UW’s EORI to Co-Lead $3M DOE-Funded CO2 Pipeline Study

The University of Wyoming’s Enhanced Oil Recovery Institute (EORI) is the co-leader of a study funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that will set the stage for a new carbon dioxide pipeline system in Wyoming.

DOE has awarded $3 million to Carbon Solutions LLC to advance the Wyoming Trails Carbon Hub (WyoTCH) project to promote a low-carbon future. Carbon Solutions CEO Richard Middleton is the lead principal investigator of the project, and EORI Senior Engineer Eric Robertson is the co-principal investigator.

WyoTCH will perform a front-end engineering design study for a common carrier CO₂ pipeline system with the capacity to transport up to 120 million metric tons of CO₂ per year. This grant will focus on CO₂ transport costs, pipeline network configurations and other technical, commercial and community impact considerations that advance carbon management technologies at commercial scale in Wyoming.

WyoTCH aims to connect CO₂ sources and storage sites in southwest Wyoming to east-central Wyoming following an optimized route, building on work previously done by the Wyoming Pipeline Corridor Initiative.

The 18-month WyoTCH project also is supported by the Wyoming Energy Authority and a consortium of commercial partners including Williams, Carbonvert, Glenrock Energy, Kanata America and Live Oak Environmental. UW and INTERA are other essential partners in the project.

EORI’s mission and focus are to facilitate meaningful, measurable and economically viable solutions to increase recoverable reserves and production of oil and natural gas in Wyoming that otherwise may not be realized.