Texas Carbon Storage Project Receives FID

The Pawnee Carbon Sequestration Project, which would use a repurposed well, is planned to capture and store up to 400,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, with first injection targeted for early 2027.

Ozona CCS, a San Antonio-based carbon management company, announced a final investment decision (FID) on the Pawnee Carbon Sequestration Project, a 50/50 joint venture with Marubeni in Bee County in southern Texas.

The project is designed to capture carbon dioxide from a StarTex Field Services natural gas treating facility then compress, transport, and permanently store it underground. Ozona is set to build and operate the facilities, and investment company Marubeni is tapped to lead marketing and commercialization of carbon credits generated by the project. The companies are targeting first injection in the first quarter of 2027.

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The project plans to use an existing well, O’Neal Gas Unit No. 4, to inject the gas. Ozona has said the well and associated storage area has a potential capacity of about 400,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually and reported that an injection test into the Sligo formation was successful.

“Pawnee moves our strategy from development into construction and ultimately operations,” Ozona CEO Rich Adams said. He said the project could expand as additional carbon dioxide sources are connected.

The companies said they also are evaluating other carbon capture and storage opportunities in Texas.

In 2024, the US Environmental Protection Agency approved a monitoring, reporting, and verification plan for the O’Neal No. 4 well. The plan calls for the well’s injection interval in the Sligo formation to be approximately 14,924 ft below the base of the underground source of drinking water. The plan states that the well will be used to inject a CO2 stream containing 98.2% CO2, 0.4% H2S, 1.03% hydrocarbons, and 0.37% nitrogen.

The well has a pending Class II disposal permit with the Texas Railroad Commission, the state agency tasked with regulating the oil and gas industry and its wells. The permit application was submitted in September 2023 and would authorize O’Neal to inject up to 1.5 MMscf/D into the Sligo formation at a depth from 15,874 ft to 16,056 ft with a maximum allowable surface pressure of 7,920 psig. This injection of treated acid gas would occur for approximately 12 years.