-based carbon storage developer, operates the Sweetwater hub. Its three Class VI permits cover wells west of Green River on non-federal land.

Frontier has more permits in the pipeline. DEQ ran a public comment period from July 21 to September 21, 2026 on draft permits for its Project Speed Goat.

The draft covers about 40.8 million metric tons of CO2 storage in the Madison Formation. The target depth runs from 17,605 to 18,086 feet.

Frontier received Wyoming's first three Class VI permits in December 2023. Co-CEO Robby Rockey credited the state process at the time.

What Does the Tallgrass Southeast Wyoming Project Add?

BLM offered Tallgrass Energy a grant for about 480 acres of federal pore space in Laramie County on September 22, 2026. The company can use that space after it receives the necessary state authorizations.

The offer follows BLM's April 2025 decision approving the project. Decarbonfuse covered the September milestone on September 28.

The project uses BLM-administered pore space and includes no surface infrastructure on BLM land today. Wyoming DEQ permits and regulates the Class VI injection wells it will need.

Wyoming's Progress Joins Wider Carbon Management Momentum

Three Wyoming projects now show how geology becomes usable storage in steps. Land access, well permits and federal authorization each move forward on their own track.

Storage credibility is growing too. Verra, which runs the Verified Carbon Standard from Washington, D.C., says its VM0049 carbon capture and storage methodology now meets the Core Carbon Principles.

Calgary-based Gas Liquids Engineering announced on October 8, 2026 that it completed detailed engineering for Enhance Energy's Origins Carbon Capture and Storage Hub.

Market tools are developing alongside the projects. Absolute Climate opened a 45-day consultation on gas power with CCS that runs through November 13, 2026. New York-based Residual launched a Buyer Portal for carbon removal due diligence.

Other pathways are advancing as well. Colorado-based Gevo and ClimeFi completed a carbon removal transaction on October 8, 2026. ARC Bio showed that Canadian forest residues can yield jet-range fuel in a refinery-style unit.

Wyoming's next permits and Notices to Proceed will mark each project's move from approved pore space to active storage.

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