Summit Carbon Solutions is forging ahead with its planned carbon capture and storage project in the US state of North Dakota, which the project proponent claims to be the largest of its kind globally.
US operator Continental Resources will invest $250 million into Summit’s North Dakota CCS scheme, which will initially handle more than 8 million tons per annum of carbon dioxide.
The project will primarily capture CO2 from ethanol plants and other industrial sources in Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.
The CO2 will be aggregated and transported to North Dakota via pipeline, where it will be safely and permanently sequestered in “extensively researched subsurface geologic formations”, Summit said.
The project has commitments from 31 partner ethanol facilities to deliver more than 8 million tpa of CO2, with initial pipeline capacity of 12 million tpa and expansion potential to handle up to 20 million tpa.
Continental will commit $250 million over the next two years to help fund the development and construction of the project’s associated capture, transportation and sequestration infrastructure, while also leveraging its operational and geologic expertise to help ensure the safe and secure storage of CO2.
Summit in 2019 began developing plans for the project and its partnerships with ethanol producers. It was launched early last year and is on track to achieve its target of being operational in the first half of 2024.
“Our goal since launching Summit Carbon Solutions has been to accelerate ethanol’s path to becoming a net-zero carbon fuel, which can be done in the near term and with proven technology,” Summit Ag Investors president Justin Kirchhoff said.
“To accomplish that, we first partnered with forward-thinking ethanol producers, and we now look forward to working with Continental Resources, which has unmatched experience and knowledge of the Williston basin in North Dakota, where we will permanently sequester our partner plants’ CO2.”
Continental for decades has been actively working towards limiting the carbon footprint of its operations via initiatives such as its ECO-Pad technology, according to the company’s CEO Bill Berry.
“We look forward to working with Summit Carbon Solutions to become leaders in carbon capture and sequestration. We believe this project will become a model for the rest of the world,” Berry said.
“Carbon capture will play an integral role in helping reduce global emissions, and we believe Summit Carbon Solutions has the most capital efficient project to further this goal.”
Continental has been working in North Dakota for more than 25 years and is the state’s largest leaseholder and producer.
Definitive documentation related to the operator’s planned investment in Summit Carbon Solutions’ CCS project is being finalized and is subject to customary closing conditions.
For more information visit www.summitcarbonsolutions.com
