Okay -- Who's Responsible For Writing This Guy's Speech? -- February 23, 2023

Well, if you are a farmer and “they” want to put a CO2 pipeline through your property this should give you a warm fuzzy:

I wonder if he had a slide of the explosion in East Palestine, OH, as part of his presentation? LOL.

Would-Be World's Largest Carbon Capture Pipeline -- Update -- December 9, 2021

I have to find a post where this story is and will be followed. Let's follow this story here. Now, how to tag it? NDXL-Pipeline? Or Pipeline-NDXL? Oh, there it is, it already has a name: Midwest Carbon Express.

Link here. 

There is no such thing as a "CO2 spill" -- well, at least not yet -- they're running out of excuses to ban pipelines .

What's Going On In Mercer County -- November 24, 2021

Note: This post is in progress but there's enough here for most readers to put the story together.

Disclaimer: in a long note like this coming from multiple sources, there will be content and typographical errors. Facts and hunches will be interspersed and it will be difficult to separate the two.

Updates

December 6, 2021: update; Midwest Carbon Express.

November 26, 2021, daily activity report -- a geophysical permit approved --

• Echo Seismic USA, Inc, Coteau 2-3, 145N-87W, 145-88W, 146-87, and 146-88; Mercer County;
  

November 25, 2021: see comments. Link here, dated November 15, 2021. Data points:

• Midwest Carbon Express pipeline
• from Iown and vicinity; to carry CO2 generated by CO2 plants to injection sites in Oliver and Mercer counties, North Dakota
• would cross the Missouri River north of Bismarck
• as much as 12 million metric tons of CO2 annually; equates to annual carbon emissions of 2.6 million cars;
• pipeline developer: Summit Carbon Solutions; "subsidiary" of the Iowa-based Summit Agricultural Group
• Wade Boeshans: executive VP of the pipeline developer
• previously worked as president of BNI Energy
• BNI Energy operates BNI Coal's Center Mine next to the Milton R Young Station
• MRY Station: a coal-fired power plant where another large CCS is under development
• pipeline terminates west of Center, ND, and south of Beulah
• proposed: 10 to 15 injection wells

November 25, 2021: see first comment below. That comment has link to Bismarck Tribune article. Archived here. If behind paywall, headline will provide enough background. Data points:

• Great Plains Synfuels Plant, Beulah, ND
• operated by Basin Electric Power Coop subsidiary: Dakota Gasification Co
• currently captures 2 million metric tons of CO2 annually from the facilty
• facility produces synthetic natural gas from coal
• gas compressed to liquid (GTL)
• piped north to Canada; injected to boost oil production
• current project:
• short pipeline from facility to an injection site north to Coteau Properties CO
• Coteau operates the mine that feed coal to the synfuels plant

November 24, 2021: Summit Carbon Solutions has moved T&S Drilling 1 from Milton Flemmer 1 (#38594) to Archie Erickson 2 (#38622); see this post;

Where We Stand In Mercer County

There are three "operators" of interest:

Summit Carbon Solutions

• #385594, Milton Flemmer 1, NWNE 35-141-88;
  
• #38622, Archie Erickson 2, SWSW 12-142-88;
  
• see this pipeline story: giant pipeline across the Midwest;

Rampart Energy

• Coteau 1
• a wildcat, SWSW 1-145-88

UND EERC

• Flemmer 1
  

Background

For background, see this post from June 28, 2021 -- just a few months ago.

Rampart Energy Company:

• has been operating in North Dakota since 1959
• Rampart Energy has about 50 records on file
• Coteau 1: wildcat, SWSW 1-145-88; a "long way" from the Bakken;
• south of the lake; well east of the Bakken; southeast (outside) the Ft Berthold Reservation;
• if this is a crude oil well (not a natural gas well), this will be interesting to follow
  
• from "Bakken operators:

Rampart Energy Company 

• June 16, 2021

• Rampart's wildcat, Coteau 1, will be sited in SWSW 1-145-99, Mercer County, 555 FSL and 460 FWL; the oil field is also a wildcat; 
• Rampart has about 50 permits in North Dakota; it has been active in North Dakota since 1959; 
• Rampart's previous well in North Dakota, #27081, Craig Allen 10-3H, Stanley oil field; SESW 11-155-91; a Bakken well that was drilled in 2015 and has reported a respectable 228K bbls crude oil cumulative;

Now today: I believe these are carbon capture exploratory wells. To the best of my knowledge, NDIC is not updating the map or the scout tickets, so it's difficult to figure out what's going on. 

