Facts:

Main developer: Leucadia Energy, LLC

Leucadia LLC aims to demonstrate CO2 capture at its new petroleum-coke-to-chemicals plant being developed at Lake Charles in Louisiana.

The captured CO2 will be transported via pipeline for use in enhanced oil recovery operations at oilfields in Texas and Louisiana. The project is expected to sequester 4.5 million tonnes per year of CO2.

The overall goal of the demonstration plant is to develop CCS technologies for commercial-scale use and integrated with EOR operations. The infrastructure developed could potentially be used by other industrial emitters in the Lake Charles area.

Operations to capture CO2 and pipe it for EOR operations at West Hastings oilfield are estimated to start in April 2014, where the project will include a comprehensive MVA programme to assess long-term storage.

The project team includes Leucadia Energy, Denbury, General Electric, Haldor Topsoe, Black & Veatch, Turner Industries, and The University of Texas Bureau of Economic Geology.

Financing

The total project cost is estimated at around $436 million. In June 2010, Leucadia was awarded second-phase funding of $260 million from the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Industrial Carbon Capture and Sequestration (ICCS) Program – through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. It received a phase-one award from the DOE of $840,000 in 2009.

Timing

The project expects to begin construction in 2011 and begin commercial operations in 2014. An Environmental Impact Assessment process is underway and preliminary engineering and design work has begun.

More information and press releases

NETL project factsheet

DOE press release re second-phase funding, 10 June 2010

DOE techline article re second-phase funding, 10 June 2010

Twelve projects selected for US CCS funding, 5 October 2009

Companies involved