Map showing the CTV III project location and nearby carbon dioxide emitters. More than 20 million metric tons per annum (MMTPA) of carbon dioxide emissions are reported from natural gas-fired power plants, refineries and other industrial sources in the San Francisco Bay Area, approximately 20 to 50 miles west of the project site.

Project Description

An Underground Injection Control (UIC) Class VI application for the commercial Carbon TerraVault III (CTV III) Storage Project is currently in process with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This CarbonSAFE project will support the commercial-scale CTV III Storage Project by performing a comprehensive geologic characterization, develop a community benefits approach that addresses community needs and ensures transparency, and perform risk assessments, feasibility studies and technoeconomic studies of the project’s technical and non-technical challenges. A stratigraphic well will be drilled, and a comprehensive well logging campaign will be conducted. Field and laboratory studies will include coring, hydrologic testing, pressure profiling, and a variety of analyses of the subsurface media. The acquired data will be used to generate and validate subsurface models, develop reliable injection simulations, generate preliminary risk assessments, risk mitigation strategies, and long-term monitoring plans, and satisfy pre-operational testing requirements for the UIC Class VI permit application. An injection scenario analyses will be conducted to validate the viability of safely storing a minimum of 71 million metric tons of carbon dioxide over a 30-year period and determine the footprint of the predicted pressure front.

Project Benefits

The primary objective of the commercial CTV III Storage Project is to provide a safe, effective, and commercial-scale CO₂ storage solution in the greater San Francisco and Sacramento area. CTV III is situated within the Sacramento Basin, a physiographic province with significant CO₂ storage potential. This Phase II project will support the implementation of the commercial CTV III project and characterize an approximately 2,000-meter deep saline reservoir in the Sacramento Basin.

Though the project area of review is primarily on agricultural land, it is estimated to partially cover an underprivileged community. The project team will engage key stakeholders in the underprivileged community, as well as surrounding communities, to gain an understanding of the communities’ concerns and needs. Community outreach efforts will be conducted with a focus on transparency and two-way communication. The project team will work with the local communities to identify community needs and develop approaches that will ensure the commercial CTV III project will provide economic and social benefits to the local underprivileged communities and their members.

Presentations, Papers, and Publications

• CarbonSAFE Phase II: CTV III CO2 Storage Project (Aug 2024)
  DOE/FECM 2024 Carbon Management Project Review Meeting

Contact Information