A reader writes:

I see they have a rig drilling the Coteau #1. I'm assuming it's for carbon capture? 

But a buddy of mine said there's what looks like 2 more drilling locations ready to MIRU between I-94 and Beulah on highway 49. Any insight on this?

If any reader has any update on the Rampert Energy rigs drilling these wells, readers would appreciate an update.

Later: 

This must the location the reader's buddy was reporting when he/she said there appeared to be two more drilling locations ready to MIRU between I-94 and Beulah on Highway 49. So far my sleuthing only comes up with Milton Flemmer 1. If the buddy is correct, we may also be looking at Milton Flemmer 2 but that's a bridge too far right now. 

See this post from October 20, 2021:

• Summit Carbon Solutions has a permit, #38622, for an Archie Erickson 2 well, to be sited in SWSW 12-142-88, a wildcat, to be sited 902 FSL and 794 FWL

So, the first map, November 24, 2021:

Map updated November 24, 2021, following NDIC's end-of-day daily activity report: 

Wow, it never quits. Seeing these maps, this post, a reader was reminded of a wildcat that Harold Hamm drilled back in 2009 looking for the eastern fringe of the Bakken. In the map below, the black circle is the general location of that well:

• 17877, PA/84, CLR, Traxel 1-31H, Beaver Creek Bay, t12/09; cum 12K 12/13;

The map:

Giant Pipeline In US Midwest Tests Future Of Carbon Capture -- Reuters -- November 23, 2021

Synopsis:

• ethanol plants in Iowa produce a lot of CO2
• opportunity for these plants to pipe CO2 to North Dakota where it can be stored
• Summit Carbon Solutions: pipeline across midwest and injection sites in North Dakota
• farmers in Iowa not happy with idea of pipelines across their land: NIMBY
• see this post for more.
  

Original Post

Feature story of the day. You may have to "register" to get to article over at Reuters but it's free. I've archived the article. Regular readers know what this is all about. I'll come back to it later when I get caught up.

Link here. 

Nov 23 (Reuters) - Dan Tronchetti received a letter in August that alarmed him: Summit Carbon Solutions, a company he'd never heard of, wanted his permission to conduct survey work for a 2,000-mile pipeline it planned to route through his Iowa corn and soybean fields.

The project, dubbed the Midwest Carbon Express, had ambitions to become the world's largest carbon dioxide pipeline, moving climate-warming greenhouse gases from Midwest biofuels plants to North Dakota for permanent storage underground.

But Tronchetti's first concern was for his livelihood. "It would go more than half a mile through prime farmland," he said.

The 65-year-old is among dozens of landowners along the route who are refusing to cede their property to the project, according to Reuters interviews with five landowners, four community groups organizing opposition, several academics and industry sources plus a review of filings with state regulators.

The impasse could escalate into potential court battles if Summit tries to seize the land by claiming eminent domain. Such legal fights contributed to the cancellation of the Keystone XL oil pipeline this year.

The outcome of the dispute poses huge stakes for Summit's $4.5 billion project, and for the Midwest ethanol producers it would serve who are hoping to wipe away their carbon footprints and burnish their green credentials.

It also represents what could be the biggest test yet for the carbon capture and storage (CCS) industry, which has struggled for years but which advocates say could become a powerful tool in the global fight against climate change.

Underground geological formations in the United States have the potential to store 2.6 trillion tons of planet-warming CO2, enough to cover all of America's historical emissions and those to come for centuries, according to the Department of Energy.

But there are open questions about whether CCS can ever fill them. Despite billions of dollars of public investment over the past decade, the technology remains relatively untested.

The United States boasts just 12 operational commercial CCS facilities that together have an annual capacity to store away 19.64 million tons of carbon, about 0.4% of national emissions.

Much, much more at the link; this is simply the beginning of a long, long article. 

Notes From All Over -- The Kyndryl Edition -- October 21, 2021

UNP, 3Q21 earnings:

• profit topped analysts' expectations
• cost cuts and price increases bolstered the bottom line even as cargo growth lagged
• UNP cut its 2021 volume target
• volume growth, 5%, down from a target of 7%;
• EPS: $2.57 vs $2.51, and higher than than the $2.01 a year earlier;
• revenue rose 13% to $5.6 billion vs $5.4 billion forecast

Economic indicators released today: wow, wow, wow -- the housing sales numbers were absolutely incredible. I was impressed. 

