California Resources announce approval for CTV I project conditional use permit

California Resources (CRC) and its carbon management business, Carbon TerraVault, announced the Kern County Board of Supervisors’ unanimous approval of the conditional use permit for the Carbon TerraVault I, or CTV I, carbon capture and storage project. This permit authorizes the construction activities necessary for the development of the project, which would be the first of its kind in California. This decision follows the Kern County Planning Commission’s recommendation in September and marks a milestone in CRC’s efforts to develop its first carbon capture and storage project. Located at CRC’s Elk Hills Field in Kern County, CTV I’s storage reservoir has a total estimated capacity of up to 46M metric tons of carbon dioxide, or CO2, storage. Once operational, the CTV I project is expected to be capable of injecting and storing over 1M metric tons of CO2 per year, equivalent to the annual emissions of approximately 200,000 passenger vehicles. In addition to being California’s first carbon capture and storage project, CTV I will be the first in the nation to utilize a depleted oil and gas reservoir for CO2 sequestration. The California Energy Commission recognizes the Elk Hills Field as “one of the premier CO2 sequestration sites in the U.S.,” making it an optimal location for the permanent storage of CO2. The California Air Resources Board also identifies carbon capture and storage as a critical greenhouse gas reduction measure.