A reminder, IBM to split into two companies:

• Kyndryl ("can drill") would have been a better name for an oil company
• link here; and, here.

Wework: set to go public via a SPAC two years after failed IPO. Link to WSJ. 

Supply chain shortages:

• US: just-in-time delivery
• China: just-in-case delivery

********************************
CCS

Updates

October 21, 2021: HartEnergy has the story, finally. And also at KFYR. 

North Dakota’s regulatory framework for geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO2) is leading the nation again as the North Dakota Industrial Commission approved the first Class VI well in North Dakota on Oct. 19.

 North Dakota was the first state to receive primacy of Class VI wells from the US EPA in 2018, followed only by Wyoming in 2020.

Original Post

North Dakota carbon storage: ethanol plant seeks to capture emissions. Amy R. Sisk.

North Dakota: A Gift To The Planet -- U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm -- But We Already Knew That -- October 14, 2021

Over at Yahoo!News: 

U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, during a visit to the Energy & Environment Research Center at UND, said she believes North Dakota is poised to play a key role in addressing climate change.

Granholm visited Grand Forks on Thursday, Oct. 14, to tour the EERC with Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., and Gov. Doug Burgum. Following that tour, they held a discussion with energy company executives from across the state.

That discussion focused on the generation of clean power, but also on advancing to commercialization carbon capture utilization and storage technology (CCUS) — essentially stripping carbon from coal or other energy sources, and burying it underground. Energy executives said doing so will require expanded federal financial assistance.

Granholm said she doesn't view combating climate change with a silver bullet, but rather "silver buckshot." In North Dakota, that buckshot pattern hits several targets, including further rolling out wind and solar power, but also working to decarbonize fossil fuels.

And, then look at this:

Burgum said North Dakota "hit the jackpot of geology" because the state can store 252 billion tons of carbon underground in a carbon "sink." That amount, he said, equates to 50 years of national carbon production from energy generation, or 4,400 years in what North Dakota generates on its own.

Granholm agreed, saying: "You've got a comparative advantage, clearly in carbon capture and storage because of your geography," and called the storage capacity a "gift to the planet."

In May, Burgum announced an ambitious plan to make North Dakota carbon neutral by 2030. Burgum said since that announcement, investment from outside the state has poured in, to the tune of $25 billion for projects like carbon capture programs.

November, 2021, Hearing Dockets -- CO2 Storage Cases

Link here.

All cases from the Milton R. Young Station, Minnkota Power Cooperative.

These are cases, not permits:

• 29029: 41 sections for storage in Oliver County. Storage in Broom Creek formation.
• 29030: 41 sections for storage in Oliver County. Storage in Broom Creek formation.
• 29031: 41 sections for storage in Oliver County. Storage in Broom Creek formation.
• 29032: 41 sections for storage in Oliver County. Storage in Broom Creek formation.
• 29033: 41 sections for storage in Oliver County. Storage in Deadwood formation.
• 29034: 41 sections for storage in Oliver County. Storage in Deadwood formation.

North Dakota Carbon Capture And Storage -- August 13, 2021

Updates

October 21, 2021: HartEnergy has the story, finally. And also at KFYR. 

North Dakota’s regulatory framework for geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO2) is leading the nation again as the North Dakota Industrial Commission approved the first Class VI well in North Dakota on Oct. 19.

 North Dakota was the first state to receive primacy of Class VI wells from the US EPA in 2018, followed only by Wyoming in 2020.

Original Post

Re-posting:

North Dakota carbon storage: ethanol plant seeks to capture emissions. Amy R. Sisk. Key words:

• Richardton ethanol plant
• Red Trail Energy
• could be the first project in North Dakota that both captures and injects carbon emissions underground
• North Dakota and Wyoming are the only states that have assumed full permitting authority fro the EPA for carbon injection projects
• first  location: a well east of the Stark County plant targeting the Broom Creek rock formation more than 6,300 feet deep
• CO2 would form a plume in the pore space; 
• "supercritical" under high pressure and temperature
• CO2 to be trapped there forever; the nearest drinking water source lies 4,000 feet above the injection layer, but if it escapes, hey, we have carbonated water
• 90% of landowners with pore space in the project area have signed leases, meeting the state's 65% threshold for a project to move forward
• one carbon capture project has already operated for years within North Dakota at Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s Great Plains Synfuels Plant near Beulah. Carbon dioxide from the facility is piped to Canada where it’s injected into old oil fields to boost oil production